The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-10-09
PLOT OR A MURDER
HANDSOME MARIE DEFENBACH
DIED ~ CHICAGO.
LEFT POLICIES FOR $4,000.
THREE ALLEGED CoNSPIRATORs
HAVE BEEN ARRESTED.

Relieved the Young woman Was Dc-
ceived-she Thought Her Death
Was 60 he FciEned-susptcious CTR
cumstancc= OF the Case-insurance
Company and Societies aud the
AuthoritIe. win Pursne the Invcs-
tiERuon.
Chicago oct s-With insurance upon
her life amounting TO $1,000. Marie Dcfcu-
bach aged g. died Aug. % In a boarding
house on I.aSallc avenue under conditions
which the police believe Indicate a plot TO
swindlc an insurance company and two
Insurance societies. II they do not point
to murder
The detectives heicve that a conspiracy
vas concoetcd and that Miss Defenhach
was originally one of the qunrtette of al
legged cousplrators She had expected that
her death was TO hc feigned and that an
other body was 20 play the passive role
Of her corpse instead OF that. real death
came 10 her Upon bench warrants issued
hy Judge Gibbons. three persons said 20
be implicated IN the casc-Dr August N.
Uuger. Frank " Smiley ana = Waylaud
Brown-haVe been arrested Tho latter Is
assistant manager of a detective agency.
iic was arrested to-day on his return
from Virglnia The men under arrest were
arragued before Judge Gibbons. ana in
default of s5.oco bail each. were commit
ted 10 jail
when Marie Defenhach diei there
were three Insurance policies on her ufe
aggregating u2con. am OF rccen, date. ana
issued IN tho following companies ana as
sociafions: New York Life Insurance
Company 5000. Canadian order OF For
esters. $500. Knights and Ladies' Of
Honor, f2ooo Tho alleged conspiracy has
been Investigated with searching care by
private detective agency. by the Chi
caRo attorney and detectives Of tho New
York Life Insurance Company. and lat
terly by the ntates attorney himself
Yesterday at a meeting between states
Attorney Dineen. Assistant states Attor-
ney willard VI McEwen Edward O'Bry-
an attorney for the New York Life In
surance Company. and Edward Maher. at
torney for the de,ective agency tho case
cause the immediate arrest OF the ssua-
poets
Last April Miss Defenbach applied %
tho New York Insurance Company for q
$1,000 policy. This was refused on the
ground that she was not possessed OF
sufficient property interests 20 warrant 80
large a risk. although fhs was examined
and declared 90 b. In perfect hotlth. In
July Miss Defenhach succeeded In obtain
INK from tho New York company a poil,v
for 500 and this formed part OF the
estate she left
About the middle of August Miss Defen-
bach also secured insurance in tho cana
dian order of Foresters 20 the amount of
5000 About the same time she took out
a policy in the knights and Ladies Of
Honor for S2GO. Two weeks la'er she WAS
dead, leaving a will which directed that a
part Of the policies should be paid 10
Frank II Smiley. her afhancCd hus and =
and that her body Ec crcmated.
Hor death. az boarding house In Ia
Sale avenue. was attended by tho most
horrible agony. prs. Leonard and Schroe-
der. the latter representing the knights
and Ladies Of Honor. were called. They
refused 20 issue q certificate of death.
hut the c1roner's jury later. aud after the
tody had been cmhalmcd. found verdict
n death from dysentcry. The next daY
were scattered To the winds.
without much delay proceedings were
begun 90 recover the value Of the iusur-
ance policies Miss Dcfenbach had left
owing 10 the unusual circumstances sur
rounding her demise. the hurried emhnlm-
ing Of the body. followed the next day
IS cremation. pa ymeut ~ the policies
were refused. and immediate steps were
taken to trace the womaa's career during
the last few months Of her ne
An unusual Incident was connected with
the making 81 Miss Dofcnhach's wifi
On Aug e. Miss Dsfcubach called at the
ofiice 81 q lawyer in tho Unity building
named johnson. ana cold him she wanted
20 make her viii. some days earlier Dr.
UnRer had. it is stated. tod this lawyer
. woman would coll on him for thls pur.
pose. aud she announced she had come
ln accordance with the appointment. She
told Mr. johnson she wanted 10 leave her
property TO Frank II Smiley. hcr afi-
anccd husband. and then sine went away
Two days afferward she returned and Mr.
johnson had the wiil ready. D, provided
a. she had instructed. that after her
debts were paid her property Was to %
TO Smiley. bat she then wanted another
provision Inserted. II was that after
her death her body bo cromated.
This somewhat surpriscd Mr Johns n.
as be could not understand how "a Young
aud handsome woman would wsa her
fody burned after death. bur he compile
with the request H. was 20 struck with
the circumstance however. as thc crcmA-
ton clause had not tcru iu the origins
instruction. that be called in Wltnes cs
from adjoining offices or o matter ~ pro
lection Miss Defsutach then signed aud
executed The document Two days later
She waa dead
n was learned to-day that. hesidas 'he
policies taken out on Aiss befeubach's
life. several others had been applied Tor.
In each cusc $1,000 WIS sought
DELAWARE AND THE DISTRICT.