Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-12-11
WOMAN IS
ON TRIAL.
Mrs. Sarah & Sun is Charged
With the :, ssder of Her
Huss. spd.
PARTIES R sLIyE Eat DELTA
Is Alleged That Th Is a Man
In the Case.
DEATHRESULTED FROM STRYCHNINNE
Woman Exhibits Absolute Indiffer-
ence as the Outcome OF the Case
"A History of the Crime Which oe-
CURED in September.

Sigourney, Dec. 10.-(SpeciaD-The
trial of Mrs. Sarah Kuhn. charged
with the murder of her husband,
Charles Kuhn, in Delta, September 4,
was commenced here this afternoon
with Judge Clements on the bench.
County Attorney Gambell and Byron
Preston, of Oskaloosa. and D. T.
Stockman, of. Sigourney, are attorneys
for the state, and D. w. Hamil-
ton and Colonel G.. H.
Mackey are attorneys for the defend
ant. Mrs. Kuhn absolutely denies her
guilt, exhibits no emotion whatever,
and seems absolutely Indifferent as to
the outcome. Sensational develop
ments are expected when the trial gets
in full swing. 1t is said that the state
will show that there was man in the
case which the state will bring out
as theory for Mrs. Kuhn placing
poison in her husbands beer, while
the couple were driving from What
Cheer to their home n Delta.
Story of the Crime.
The resume of the crime is as fol-
lows: On the night of September A,
1900, Charles Kuhn and wife drove to
What Cheer from their home in Delta,
a distance of about seven miles. While
bologna and beer to eat and drink on
t1,N "a 1nfnnIort
fies that they ate the bologna and
drank two bottles of beer. That i'm
mediately after drinking the second
bottle Kuhn was taken with severe
pains and cramping. When near the
town of Delta he grew much worse
and they stopped in front of the house
of Wesley Snider and called to him to
come out. Snider came out to the
buggy and he (Snider) testifies that
Kuhn said, 81 am dying, am dying.
She has poisoned me, Snider." Sni-
der got into the buggy with them and
drove to doctors house, Kuhn con-
tinually groaning and calling out that
his wife had poisoned him and that
he was dying. By the time doctor
was found Kuhn was dead. He was
taken to his home and an autopsy
was held. The stomach was removed
and together with the emptied beer
bottles, was sent to the state chemist
for analysis.
Strychnine Found.
The chemist found strychnine in the
stomach and in the small quantity o
beer remaining in one of the bottles
Circumstantial evidence pointed tt
Mrs. Sarah Kuhn so strongly that she
was arrested and charged with the
murder of her husband as she wa.
leaving tn ehouse to follow the body tt
the grave. She has been in the coun
ty Jail since that time. She at NJ
time expressed regret or grief occa
stoned by the tragic death of her hus
band
She Breaks Down.
She has been self-possessed, evel
cheerful up to the time that her for
ner lover, Smith, married anothe
woman. At hearing this news sh,
4 broke down utterly. The young NAL
was married since Mrs. Kuhn has beel
in jail. Many people think he wa
married at this time to avoid suspie
ion. Several witnesses have testifie,
at the preliminary hearing and befor
the grand jury that Smith and the de
fendant We're very intimate; testifie
to seeing them in conversation, an
that Mrs. Kuhn was crying; that sh
was overheard to say to him that sh
could not stand to live with Kuhn an
longer. These facts, coupled with tn
fact that they were lovers before he
marriage with Kuhn, has attracte
a great deal Of attanfiop Cp,itI, xuo
a witness also, and acknowledged t
having kept company with the defend
ant about year before she marie
Kuhn. He also acknowledged to ha,
ing several conversations with Mr.,
Kuhn in the alley and in his father
Earn, in which she told him of bein
unhappy, but denied knowing an,
thing further in the case.
The Evidence.
The facts that strychnine was foun
In the beer and in the stomach {
Charles Kuhn; that his appearanc
and condition warranted the opinio
that he had died of poisoning b
strychnine; that a small vial contain
/, Ing quantity of strychnine was foun
along the road from What Cheer I
Z Delta next morning near the place d
fendant claimed the second bottle
beer was opened; Kuhn's dying decl
rations, and the fact that a will ha
been made shortly prior to the ira
edy which willed the entire estate col
stitute the evidence used.
Sensational developments are e
pected when the trial is fully unde
way.