Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1899-03-03
THE JURY oBEYs COURT ORDER
GoSSirs RE, EIVED \ Ut>rING IL
DICIAL HEHtKE.
Trial Of the Case Reminds Oldtimers
Of the Celebrated Nctilicott Poi
sontnS Case. Which Aritat-
cd the Village Minds
Thirty Years Ago.
LAWRENCE. KAs.. March Especial,


trial here for The past ten days lie
charge Of having murdered his wife. LYDIA.
returned verdict of NOT guilty this morn
Ing and the defendant was discharged.
The verdict OF the jury was in accord
ance with The instructions Of the trial
Judge. Hon. =. 4. Riggs. ioreshadowed
In yesterdays issue OF The journal. and
who from the inception OF the case eH-
cluded all evidence which the prosecution
believed would result in the connecting Of
the defendant with the death of his wife
from arsenicai poisoning.
- As preface 10 his instructions TO the
jury TO acGuit. Judge Rigs stated that he
was about 20 perform most unusual ju-
dicial duty. but he believed I; to b- his
duty TO perform. He reviewed the testi-
mony OF the Witnesses. and in his comments
explained his reasons for excluding partic-
ular portions from Jury consideration. The
evidence against Eunkei. he declared. had
its origin in neighborhoOd gossip and was
OF such character that his conscience
would not permit him to admit II in q
case where defendant was on trial for
his life.
After the verdict was rendered Kunkel
mechanically shook hands with his coun-
sci and a few acduaintances. and then re-
turned 10 his tailoring establishment as
though his experience in the courtroom was
The MeddlecOtt Case.
The Kunkel poisoning case is the second
. in the history of Lawrence. The first was
the Medlicott case. which is celebrated in
the criminal annals Of Kansas and Is prob
ably more often referred to by lawyers
than any other poisoning case tried IN the
western half Of the continent.
The story is one OF intrigue, too trust
ing husband and scientific murderer. 1t
vas in 1867 that Isaac NJ. Ruth. a resident
! OF Lawrence. moved to St. Louis ard be-
came an employe of the postofiice, There
he met and loved the wife Of prominent
criminal lawyer named Vaoir. An in
trigue followed by a shooting and horse
whipping srape in which the injured hus-
band was wounded and divorce resulted.
The woman was given the custody Of the
children and after marriage ceremony
to Lawrence He obtained employment in
the Office of the Tribune as bookkeeper
and set up a modest establishment in
quiet street.
Mrs. Ruth Attracted Men.
Mrs. Ruth was a very attractive woman
and of the pronounced Creole type of
beauty. She is credited with having made
ennquests, but in the most lasting one
Dr. John J. Medlicott figured. Medi1ott
vas an Ohioan. OF distinguished ag.,ear-
ance and manners, and was the Beg Brum-
mel of the village. Gossip never; onnected
his namo with that Of Mrs. Baths in an
intimate way. but time developed the TACT
that Q liaison bad existed for months be
Qce, the sensational expose was made.
6edlicott's wife. some years older than he:
s %nnhs n !hs sus snfns so
|veyed 10 Its last resting place by multi
tude of mourning and IS sympatahiziing -p arzin!;
the absence of his wife in Leavenworth.
He had retired at his usual hour and the
next day he was found dead ~ his room room,
On a table beside his bed lay note ad-
dressed TO his wife. which read:
Ruth's Accusing Note.
.'Darlng:-The docforlI mean Dr. Med
licott-gave me a duinine powder Wednes-
day night, April &C. The effects are these:
/ had a terrible sensation of q rush OF
blood to the head and my skin burns and
itches. / am becoming numb and blind.
NOT keep my mind sieady- Precipitation
stands out all over my body and ! feel
terribly. The clock has just struck II and
write this 80 that if never see you again
you may have my body examined and see
what the matter ma s, IS ,orS, %er ana or so
'I cannot see TO write more. God bless
you and may We meet in heaven; ;,,,f Your
Towards the end the wording OF the note
was almost an ind-cipherable scrawi: the
disconnected letters indicating the horrible
agony the dying man experienced.
An autopsy was held with the result that
DIR. Medhcott was arrested and formally
charged with murder. an analysis of the
contents Of Ruth's stomach ny chemists of
the Kansas university showing that death
had been due TO morphine and afrophne
and the contents OF her stomach were also
analysed, the report being that morphine
and atrophine had been found !n large
quantities.
GossiPs Held High Carnival.
It was then that the tongues OF the vii
= N fhRv All
thirty years later in the kunkel case. The
facts that Medlicott had been a constant
visitor to the Ruth home, had played chess
with Mrs. Ruth night after night and had
made a boon companion OF Ruth. were COM
mented on and The deaths of Mrs. Medli-
cott and Ruth described with such start
ling attention to details. Us they existed
In the imaginations OF the chroniclers that
public feeling ran high ana AT times all
that was needed TO launch iynching bee
Before the time came for Mcdicott's trial
Mrs. Ruth had been arrestef-ws an acces-
lepired to kill the wife and husband in order
hat they could live for each other. The
|sttofneys for Medlicott Scion q. Thacher
and w. w. Nevison. asked for a change of
venue on account of the state of public
iselinE. and the case was transferred 10
the court OF Judge o. A. Bassett. nt Gar
net. in Anderson county.
Trial Lasted Twenty Days.
The trial was one OF the mos; vigorously
fought In the history of Kansas The pros
ecutors were John Hutchings. then county
attorney Of Douglas county. and Tom Fen
wormley, an eminent toaicoiosist. Of CO.
lumbus. o., and now of the faculty OF the
college of'Physiciars and Surgeons OF Phil
adelphia, was the principal Witness for the
defense. and he proved 70 the satisfaction
Of his employers that morphine and afro
q. phine had not been the cause OF Ruth 5
death. as one was an antidote for the other
The prosecutors met his evidence with the
statement that Medlicott had tust given
eha f.ffV nd haf frsr IL h.s-
gan fits work OF death atrophine was ad-
ministered In order 10 remove the teii-tale
evidences morphine always leaves behind.
Tho trial lasted twenty days. and ended
IN November. 1871. In a verdict of guilty. The
penalty being death.
Reversed by Sapreme Court.
The case WAS appealed TO the supreme
court and was reversed. the principal rsa-