Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-02-17
HELD TO GRAND JURY
Henry Boyd Charged With Gross
Fraud and Cheating.
SAID TO HAVE DUPED TWO WOMEN
1t is Alleged That Boyd Secured Mon.
ey From Mrs. Mary A. Bradley on
Pretense of Aiding Her in a Misfor-
tune.
From Fridays Daily.

From Fridays Daily.
Henry Boyd, who lives in South
Ottumwa, was this morning held to
the grand jury by Judge Moon on the
charge OF gross fraud and cheating.
Boyd is a cripple and is victim Of
the drug habit, which has rendered
him almost irresponsible, but some
times he performs some feats and
works schemes that proclaim him
above the average in craftiness. How
ever, one of these games played him
false and got him into trouble and
Jail.
Yesterday Mrs. Mary A. Bradley,
who resides in rooms over the South
Ottumwa bank on Church street, WIS.,
tied Judge Moon and filed information
charging Boyd with gross frand and
cheating, and told a story which, if
true, will no doubt land Boyd in Jail
for. term of several months.
Mrs. Bradley says that on Wednes-
day night after she and her daughter,
Miss Minnie, had retired, they were
awakened by noise at the front door
of their apartm ents, and when she
went to the door she found Boyd. He
informed her, she says, that her son,
Grant Bradley, who formerly resid-
ed here, but now is working near Spo-
kane, Washington, was in trouble and
wished to see his sister, Miss Minnie.
He said, according to Mrs. Bradley,
that Bradley had returned to Ottum-
wa, and had started to his mothers
home, but while walking along Main
street he had become involved in
quarrel with a man ana had killed
him.
A Wild Fabrication.
Boyd went on to tell Mrs. Bradley
so she says. that her son escaped the
police and was about to leave town
but before going he wished to see his
sister, and as it was unsafe for him
to venture near the center of the city,
he was at the Agassiz school house
waiting Tor friends to bring the young
woman to him. Boyd had come to in
form the mans relatives of his plight
so the story ran,and would accompany
Miss Minnie to where her brother lay
| in hiding.
Mrs. Bradley objected to having her
daughter away from home at so late
an hour. and said that she would go
to her son herself, believing the story
to be true. This Boyd SAID, was not
what Grant wanted, that he simply
wanted to see his sister and was afraid
to have the mother come for fear she
would be followed by the police and
this would result in his capture.
However, Mrs. Bradley persisted,
and finally refused to let her daughter
go, whereupon Boyd offered, SO she
says, to secure a closed carriage in
which both of the women might go to
the school house. Mrs. Bradley says
that at Boyd's request she gave him
thirty-five cents for carriage hire, and
that he left, promising to return with
the carriage in few minutes.
The man returned to the Bradley
home, the woman AYERS, a few min
utes later, but brought no carriage.
He told the anxious mother who by
this time had worried about her sons
safety until she had almost become
frantic, that Grant had made bold to
come almost to her home, and had
made his way from the Agassiz
school to the Trebilock lumber yard,
about two blocks from where the
Bradley's live. Here he was waiting,
SO Boyd's story ran, according to Mrs.
Bradley and he had contributed five
cents to the carriage fund After i'm
| parting this information Mrs. Bradley
says Boyd started away saying that
he would send the carriage. But nc
carriage came and after waiting for
nearly an hour the women began to
realize that they had been duped.
Brought Letter.
Another consideration which made
them believe Boyd was playing on
their credulity and when they had Civ
en- the matter sober thought was
/ that he gave them a note which was
directed to the girl and signed Grant
B." This read as follows.
Dear Sister Minnie-Come with
Henry Boyd to the Agassiz schoo
house. / have got home and am ii
trouble. He will tell you all about |,
on the way. My wife is with me
Your loving brother-Grant B."
The women had believed that theil
son and brother to be in Washington
they were excited over the news
brought them by Boyd and did moi
think of the wife matter until after
wards. Yesterday they learned tha
Grant had not returned to this city
and that there had been no trouble
such as Boyd described. Then they
began proceedings against the man
with the result that he was arrested
last evening. 1t seems that he dodgec
the police during the day and for tina
eason the fac that a warrant maj
. been issued for his arrest was no