Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1900-10-08
STARTLING CHICAGO CRIME
L Was a Scheme 10 Swinde Insurance
Companies,
The Victim Was supposed 60 FeIgn
Death, but Real Death
Came.

Chicago. oct. S-The Tribune says;
The prosecuting authorities OF Cook
county last night laid hands on VIVA,
they regard as one Of the startling
crimes Of the countys history. Charges
Of conspiracy, back Of which are allied
insinuations Of murder are lodged
against three men, two Of whom are
already In custody.
These men win have to answer ale
cations Of a carefully laid plot to swim
die an Insurance company and two in
surance societies-a plot which, il is
said. progressed with the growth Of fear
into the actual death. by poison It is
thought, Of the insured person,
According to the theory on which the
prosecution viii proceed the dead per-
son a young woman Of Chicago, was
originally one Of the quartet Of con-
spiratJrs. She had expected that her
death was to be feigned and that an
other dead body was 20 play the pass
siye role Of her corpse; instead Of that,
real death came 20 her
The person whose death adds a new
place TO what otherwise would have
been a simple insurance swndle was
Marie DefenbaCh, % years old, and the
two persons arrested upon bench war
rants Issued by judge Gibbons, are
Dr. August NJ Unger.
Frank II. Smiley.
a third person for whom the war
rant has been ISSUED has not yet been
arrested. 1t Is said he IS out OF the
city.
When Marie Defenbach died there
were, three insurance policies on her
life, aggregating 2l2 1000. AN Of recent
date. and issued IN the following COM
pany and associations;
New York Life Insurance company,
5000. Canadian order of FOrestors,
5000; Knights and Ladies Of Honor,
$1,000
The alleged conspiracy has been In
yestgated with searching care by a
private detective agency, by the Chica-
60 attorney and detectives Of the New
York Life Insurance company, and lat
terly by the States attorney himself.
Yesterday at a meeting between the
States attorney, DIneen, Assistant
t'hNhN sAAANAHAN W lAIAAlA W. - NJ q T.
Edward Mahcr attorney for the de-
tectiye agency, the case was cgnvassed
and Il was decided TO cause the i'm
mediate arrest Of the suspects.
Last April, Miss Defenbach applied
to the New York Insurance company
for a $4,000 policy, This was refused
and later one for 5000 taken
On or about August 10 last she also
secured insurance In the Canadian or
der OF Foresters 20 the amount Of &c. %
O00 At the same date she took out "a
policy IN the knights and Ladies Of
Honor for 81 ,O0l Two weeks after
wards she was dead leaving q will.
which directed that a part OF these In
surance policies should be- paid TO
Frank H. Smiley. her "aiiianced hus-
band and that her body Doe cremated
Her death was attended by the most
horrible agony. The attending ply
siclans refused TO issue certificate Of
death, but the coroner's jury later and
afetr the body had been embalme3
found a verdict OF death from dyseu-
terv The next day the body was cree
mated and the ashes We're scattered 90
the four winds OF heaven, without
much DELAY. proceedings were begun 90
recover the value Of the Insurance poll
Cies she had left This was resisted
by the insurance companies with the
result that the fraud was discovered