Omaha daily bee., 1899-11-15
TRAFFIC IN HUMAN BODIES
Frank G. Thompson, City Undertaken Of
Memphis, is Arrested at st, Louis.
TAKING FOUR coRPSES TO KEoKUK
Makes n Clean Breast of the whole
ATnir-He Has Been Selling bodies
to Medical Colleges Through
out the Country.

ST. LOUIS, Nov. 14.-Four zinc-lined
trunks, such as are used by travelling men
to carry samples, each containing a corpse,
were taken from the baggage room at Union
station today, and Frank Thompson, city
undertaken at Memphis, Tenn, Is under ar
rest.
| For some time the police have been aware
/ that trafic in human bodies has been going
on through this city and have been on the
watch for the guilty ones. Recently a
| shipment OF four bodies in trunks was made
| to w. II. Hansen at Keokuk, Ia, for whom
! those captured today were also intended.
The expressman who hauled the trunks from
the Keokuk depot told the station master
there that he believed they contained
bodies. An investigation was put on foot
and the police Of this city notified to look
out for any other shipments with the result
| mentioned
| When taken to police headquarters Thomp-
son made clean breast OF the whole af-
| fair He said he had the contract for
| burying the city dead of Memphis. For
| some time he had been selling the bodies
| to medical colleges throughout this part of
the country. His method was to pack them
with excelsior in drummers' zinc-lined
| trunks and take them with him as baggage
! as far as st. Louis. From here he shipped
the trunks to their destination by express.
Thompson said he had been paid all the
way from $50 to 5000 per body. He said
| the name w. II. Hansen. to whom the
| trunks were addressed in Keokuk, is
| fictitious one but refused to state who
his consignee is.
| In the trunks are the bodies OF three ne
groes. two men and boy, and white
| woman. From appearances they all died OF
consumption or some other wasting dis
| ease. The white woman was evidently
somebody OF refinement, judging from her
looks Her features are regular and her
hair black Her front teeth are gold filled.
All the bodies are we'll preserved.
This afternoon man entered the morgue
and was overheard by the police to utter
words that indicated he knew about the case
He was arrested on suspicion. The police
will not reveal his name. Another arrest
was also made, but 1t is believed to be un-
important.
Memphis Police Not Surprised.
MEMPHIS, Tenn, Nov. 1.-THE follow
ing telegram from st. Louis was received
at police headquarters this afternoon:
I'VE have under arrest Frank Thompson, |
who we understand is an undertaken in
your city. Arrested for having in his charge
four trunks containing dead bodies, three
black and one white. Understand he is
taking the bodies to Keokuk for disposal
at that point. What do you know about
him? JOHN w. CAMPBELL,
Chief OF Police"
The news Of Thompson's arrest in St. Louis |
was not a surprise to the police of this !
city, who have suspected for some time |
that Wholesale robbery OF bodies was be- |
ing carried on in this city.
Frank Thompson Is an employe of the un- |
dertaking firm Of E. D. Thompson & Co., |
who have held the office OF county under |
takers for several years. The first time |
Thompson came conspicuously before the |
public was a little over a year ago. when |
the newspapers made the sensational an |
nouncement that corpses were being shipped |
from here by express in boxes supposed to |
contain books. The name Of Thompson was |
connected with the affair. but 1t was never |
possible to trace the rumors down to a |
satisfactory knowledge of the facts 1t |
was never shown that the Thompson whose |
name was associated with that clandestne
traffic was connected with the Thompson
who officiated county undertaken here,
although Frank Thompsons acquaintances
often joked with him about it. He always |
denied that he was engaged in the corpse
trade.
The records OF the city board of health
show that the following bodies have been
turned over to the county undertaken in
the last week: Lulu Jones, Carrie Gray,
George Butler, Rufus Jack, Frank Jackson,
William White. All of these were negroes.
The Identification of the white woman
whose body was found in one OF the trunks
has aroused considerable interest among
the police. The records show that a firm
of Thompson & Co. has buried several
white women recently and further develop
ments are expected.
Lulu Atkins, a white girl, died at the
city hospital on October 27, and being with
out friends or money, she was turned over
TO the county undertaken. She came here
from Arkansas.
Chief of Police Richards announced to-
night that Thompson would be brought to
Memphis for trial.
At late hour tonight it was learned that
the white woman whose body was found in
one Of the four trunks captured by the police
in st. Louis was Mrs. Jennie r. Mcclure.
The woman had been in the Shelby county
insane asylum, coming here from Little
Rock about nine months ago. On Friday
last she died OF cancer and the remains were
turned over to e. d. Thompson Co. for
interment.
kEOkUk, Ia, NOV. 14.-Omcers OF the
Keokuk Medical college say they know moth
ing about Thompson, arrested at st. Louis
on the charge of shipping bodies out of the
state, and that ir he was bringing them here
they did not know It, The baggageman at
the Union station denies that he furnished
information on which the arrest was made
or that he knows anything about Thompson.
The law is very strict about dissection and
there are only about half dozen bodies a
year to be legally obtained, while 12O are re-
quired for the number OF students in the
state under the medical college regulating
act.