The herald., 1898-06-11
SHE POISONED HERSELF
FURY FOUND THAT MRS. BUsER
COMMITTED SUICIDE
THE POISON NOT Determined
Autopsy Was Perfunctory but the
Evidence Went to Exonerat the
Woman's Relatives


the undertaking rooms of Orr e. Hines, tina (
Mrs. Emily Buser, who died suddenly at
her home on Vermont avenue, mile and Il
half south of the city. Thursday night, had
committed suicide. The autopsy was en-
tirely too perfunctory for any verdict to
have been entirely satisfactory, but all #
the evidence heard at the trial went to ex-
oneratc the deceased's relatives from sus-
picion. John Buser, the husband; A. j.
Buser, a son, and VIM. Fox, the hired man,
were all detained at the police station yes
terday morning. pending the verdict or the
coroner's inquest. From the statements
made by the deceased TO Fox on the after
noon before she died. Mrs. Buser accused
her husband of having threatened to kill
her, but it was proved at the inquest that
she had been out of her mind at times. The
three men were released at the conclusion
of the inquest.
The Sons Evidence
A. ]. Buser, the son of the deceased,
stated that he had been away from his
mother for ten years past, but within the
last year he had gone out to her place for
the purpose of trying to keep the peace be-
tween his mother and father At one time
lie had not seen her for four years. and
on returning noticed a material change in
her. She appeared as if she had had con-
siderable trouble. He knew that his moth
er had been having trouble with her hus-
band. The woman had not acted naturally
at times, and frequently seemed to be out
of her head. She had threatened on several
occasions to comrSit suicide. but had not
said anything about it while he and his
rV,l.
garding this visit. the witness stated that
he had gone there between and o'clock.
His mother had quarreled with him on that
occasion, and told him that he had better
take his furniture out of her house. Buser
said that he had declined to quarrel with
her, and replied if that was the way she felt
about it, why, 1t was all right, and then
he drove away. The reason that he had not
returned for the furniture that evening
had been on account of the lateness of the
hour. The witness stated that he did not
know whether or not there had been any
poison about the house
Fox's Story
VIM. Fox, the hired man, who brought
the news of the woman's death to the
city, took the stand and related the cir
cumstances of her employing him in the
city on Thursday. During the drive to her
home the deceased had told him that she
feared her husband, as he had threatened
to kill her that morning. and she had en-
ployed the witness more for protection
than anything else. After reaching her
home she drove away again, and during her
absence the husband called, and, after ask
ing where Mrs. Buser had gone, got hoe
and went away. Fox said he could not have
seen from where he stood whether or not
Buser entered the house. Shortly after
this Mrs. Buser returned, and then her son
and daughter-in-law drove up, and they
apparently had a quarrel. Mrs. Buser
cried after they had gone and seemed 20
have been unnerved by the dispute, what
ever it had been. Mrs. Buser tried to light
the lamp, but discovered that water had
been mixed with the oil. Fox said that she
went into another room and soon re-
turned, staggering. and told him that she
had drunk a cup of milk and been poisoned.
She ordered him to go for the doctor, and
when he returned with the medicine the
witness found the woman in bed. dead.
The Husband Explains
John Buser. the husband of the de-
been at the house of his wife was in the
morning of last Tuesday. She appeared
to have been troubled with her head for the
past five years and had been acting
strangely at times. The deceased had
tried to commit suicide by jumping into
the ocean once and by taking morphine
three times. SO far as the witness knew,
there had been no poison about the place
fnr tna oct u lac t.
having been to kill gophers. He stated
that divorce proceedings had been begun
By her against him and they had arranged
settlement of the property by which she
was to take the best land.
Hidden Strychnine
Miss Emily Buser, a daughter of the
deceased, said that she had lived with her
mother till within the last month. Mrs.
Buser had acknowledged to the witness
that she had attempted twice to commit
suicide by taking morphine and an elder
brother of the witness had told her that
her mother had tried to drown herself
in the ocean. Her mother had been act
ing queerly for some time. Miss Buser
did not know of any insanity in the fam
ily before, but a brother of her mother
had committed suicide. The witness said
that she had secreted small bottles of
strychnine in the pantry at her mothers
house, and could not say whether the lat
ter had learned of 1t or not. but she thought
not. Miss Buser had no. visited the house
after her mothers death. so could not tell
whether the strychnine had been removed.
No Analysis
DR.. H. G. Brainerd, who performed the
autopsy, said that he had been unable to
detect any signs of poison in the woman's
stomach. He had found coagulated milk
and some other fluid, but whether there
had been poison in it he could not deter
mine with the naked eye. There might
however, have been morphine in the or
gan, but no trace could be found without
an analysis. Nothing was learned at the
autopsy to determine how the woman had
died.
This closed the evidence, and the iurv
soon returned a verdict that the deceased
had come to her death by suicide, by TAX
ing poison, the nature of which the jury
could not determine.
MRS. BUSER'S ESTATE