The Portland daily press., 1894-05-01
MRS. GETCHELL OF SIDNEY
She Is on Trial Charged with Poison.
ing Her Husband.
SCENES AT THE OPENING OF A
MYSTERIOUS CASE.

| circumstances of the Death of William
Getchell-Long Quest of the Oficers-
| Suspicion Pointed to Mrs. Getchell-
Judge Wiswen Trying the Case.
Especial to the Press.]
| Augusta, April 3O.-The mysteri GUS Sidney
| murder case came up for trial before Judge
| Wisweu this morning. Judge Whitehouse
of this city, had been designated to try the
| case, but he had to start for Oxford county
today. Therefore Judge Wiswel1 of Els
| worth was appointed.
| The case is mysterious because all tn g
| efforts of the county officials to fix the guilt
upon whoever poisoned William Getchel of
| Sidney December 9th last, have been kept
very secret, and very little comparatively,
has been said about the case In the papers.
| Briefly recounted, the facts thus far de-
| veloped are that on the ninth of last Decem-
Der, William Getchen of Sidney, robust
farmer, drank portion of gin and NOR
phine, prescribed for him by DR.. Brickett of
| Augusta. At dinner he was taken with a
severe pain in the head and stomach, and
died at seven o'clock that eveing, the symp-
| toms being those of poisoning.
! The neighbors and relatives Of Getchen
| became
SUSPICIOUS OF FOUL PLAY
and said so to County Attorney Carleton,
| who called Coroner Libby's attention to the
matter. He had the body dug up and the
| stomach sent to Prof. Robinson of Bowdoin
| for analysis. A large quantity of strychnine
was found
| Sheriff Norton and his deputies then be-
| gan still hunt for the place where the
| poison was bought. 1t was learned that
| Mrs. Getchell, to whom suspicion pointed,
might have got strychnine from Lowell,
Mass, and the sheriff visited that city, but
without success. Drug stores far and near
were visited, but no trace of the strychnine
| has been found.
| Suspicion pointed to Mrs. Getche1 be-
cause her husband died so suddenly, and
she could have administered strychnine in
his medicine easier than anyone else. Also
there was suspicion of relations between
her and man not her husband. that
aroused suspicious as to Mrs. GetchelIs en-
tire fidelity to her husband.
| Therefore on the eighth of April, the
grand jury at Augusta found an indictment
| against her for murder in the first degree,
charged with
| POlSONlNd dEfO HUSBAND.
She was arraigned before Judge Whitehouse
and pleaded not guilty. Hon. Herbert M.
Heath appeared as her counsel.
| At ten o'clock this morning when Sheriff
Norton called Court, Judge Wiswell entered,
| accompanied by Judge Hall. County At
torney Carleton was present for the state,
and Hon. Herbert M. Heath and F. E.
Southland, ESQ.,, for the defendants
Mrs. Getchell sat in the prisoners dock
| accompanied by her little son, aged about
| six or seven years. She has two other young
children. Her little girl was among the re-
latives inside the railing. She is young
looking woman of about thirty-fve years of
age. She was dressed in mourning and wore
becoming black bonnet. Her face is
plain, determined and intelligent. Her little
boy, who slept, audibly, during good part
of the forenoon, had pretty mourning cap.
There were forty-one traverse jurors, of
| whom five were excused.
The following jurors were drawn: W. P.
Putnam, Waterville; S. W. Brown, farmer,
! Chelsea; George II. Fuller, Gardiner; Fred
D. Lunt, waterville; Samuel Small, West
Gardiner, farmer; Charles E. Pratt,
Augusta, farmer; R. H. Jacobs, Mt. Vernon,
farmer; Jesse T. Bartlett, Gardiner. R. S.
i Il Il
we'll; Frank W. Taber, Vassalboro, farmer;
Charles W. Trafton, Waterville, farmer.
| Several of those jurors who reside at or
near Sidney, confessed to a feeling of bias,
| and were of course dismissed.
Mr.. Heath was very particular in regard
| to the jury After twelve men had been
elected he exercised the right of peremptory
challenge, and J. E. Davis was dismissed.
He challenged the next seven men that
came up.
Mr.. J. E. Brown of Hallowell was ap-
pointed foreman. Judge Wiswell told the
| Jury that they would not be allowed to
separate or to talk with other people. Two
officers were detailed to attend the jury.
The Indictment was then read to the jury.
| Mr.. Heath asked that all
WITNESSES ON THE CASE
expert or otherwise, be excluded from the
court room while each is tetisfying He con-
sidered that it was important in the interest
of Justice, the nature of the case being such
that this order would especially apply to
experts. Mr.. Carleton did not object and
Judge Wiswell made that order without re-
curing Mr.. Heath to give his reasons there
for, but depending upon his honor in the
matter. The lawyers then requested their
|
selection of the jurors occupied all the fore
noon. A recess was then taken until
O'Clock.
The court room was not crowded when
the jury filed in at two o'clock, after the
noon recess. Evidently the public interest
in the caseshad not yet beensawakened. Mrs
Getchell appeared gain with her little son
She removed the black veil that she wore
during the forenoon.
County Attorney Carleton opened the case
for the government. He declared that the
state charges the prisoner at the bar, Clara
Ella Getchell with the deliberate murder o1
her husband. He said that he should never
cease to regret the absence of Attorney
General Powers, who is kept away by ill
ness He addressed the jury at length as tc
their responsibilities and the prisoners
rights. He said that the government sswould
rely largely upon circumstantial evidence
He here
RELATED THE FACTS OF THE CASE,
Mr.. Getchell died Saturday and Was
| buried the next Tuesday He was a tough,