The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-10-12
MORE EVIDENCE
AGAINST BROWN
Is Expected to Be Brought Out
in the Chicago Fraud Case.
YOUNGSTOWN MAN IN TROUBLE
Terrible Conspiracy Unearthed by Chicago
Authorities to Defraud Insurance
Companies, which Finally
Ended In Murder.

F. wayland Brown, who was arrested
in Chicago charged with being implicat-
ed in an alleged attempt to defraud in
surance companies out Of $4,000 through
the death of Marie Defenbach, resided i,
Youngstown for a number of years
holding the position of Superintendent
| Of the Youngstown Electric Street Rail-
way company. Mr.. Brown was former
| Cleveland man.
Chicago police are still investigating
the death of Miss Defenbach, who died
| August 25, in boarding house In La
Sale avenue, under conditions which
| the police believe indicate a plot to
| swindle an insurance company and two
insurance societies. II they do not point
to murder and for whose death three
persons-Detective Francis Wayland
Brown, DR.. August fingers and Frank
Smiley-all seem TO be implicated to
such an extent that their arrest has
followed.
Chicago is greatly agltated over the
mystery. Two weeks after the girl hal
taken out the three policies aggregating
s12, 900 she died and her body was ere
mated by her own Instructions. She ho d
WllCu CNGIythihS " hti diuuHCCut
Smiley. Suspicion therefore rests on
him.
Tuesday, the police searched Browns
desk at the Mooney & Boland agency
but found no evidence against him.
There were rumors that Smiley had con-
fessed, but these are denied. Neverthe-
less, it is believed he will turn states
evidence at the trial.
Miss Defenbach was a very attractive
young woman, about 25 years of age
and has often served as an artists
model.
Through DR.. Unger she met Brown,
who was at the time the assistant man.
ager of the detective firm known as the
Mooney & Boland agency, and Brown
in turn introduced the girl to Frank II.
Smiley, an employe of the agency, to
whom she became engaged about ten
minutes after their introduction. The
supposition is that the plot was form
ed between the girl herself. Unger and
Brown, and that after her large policies
were secured she was to pretend death,
another body was to be substituted in
place Of hers and cremated, 80 that all
trace Of her identity would be lost and
the girl and DIR. Unger going to Europe
for a time. Miss Defenbach had sepa-
rated from her family, so they would
not be apt to start an inquiry for her.
But complications arose. Brown, too,
1t is said, discovered that in order TO
collect insurance money one must have
some relation to the person insured
also that an engagement of marriage
was acknowledged as a relationship suf-
ficient to enable the inheritance of the
full value of all policies. At that juno
ture things became too complicated for
the two men to manage alone, so Brown,
1t is claimed, called Smiley to the res
cue, telling him that Miss Defenbach,
owing to the rupture with her family,
was unwilling to have them inherit any
of her money. preferring rather to leave
1t to her friends. So Smiley became en-
gagged to the girl, while Unger advanced
$3.50 to pay for one Of her policies, and
then becoming frightened, took the mat
ter into his own hands, and sent her, II
is alleged, a deadly powder instead OF
the harmless one which she had ex-
pected.
While dying the girl called repeatedly
for "Unger, Unger Unger," even spelling
his name on her fingers, when she wes
in such torture she could no longer
| talk.
Francis Wayland Brown was born in
Youngstown 80 years ago and was the
son of a noted Baptist layman. who
named his boy after the great preacher,
Francis Wayland, who was for years
| the president Of Brown university
Young Brown went to school in New
York and completed his education In
| Colgate university. After that he wen.
to Cleveland to begin his business life,
and there met Miss Cora Lawrence.
whom he afterWard married,