Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-12-20
SHE NAY NOT Be CONVICTED

~ AAN ~ - A~NA>
sessed as she took the stand on cross
examination. The tedious question
ing of the lawyers failed to discom.
pose her At times her beautiful face
flushed and she emphatically denied
statements of other witnesses and
when attempts were made to inquire
OF which was discouraged by the
court.
Sigourney, Dec. 19.-(SpeciaD =
Evidence in the Kuhn murder trial
was closed yesterday at a o'clock
Argument of counsel began this morn
ing at 9 o'clock. The theory of the
defense seems to be that Kuhn being
in condition of impotency had sui
cided and perhaps had homicidal ten
denotes. Expert witnesses testified
that man in that condition would
have tendency towards melancholia,
a form of insanity, and that the prob
abilities are that he would contem-
plate suicide. That Kuhn himself
placed the strychnine in the beer in
order to kill himself and wife, or that
he took an overdose Of strychnine ac-
cidentally, as the physicians testified,
strychnine is common remedy for
impotency.
The evidence in rebutta1 went to
show that the persons who had met
and talked with Kuhn daily up to the
time of his death had noticed no indi-
cations of melancholy or anything I'M
usual in his manner.
The defendant seemed excited and,
leaning forward in her, chair, eagerly
drank in every word of the evidence
offered in rebuttal n
The Evidence.
Hiram Smith recalled. Testified
that on the night of September l.,
1900, after he had gone to bed, Chas.
Kuhn came after him to go to his
house; that he went with him; that he
seemed excited and first stopped at
his barn and looked in and then went
to the clubhouse and looked in and
then went to the house; that Mrs.
Kuhn came down from upstairs; that
he stayed there several minutes, prob
ably thirty minutes. Questions were
asked regarding what was said but
| witness was not allowed to answer, it
| not being proper cross-examination.
Smith further testified that he was at
kuhn's house on the night of his
death; that he saw the defendant cry
ing; that he heard talk of post NOR
TEN examination that night.
Saw. Mrs. Kuhn Crying.
Mrs. Hiram Smith testified that she
was at Kuhn's house the night that
| Charles Kuhn died; that she saw the
defendant there; that she saw the de-
| PENDANT crying; that at one time that
night she and other women thought
that defendant was going to faint and
| took her out on the porch; that de-
| PENDANT was sick and tried to vomit
| several times.
Hypothetical Demonstration.
Edwin Franklin, druggist produced
two bottles of beer with which he had
| experimental. One bottle of the beer
he and others had raised to a tenn
perature of Sc and then removed the
cork and tried to put strychnine in
| the bottle; that this bottle foamed SO
much that he was able to get in but a
small quantity of the grains which he
attempted to put in. The other bottle
was uncorked when at temperature
| of "a and he was unable to get any
| strychnine in the bottle until effer-
vescence had ceased; that he had then
put in ten grains, or nearly ten grains.
| That the first bottle of beer which con.
tanned but small amount of the
strychnine was very bitter to the
taste; the second bottle, of course,
they had not attempted to taste.
Confederation.
Drs. Oliver Bamford, Cilly and Todd
called to the stand by the, defense ties.
titled substantially the same to the eff.
feet that man having died from con
vulsions caused from strychnine poi,
soning, the commissions must have
been very severe, severe enough that
lit would be difficult to hold the man
having such commissions in an ordi.
nary buggy; that the commissions to
have caused death must have been
very severe. They stated that impo.
tency would tend to have depress.
ing effect on a mans mind; that it
causes mental anxiety, discourage,
ment and feeling of unworthiness;
that it has direct tendency to mel,
ancholia, a form of insanity; that a
man in this condition would have sui.
cidal tendencies and probably homi
cidal tendencies. They each in turn
testified that strychnine was the com.
mon remedy for impotency, also can
tharides; that the latter if taken in
excess would effect the kidneys.
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