The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-11-04
WAS SHE POISONED?
Murder Mystery in Connection
With Young Girl's Death.

thOr1t1eS of Labette county been asked
to solve such a mystery as is now puz-
zling them. Did DR.. G. A. Calhoon muir
der his pretty 18-year-old wife or did
she die from seif-infiicted wounds? the
citizens of Labette county are asking.
The circumstances connected with the
sudden death of Mrs Calhoon are mys-
FERROUS. She died suddenly at an early
hour last Saturday. Citizens of this
town say openly that her husband killed
her for her life insurance, amounting to
$4,000. So strong was the case of cir
cumstantial evidence against the hus-
band that coroner'S jury recommend
ed that he be arrested and charged with
murder Ira Elledge, brother of the
dead woman, swore out the warrant
last night and DR.. Calhoon is now be-
hind the bars of the Labette county Jail
at Oswego.
It was fortunate for Dr. CaIhoon that
he was placed in jail for it was stated
in Mound Valley that mob would lynch
the husband. puzzling feature con-
nected with the mystery is the effort
that is being made by Mrs. Katherine
Elledge mother of the dead woman, to
shield DR.. Calhoon. The latter is on
such friendly terms with his mother-in
law that threats of prosecution are
made against her. 1t was said here to-
day that Mrs Elledge's sympathy for
the man charged with killing her daugh
ter will involve her in the case before
it is over. Not only does Mrs Elledge
Calhoon, but the grandfather and sister
of the dead woman openly state they be-
ueve the suspected man is guiltlesS.
1t is just a case of persecution said
Mrs iElledge to correspondent today.
My daughter is dead, but her husband
did not kill her. She fell from her BIZ
fiicted wounds. Dr. Calhoon loved my
daughter and Is not responsible for her
DEATH
Here showing emotion for the first
IRIS lodi enf
Dr. Calhoon in the Jail at Oswego, tell
him that his mother thinks as much of
him as ever
Mrs. Elledge referred to herself as
DR.. Calhoon's mother. She spoke of her
daughters suffering and death with
out the slightest tremor in her voice,
and it was only when referring to DIR.
CalhoOn that she showed any signs of
breaking down.
The man who is charged with the
murder of his girl wife has a record.
He once served a term in the Kansas
penitent1ary for a statutory crime, and
has been charged with other violations
of the law. Apparently the only friends
he has in the. world are the mother,
sister and grandfather of the dead
woman. Just why they have grown so
fond of him and why they cling to him
still is as strange as the cause of the
death of Mrs Calhoon. Mrs. Elledge,
his mother-in-law, has been fond of
him for many years. She approved OF
the marriage with her daughter who
was not quite 16 years old on the we'd
ding day
rant for the arrest of DIR. Ca1hoon, lives
in Cherryvale He did not approve of
the marriage and hates the man who
wooed his sister. Even if DR.. Calhoon
is not guilty his lawyers will have a
difficult task to break the chain of cir
cumstantial evidence that has been
woven about him The only person in
the room with Mrs Calhoon when she
died was her husband. He sent for the
undertaken and ordered the body en-
balmed before it cold 1t was
shown by the autopsy that the woman
had been injured internally. The wound
might have been self-in1icted, but not
a physician in the county believes it,
DIR. ]. H Henson, who conducted the
post-mortem examination, said today
that Mrs. Calhoon died of a nervous
shock which followed the infiiction of
the wound.
ct was told the injury was caused
several days ago by a fall from a BIZ
CYCLE said DR.. Henson.
II was called to the Calhoon house
after the woman was dead"
The Elledge family is regarded rs
highly respectable by the citizens of
I.abette county. few years ago, just
after Calhoon managed to get in the
good graces of Mrs. Elledge and her
daughter, Isaac Elledge, father of the
dead woman, died mysteriously, having
some life insurance, and it was asserted
that Elledge committed suicide Since
the developments of the last few days
an effort is being made to connect Dr.
Calhoon with the death of Mrs Cal
hoon's father. DR.. Calhoon has been
known in this part of the state as a
cancer specialist" He called himself
DR." Calhoon, but did not practice
regularly. For several years he has
been associated with his mother law,
Mrs. Elledge, in the management of the
Occidental hotel at Mound Valley He
is slender man, has blue eyes and IS
sharp featured. His wife was regarded
as a handsome woman She was a bru-
nette with a mass of dark hair and
rosy complexion that was attributed to
outdoor exercise. She was rather large
for one so young and was well educa-
ted. DR.. Calhoon did not hesitate to
discuss his case when visited in the Os-
wego Jail last night. He is not confin-
ed to a cell. but roams at will about the
corridors, as do two other prisoners
charged with murder.
II will get out of this If I have fair
treatment" said DIR. Calhoon 1T have
all the money / need to fight the case
out and think will be cleared Why
should I want to kill my wife? She
had only So. 900 insurance and had join
ed another fraternal order but a few
weeks ago. in order to increase the
amount of the insurance on her life to
S. 600. The premiums on the 81 900 pol
icy taken out a short time ago have
never been paid. If I had wanted to
kill her for the insurance 1 would surely
have waited until all the premiums
were paid
The prisoner wears a button in the
lapel of his coat which bears a photo
graph of his dead wife. He shows it to
visitors at the jail without any signs of
emotion. The preliminary hearing will
probably be held next Wednesday,.