The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1893-07-22
THE PoIsoNERs.
DR.. Meyer and Wife, the Modefa
Borgias, Captured

A Disgrace to Both Sexes are This FienA-
ish Pair--Thcy Have . Record OF
Victims in n Dozen Different
Cities-A Partial History.
Nav YORK.. July 14.-Dr. Henry
Meyer and Maria, his wife, were arrest
ed in Detroit late on Wednesday night,
charged with the murder of their
learned and ingenious fellow-thief,
Gustav ii. NJ. Joseph Baum. If only
half the story told by the authorities Of
this city is true, this man and woman
are the most remarkable persons this
century has witnessed. They commit
ted their crimes, it is alleged, with all
the scientific calmness Of Bor-
gia, although inspired only by money
hunger. There was no malice in their
murders. Meyer and his wife were In
dicted Thursday by the grand jury, and
detectives started westward to bring
them to this city. The authorities de.
clare they have ample evidence to war.
rant the conviction Of the pair of muir
der in the first degree. Their victim
was their confederate, it is said, in
swindling life insurance companies by
poisoning persons they had insured, or
by themselves feigning illness and sub
stitutiny stolen corpses
. Their operations were carried on in a
dozen different cities. The pair dwelt
in Cincinnati for time, where they
were known as Mr.. and Mrs. Reuter-,
which is only one of the numerous
aliases they bore.
DIR. Meyer graduated from the Chi.
cago Homeopathic medical college in
1876, and began practice on the North
Side. He is u native Of Minden, Prus
sia.
His first wife died soon after he be-
gan the practice of medicine under cir.
cumstances which many believe indi.
cate that she was poisoned. Soon after
this he was tried for the murder by
poison of wealthy North Side grocer
named Gelderman. OF this he was &C.
quilted, and soon after married Gelder.
mans widow, who was worth
some $4,000. Shortly after the
marriage, he was again charged
with the murder of his wife's
son. On this trial he was also acquit
ted. Not long afterward his wife was
found to be suffering from totally
wrecked constitution, and is still an in.
valid. She left him and procured di.
vorce, and claims to this day that he at
tempted her life by poison.
little later, about the year 1888, he
met and married his present wife,
whose maiden name was Gressen. II
was soon discovered that the old gen.
tleman's name had been forged to a
heavy life insurance policy in the Ger.
mania Co.
DR.. Meyer skipped out to Denver, but
was brought back, tried and again ac-
quilted. While in prison he met man
by the name of Ludwig Brandt the
son of a general in the Norwegian
army, and of a very respectable family,
who was like himself, charged with
forgery. When both had got out OF
prison, Meyer resumed his practice and
employed Brandt as collector. Brandt
also acted as solicitor for one or more
life insurance companies. On August
13, 1891, Brandt was insured under the
name of Gustav Maria Joseph Baum in
several companies to the aggregate
amount of IS, 500
On February Is, 1892, all three of the
parties went to New York, Brandt and
Mrs, Meyer appearing as Mr.. and Mrs.
Baum and DR.. Meyer under the name
of VIM. Reuter-, as a boarder with them.
The plot seems to have been that Baum
was to disappear and a cadaver from
some medical college was to be palmed
Off on the insurance companies as his
body. But on March 5, 1892, Baum was
taken sick and DIR. Minden, a
bright and thoroughly honest ply.
sician, was called in to treat
him. He pronounced it case oi
dysentery, but his patient grew rapidly
! worse, and died on March 30. Before
the body was buried, DIR. Meyer and
wife, the latter appearing as Baum's =
widow, collected $4,000 from the Wash.
| ington Life Insurance Co. and 81, ,0OO
from the New York life.
DR.. Meyer and Mrs Baum called to
collect the $500 indemnity, but on
finding that an investigation was to be
made they hurriedly left the city,
leaving check for 81, 900 in the Etna
Co. IS Office just across the street, which
they might have had for the asking.
| The doctor was traced to Chicago
and then to Toledo, where he was
identified through pictures as Hugo
Weller and H. Meider. He claimed tc
have come from Indianapolis during the
month of June, 1899. Weller was &C
companied by woman whom he intro
duced a. his wife. She was n pure
blonde, about 5 feet inches tall. Ir
July Mrs. Weller was confined, giving
birth to boy. A week later Mary
Neiss, of So Division street, was en-
gagged as Il domestic. She was induced
by the doctor to insure for s5, 900, made
payable to Weller. In short time she
became i'll, but left tie family socr
after.
Reports of Breadstuffs.
WASHINGTON, July 14.-The chief o
the bureau of statistics reports tina
the total values of the exports O
domestic breadstutfs from the United
States during the month of june wer,
s15,9l2,75l and during June, 1892 s1G,