Daily Kennebec journal., 1901-12-07
MISS JANE TOPPAN
Pleads Not Guilty to Three
Murder Indictments.
C'ses Of Miss G bbs, Mr.. 0asi; and
Mrs. Gordon to be Tried.
Prisoner Shows Terrible Strain. Trial Will
Take Place. Next Spring.

relatives and even friends. Miss Jane
Topnan OF Lowell. stood up in the su-
perior court room. late this afternoon,
and heard the grand jury's indictment
charging her with the murder of three
persons whom she had been engaged to
nurse but had died under her charge
nrI. q cordine to the Indictment. by
hei hand.
III" indictments. ore charging her
With the death If Mrs. Mary II. Gibbs.
\ second with the death "f A. r. Davis.
both of cataumet. and the third with
that Of Mrs. GenrNicVe 4. Gordon ~
Chicago. All allcE. that the cause was
th" administration of poisonous drugs
~ grains OF morphine, or atrnpinc, ~
nrfphin- ana atrupin" together. "r by
som" person unknown I" tn" jury
For ~ minutes the woman stood
tightly clutching the rail. whit" the
vcncrrFl" clerk. in III" fading tv vilght.
stumbled through thc Indictment
charging her with the murder uf Mrs.
Gibbs Al length a lamp was brought
in, but brfuI" thr clerk started on the
second Indictment. Miss Toppan's coun-
sci spared her further agony by Waiv-
inp the reading ana all that remained
was FOR her to plead.
Thra- times she was asked if sh"
Was guilty ~ TN, murder ana onrh time
SIN replied in a low. husky voice: Not
guilty" H,r counsel thon asked thai
tie state through itS judges, appoint
counsel for the accused woman. ana
chief Ju-tic, Mason, who presided, said
that H. would takc thu matter undo;
alvisrmcnt
Wn-n this WAS over and the jury had
dispersed. tn" woman Was ird away tp
nor cell. not To return again to that
lorln until some time early next spring.
when Shc viii be given a trial by jury,
and to combat evidence which the gov
ernu.nt in the meantime will have &C
cumuiated against her.
The :. grand jury men listened to
what evidence had been collected
against Miss Toppan by the officers Of
the state during the past three months.
First the chemist tod how he found
traces % the poisonous drugs, then the
detectives who have worked so assidu-
cusly on the different clues. and lastly
two If Miss Toppan's acquaintances.
who We're IN a position To know some
thing Of the deaths, last August. al
CataUmet
Scarcely had the last witness left the
room when ,he district attorney an
nounc.d 4 recess and the jury did not
assemble till it met again in the court
room Then the indictments were pro-
duceI and handed over to the clerk by
the foreman of the jury. To those who
waited in the corridor Of the court
house for the termination of the days
,,.,
70 deliberate seemed to show that thn
government s evidence must have been
of considera bic weight and that the
woman will have TO face a tremendous
amount Of convincing testimony at her
trial next spring.
The jury assembled. at o'clock this
morning. the members coming from
nearly all the towns along Cape COD,
and when their names were called il
was found that 20 of the as had sue
ceeded in reaching the court room. Tw"
jurors appeared later. Chief Justice
Mason Of the superior court, presided
and after a prayer ny a local clergy
man the judge dismissed the jury in the
care Of the district attorney. Thc
- men Immediately filed down stairs
a. IN. Iittl. court room i'll which Miss
Toppan was arraisned after her arrest.
last month.
The first witness was Prof T.. :.
Wood of Harvard University. an expert
chemist. IL H. understood that Prof.
Mood IaiI before th" jury the result
OF his chemical analysis "f the intcs-
tines ~ Mrs. Gibbs. Mrs. Gordon ANA
Mi Davis. According to N" mdict-
mcrt i-of. Wood found strong traces
of morphine ana atrnpin". His trsti-
mnny was suhstantiatrI ~ IN. a. II.
Whitney. who assisted him in his eX-
animation. These two witnesses McT.
il thr room scarcely an hour.
The third witness was Mrs irulah
JarobS. who waS at The house ~ tatau-
met when the mysterious deaths nc
CURED Mrs. Jacobs testimony took
TIVE hours tn relate. she WaS followed
hy state officer Letteny ana then by
Gen. J. IL. Whitney Of chief Wad"'s
force at the state house.
Ia the midst Of his testimony the jury
was dismissed for dinner. reassemhling
at o'clock.
continued on page -