Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1896-12-31
ECKERT'S DEATH PROBED.
NO EVIDENCE AS TO WHERE THE
POISON GAME FROM.

The Jail Officials. ii Couple of Reporters
the Death Watch, aud Mrs. Eckert an,
Relatives Tell of the Final Scenes, Blu
| No Evidence as to the Poison.
The inquest in the poisoning of Abran
|. Eckert at the county Jail on the morn
ing set for his execution was begun or
| Tuesday afternoon in the arbitration
room of the court house, and was con
Quoted by Coroner Mckee. The pro
ceedings are reported as follows by the
Wilkesbarre Record.
Watchman Foley knew nothing about
the poisoning. He had never heard
Eckert say he would not hang and had
never saw any indication that he was to
end his life in this manner. His friends
gave him nothing but package of
tobacco.
Mr.. Mitchell, on duty the forenoon be-
fore, had given Eckert the medicine ac-
cording to the doctors orders Visitors,
even after the death watch was appoint
ed, were allowed to shake hands with
the prisoner. He could not tell any
thing about two strangers who visited
Eckert the day before. Had never
known Eckert to be visited alone. The
death watch was with the prisoner con-
tinually. Eckerts friends were COM
PEELED to have every package examined,
but he did not know whether their
pockets were searched or not. The son
denied to Warden Boland that he had
given his father anything.
DR.. Lenahan, Jail physician, testified
as to the condition he found Eckert in
after the poisoning. The symptoms were
those of opium poisoning. He gave
some morphine to Eckert as medicine,
but not more than two grains altogether
DR.. Lenahan thinks Eckert took I'll e
morphine after the last time he spoke to
the watchman.
Abram Eckert, son of the dead man,
said he visited his father the day before
death. Mrs. Abram Eckert, Jr. was
called, and she told of the visit of the
family.
Mrs. Sarah O'Rourke told of her last
visit to the jail. She admitted saving
to Warden Boland last July that her
brother would never hang, giving as her
reason for the statement that she had q
dream in which some visionary person
told her that he would not die upon the
scaffold.
Night Watchmen Falon and Mitchell
had nothing new to tell going over the
story as told by the other witnesses.
Chemist Dean submitted the result of
the examination he conducted. He said
he found traces of morphine in the
stomach, kidneys and urine, but none in
the liver.
Warden Boland had nothing to offer
that would throw light upon the death
He told of the pains taken TO keep a
watch upon the man and of the visit of
the family the day previous to the morn
ing set for the execution.
Deputy Ritterspaugh told of his duties
at the Jail and of how packages were
examined.
Owen p. Keenly and Richard Ward,
reporters, told of their presence the day
before and the morning after the poison
ing and of the farewells. Their stories
threw no light upon the poisoning
Mrs. Eckert, widow of the deceased.
was also called. Her examination was
quite brief. She denied having any
knowledge of the poison or who gave it
and he had not told her that he would
do anything of the kind She said that
the crime was bad enough at first, but
now it is worse. The only thing her
husband said to her was to be strong
and to have hope, that he would only
have to walk up the scafIod and it
would all be over in a twinkling. Mrs
Eckert, while she told her story, was
considerably affected and had hard work
trying to keep back the tears.
The jury yesterday returned IA ver-
diet Death was due to morphine they
say. administered by an unknown person