The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-03-04
Believed to Have Caused Mrs. Shop
herds Death.
STRANGE DISCLOSURES
DIR. HENSEL MAKES A STATE
MENT OF THE CASE.
Says That While On Her Deathbed,
She Made Statement as to the
Cause-Albert Warren Heard It
Police Are Working On the Case
Evidence Difficult to Obtain.

In regard to Mrs. Emma Shepherd,
who died in a room at the Albert block
early last Tuesday morning, some cir
cumstances have been revealed which
have created suspicion that death
was caused from a criminal operation
for abortion. The remains We're buried
from Pratt & Halls undertaking rooms
Thursday afternoon, and the interment
was in the city cemetery. Mrs. Shep-
herds maiden name was Baker, being
daughter of Henry A. Baker of 100
Grape street.
DR.. ]. A. Hensel who attended the
woman near the hour of her death,
stated last evening that he was called
on Friday, Feb. "a, and found the wo-
man in very bad condition, suffering
from peritonitis. He gave a hypoder-
mic injection to relieve pain. There was
plain evidence that a criminal opera
ton had been performed, and for this
reason he declined to do anything in
regard to it except in the presence of
another physician. She showed him an
instrument and some medicine, with
which the operation had been per-
formed. He advised her to go to a hos
pital and asked her to call another
physician. Early Tuesday morning he
was called again, and the woman had
grown decidedly worse. She desired to
make a dying statement, and the doc
tor called in, as witness, Albert War
rem of Parowan, Utah, a student of the
state university, who rooms at the
Albert. Mrs. Shepherd stated a man
named Schafner had used an inStru-
ment for the purpose of performing
the operation, and that she had also
employed it until Dr. Hensel was called.
She said Mrs. Baker had furnished
her with a bottle of medicine, little
of which was left in the bottle. Dr.
Hensel has both the instrument and
medicine at his office.
Mrs. William Miner, who lives with
her husband and family in the Albert
block, nursed the deceased woman
much of the time previous to her death.
To her Mrs. Shepherd impaired in
formation concerning the operation,
which will be given out if the case is
carried into court. The people rooming
in the block are very reticent about
saying anything, although their silence
does not diminish in the least the
strength of the evidence. They talk
about several men having been seen to
go separately into her room. In regard
to the reported calls of a man named
Luke, no definite information could be
obtained.
Mrs. Shepherd was employed as
chambermaid at the Albert. AT the
time of her death she gave her age as
"a, but parties who knew her declare
she was much older. 1t was reported
that her husband is named Christen-
sen, living at Mercur, but this appears
to have been her former husband be-
fore Shepherd, who is not in this vicin-
ity now.
The police are working on the case
and have evidence pointing very
-. ,,--I,r
victing evidence, however. appears
rather difficult to obtain, judging from
a remark of one of the officers that he
believed the matter was known only
to two personS-the dead woman and
the person who performed it,