The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-08-07
He MAKES VIGOROUS DENIAL
OF THE ACCUSATION THAT HE At
TEMPTED TO POISON HIS
WIFE.
MRS. HULL's CONDITION SERIOUS.
Experts Will Today Examine the
contents of the Bottle Thought
to Contain Arsenic.

R-~N0No
Portable day yesterday. Mr.. Hull was
brought from the Ducas street station
yesterday morning and turned loose in
the bull pen at the police court along
with some score of other prisoners.
When the case was called Hull. with
evident signs of embarrassment. walked
10 the bar and looked inquiringly
toward Judge Twohy. In reply to a
question of the court Hull said with
some show of indifference that he
guessed ne knew the nature of the
charge against him. City Prosecutor
oppenheim then made a motion that
the case be continued for one week and
that the defendant be committed to
jail In the meantime without bail.
Hull said this would be satisfactory
and also Informed the court that he
had secured no attorney and had not
given the matter any thought. He
was taken back to the bull pen and
the regular business of the court taken
up. The complaint en- which Hull was
arraigned was sworn to by PatroIman
John 2. Mckinley, and reads as fol-
lows:
THAT J. c. Hull willfully and fell
on1ously, and with the intent BY him
had and entertained to kill human
being administered to and caused to be
administered to one Mrs Hull, wife
of said defendant, a certain deadly
poison, to wit: Strychnine and some
other poison whose name is to COM
plainant unknown and did by reason
of the same endanger the life of the
said Mrs. Hull, he the said defendant
then and there intending to kill and
take the life of said Mrs. Hull
Hull was taken to the county jail
shortly after his arraignment and given
cell on the first floor. Seen yesterday
afternoon by G 0 b reporter, Hull
was lying on bunk in the cell and
said he had nothing to say. He after
ward changed his mind and while re-
fusng to discuss the case, said Mr.. o.
Il Lewis, who resides on the West
side, and is a member of the firm Of
Rallam & Lewis, had called to see
him and also to the house. to see his
wife. This was the only attorney he
had seen, and Mr.. Lewis could, he said,
hardly he called his attorney as the
visit made was more in the nature OF
a friendly call than otherwise.
Asked as to the insurance which was
reported to be in force on his wifess
taken out, one in October and the other
in November, 1894, for $500 each. One
of these was in the Northwestern Life
association of Minneapolis, and the
other in the Mutual of New York. The
last mentioned policy was not now in
force, having lapsed in May last. The
one in the Northwestern Life of Mime
apolis. was still in force. The fact that
the policies had been taken out in the
latter part of 1894, Hull intimated
would show that his wife at that time
was in excellent health and there could
not have been any indic ations of arseni-
cal poisoning at that time. Further
than this, he did not care to talk and
excusing himself for not being more
communicative, he again sought the
couch in the cell.
Mrs Hull passed fairly comfortable
day and according to the reports from
DR.. Hawkins, who is attending her.
she is a tri1e better. She is obliged to
remain in a darkened room with wet
ice cloths on her eyes, which are
swollen almost shut. This Is one Of
the symptoms, DR.. Hawkins says, of
chronic arsenical poisoning. The wom-
ans condition, the doctor further says,
is very serious and 1T will take months
of the best care and treatment to
restore her to her normal condition.
She is attended by several neighbors,
since her husband took charge of the
Clinton avenue church and have taken
considerable interest in her A call
was made at the residence, but it was
impossible to see Mrs. Hull, and neither
of the daughters could be prevailed
upon to say anything regarding the
case.
At the time DR.. Hawkins called in
the morning, Mrs. Hull expressed a
desire to see Mr.. o. B. Lewis, and that
gentleman was teleDhoned for Mr.
Lewis went to the Jail and had short
conversation with Mr.. Hull and then
visited the Hull residence and had an
hours talk with Mrs. Hull. Seen yes
terday afternoon, Mr.. Lewis said he
was acting in the matter merely as an
advisor, and that the county attorney
would have charge Of the prosecution
of the case. There was very little to
be said in the matter. There were
some things which he said looked bad
for Hull He had been in the habit
of administering medicine to his wife
for some time, and very often after she
had insisted that the medicine made
her sick She had been suspicious that
her husband had been giving her
poison since April last, and had wa ched
him herself and also directed her
daughter Blanche, who is about IA years
old, to watch him. When her husband
went into closet w Wednesday nlSnL
and put a bottle from which she had
been taking medicine in his pocket,
she became satisfied that something
was wrong, and the charge and arrest
followed
Mr. Lewis telephoned to the agent Of
the Northwestern Life association. in
Minneapolis. and ascertained that the
policy of $500 which had been taken
out on the life of Mrs. Hull was still In
force The policy was taken out ac-
cording to the statement Of the officers
of the company in October. 1894. Mr..
Lewis said he understood that the pol-
icy In the Mutual Of New York, taken
out at the same time as the other one.
had 1apsed in May last although he
was not sure that such was the case.
Things he said looked bad for Hull, but
still he might be entirely innocent Of
the charge and the victim of chain OF
peculiar circumstances. Mrs Hull. he
said was in very high state of nerv-
Gus excitement, and he for this reason
had not been able to talk much with
her. Whether the charges would be
pressed or not Mr.. Lewis could not say.
He intended to see Mrs. Hull again
within few days and would then be
able to talk more definitely about the
case.
There he'd been some talk about the
filing of information of insanity against
Hull. but this, however. could not be
x-orffiod This talk Craw ont Of state