The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-05-06
CLEVS And THEORIES.
Interest in the Sham Case
Grows Apace as the
Days Go By.
specia, to The Jersey cftv Ne,cs.

clues to the Sham case are as thick as
naKes in a huckleberry patch, and the
widest kind of rumors as to the manner
In which the young man was disem'
boweled aud the disposition that was
made of his entralls are flying around
Princeton aud Trenton. Prosecutor
Bayard Stockton declares that there are
no new developments In the case, and
thai he is quietly awaiting the meeting
of the Grand Jury ON Tuesday. II the
woman is indicted she will be tried IN
June aud the case will be one Of the
most celebrated on record. IL Will DC
purely q battle of chemical experts, and,
IL it is proyen to the satisfaction OF the
jury that there was no poison in Shann's
body the woman will undoubtedly be
acquitted, as It was no crime Tor nor to
mntilate The body of q member of her
W family.
E TO H HOGS.
Tt was stated yesterday that the detec-
tiyes had practically abandoned the
search for the missing viscera. This was
mainly done owing to the almost impossi-
those of John Sham should they be
found. The latest theory as to their ul-
innate di disposition is advanced by neigh
bors OF the family in Princeton. Near
the Snaun house lis a large swineherd,
and &c is said that he iscera were thrown
to them, aud in a short time the hogs
made it resemble everything else except
a portion Of a luna anatomy.
1t begins to look as IL the prosecution
would experience some difficulty ip fas-
tenipg responsibility for the death of her
son upon Mrs. Sham.
She appears to have minded her own
business very closely. aud to have had few
or no c%onidants among the people of
Princeton. What she made up her mind
to do at any time she seems to have done
without consulting anybody.
MABEL sHANN DRUGGED.
On the night when the body was mutt
lated there Is proof that Mrs. Sham was
careful not to notify any one of what had
happened except Bbarder Van Seious. It
is pretty certain that the prosecution has
discovered that the laudanum was
Mabel Sham unconscious of what
was going on about her. The
negro man, Peter Mace, who usually re-
manned In the house at hight, was dis
missed to his homo on that particular
evening. Mrs. Sham thus had a free
field iii which to accomplish. her designs
unobserved by any VINO knew her. IL is
impossible that she should have had
assistance from any of the t~oWnspeopla.
The most careful canvass of those near
est the Shaun family indicates that if she
had assistance she did not get il from
strangers. but from one or more of the
members of her immediate family who
were interested with her In securing the
insurance on John Shann's life.
SOME SINGULAR FACTS.
In talking over the Sham family his
tory with some old residents Of Princeton,
some singular facts ave been brought
out which may go far toward furnishing
a possible motive for the crime with
which Mrs. Sham is charged. The death
OF the husband and father. Fred Shaun.
has already been referred to. There was
81, 1866 paid To Mrs. Sham as insurance
when that event came TO pass.
Now, despite the fact that Fred Sham
complained constantly of abuse at the
hands of his wife and children, It
appears that he made a will in favo r
of Mrs. Sham and named her as
by Jared G.. Wolf u provided that
all the testator's property, real and per-
sonal, should go to his wife. provided she
paid his debts within nine months. Ii the
last named condition were not fulfilled in
the time limit specified the property was
to be sold for the payment of the debts.
Fred Shann died last November, but
since then Mrs. Sham has not paid n
penny In discharge of his indebtedness.
Her time to do this expires in August,
and it Is suggested that being short OF
ready money, and fearing that she would
lose the property entirely, she may have
resorJed to crime in order to secure the
necessary fnnds
The property which Fred. Sham left is
said to he worth, free and clear of all ins
cumbrances, about $1,000.
ELDER sHANN's EXPLANATION.
There was some talk yesterday that the
body of the elder Snann would O be ex-
humed. It was said that even IL poison
was found In his stomach i5 would not
prove that Mrs. Sham poisoned job n,
and would ouly be a circumstance
is no foundation for such talk. Rocky
Hill, in which he is buried, is not i'll Mer
Ger county. and as the State would have
TO pay the expense of digging him up, it
will be necessary to obtain an order from
the Court to have that done. Rocky Hill
is in Somerset county. 1t Is stated on
good authority that Prosecutor Stockton
will apply to Judge Albeit for an order
10 exhume the body at an early day.
ln the meantime Mrs, Sham maintains
a cool. Self-possessed demeanor in the
County Jail. She still refuses TO see any
one but her counsel and members OF her
family.
In reference to the rumor that the
defense would claim that the poison
found by the Philadelphia chemist in
the fraction of young Shann's viscera
which was sent to him for analysis,
might have been the solution of corrosive
sublimate which the operating
at the AUTOPSY used. DIR. Cantwell said
yesterday: Nothing whatever was used
as a disinfectant during the post mortem
examination, and noting save the parts
from the body was inclosea in the jar sent
to Philadelphia"
DIR. BERGEN TALKS.
DIR. Bergen said yesterday. In speaking
of the case, that John Shann's illness did
not, at first, seem to be a serious one, and
that he was at a loss to know why the
medicine which he gave had no effect on
the patient. DR.. Bergen knew something
of the reputation of the Shanns, bnt was
loath to suspect foul play. and therefore
went on prescribing different remedies.
at last he sent FOR DR.. Lytle. but the
patient was so nearly dead when the con-
sultation was held that nothing could be
done.
It was said in Princeton yesterday that
DR.. Bergen had notified the Sham family
that hereafter they mnst secure the SER
vices of aaYn O 9TH rr nhvsfrfau IA ha rQn.