Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1894-05-24
LIFE TERM FOR Mpvrn
The New York Poisoner cou
Of Murder in the secon aslets
Degree.

Aoo, punishable
Imprisonment at hard labor f., . :!
His crime was long series Of r ,u' ah
for the insurance on the lives Au vi
men marked for victims, M log
mony at the trial revealed onI,, TEST
ton Of what is alleged to be- i, os POI
crime unmatched in the records 1sre s d
Newgate calendar and unrjvalIasW til <
by the most gruesome imso;n;aa eva |
Edgar Allan Poe. The nrnan g g
were complicated by the ';;r us
ton Of expert medical and i1't roo
ical testimony, and the jury was Slen'
picked by course of contradict. PEI
struction as to the use and effect ;olyA
Meyers drug which outdid evs VI d
labyrinthlne expert intricacies W % Is
Carlyle Harris and Buchansn VI Nt
DR.. Meyer had the benefit of tho o s. uas
est defense that the skill and ND o suole
ence of a veteran criminal lawVou,A !.
well-trained doctor-lawver can ,s sr snd
His conviction was had on Sss
trial, the first jury being disc Ibesol
after one of the jurymen had haa ua x
en- i'll and the court had dec;daad as
trial.
The number of people said IA !,
been sacrificed by Meyer is not tr aaV
but the indications are that s auvVl
men and women have been his viUts
Meyer is supposed to have poisoned s
fret wife, his own child, an alleged W
in Toledo; Henry Gildeman If W "
cago; and Ludwig Brandt. He j. s w.
under suspicion OF having admins
poison to his second wife (GiIdem,,at.
widow, in Chicago; an old wom r"is
Chicago, and Mary Neiss, now III , W.
of Carl Muller, alias August WinrSns
The Winners and Mullers wara.
mostimportant direct witnesses ae,St /.
him.
Meyer was born in Minden, prps
about forty years ago. He BEGAN (
practice medicine in Chicago in i
He got into trouble there over tbesV
picious death Of his first wifes son snE
he had married the widow of GildpmgE
He was arrested, but was discbamsE
for lack of evidence. About lSS NJ
married his present wife, the dauphtab
of man named Gressen. Soon atteI
this Meyer las arrested on the chars
of forging his father-in-law's name "a,
heavy life insurance policy. He vaB
tried and acquitted. 1t became know,
during the trial, however, that the Old
gentleman, who had been in yery bad
health, recovered after Meyers arrest
and Meyer became popularlv knovpip
Chicago as "Gift Meyer" which mts,s
"Poison Meyer"
During his detention in JAIL Never
made the acquaintance of Lulgr
Brandt, who, like himself, was locked
up on charge of forgery. Brandtvg
the son of a general in the Norwegm
army. When both had been releasi
Meyer resumed his practice in Chag
and employed Brandt as his collector.
In 1891 Brandt was insured under the
name of Gustav Maria Joseph Baum ia
the following companies and for the FOL-
lowing amounts: Washington Life, of
New York, $1,000; New York Life,
$1,000; Etna Life, 81, 900; Mutual Lie,
$500.
Brandt agreed to help Meyer in max
ing a little money out of the lnsuraIy
companies. Brandt was to feign Sill
ness, corpse was to be secured by N
doctor and passed off as that Of Bran
Brandt's death was to be reported al
certified, and when the assurances wt
collected the spoils were to be divide
Meyer persuaded Brandt that itU
necessary to the success of the pE
that Brandt should pose as the husbaN
of Mrs. Meyer. A marriage ceremG I
was actually performed on February u
1892, and Brandt called at the insurn@
offices and had his policies made Et
BILE to his wife" Four or five days Ma
Brandt and the Meyers came ton
York with man who then used TIKI
name of August Winners, who hs /
served two years in Joliet for uslH
the mails in the distribution OF Eaudi
lent matrimonial advertisements,
fiat was rented at No. 800 West llf
teenth Street. The landlord was ., 'Ia
that his new tenants were Mr.. ana Nj, I
Joseph Baum, and that they hau !"
dodgers with them to help thenv~
with the rent. One Of the lodgen va
Winners, the other was Meyer WIZ
called himself William, IR,eentor, ~
Baum, or Brandt, beg.I rapidly
fail in health. 1t is possible that ~
poor, misguided wretch for Whl.em t
ceived himself thinking that the S!ag
toms which he did not regard as seI 1I
were capital help to his plan to snII
severe illness. They would give It%
istic touch to his performance HI
charged that ne had been dosea
minute but continuous doses OF s.I
mony, whose effect is slowly but sulG
to produce fatal dysentery.. l's%T
charged that to dull the pain ana ~
guise some other symptoms III s,;,s
simultaneously dosed with an e og1
On March 80, 1892, five days, al E.as
doctors warning, Brandt dled-l"i
ly fooled out Of his existence ..,+
Minden gave a death certificate, '''T
chronic dysentery as the cause
widow applied for her insurance sh n.V
with such indecent haste that 'ne
picions of the companies were alou
WINNERS and the Meyer couple ~ ~
ed danger and left town IN So Nv
The doctor and his wife were hea'
after that at Chicago, MllWaukeff' L
ledo, Detroit and South BEND, ll Mn4. 4
Detective H. G. Julian, OF the i ua s.
Life Insurance Company, was u''
to run down the criminal. IL Wasadb III
and difficult chase. Meyer chan sbSte
name and his residence SO often va "a b
continually threw his pursuer t trs
track. The chase lasted some s s%
months, and finally ended IN the '"F
in Detroit. ,o,,rbt i6