Milford chronicle., 1903-03-20
MURDERS FOR SOO each
Philadelphia Police Have Startling
Evidence Against a "DOctOr. "
MANY GRAVES TO BE SEARCHED

Mrs. W. G. DAME and "Dr." Hoossey
Held For Death of Woman's Hus.
band-Murder BY Poison Instead Of
Divorce.
Philadelphia, March IA. - Charged
with having poisoned her husband, Will
liam G. Dance, who died Is months
ago. Mrs. Catherine Dame, of 2525
North Fourth street, was committed to
prison yesterday, without bail. and
George HoOssey, a negro herb doctor"
and fortune teller, who, it is charged,
sold poison to the woman, was also
held without bail as an accessory to
the alleged crime.
The woman has been under arrest
several days but pending further in
vestigation she was not arraigned until
Yesterday afternoon. The principal
witness against her was a private de-
tective who was detailed to look into
the manner of the husbands death.
| His investigations led him to call en-
Or" Hoossey, the detective feigning
illness. While he was being treated
for kidney trouble" the detective told
him he was having trouble with
woman, and after further conversation
the doctor" volunteered to sell him
powder that would kill the woman in
three days. The doctor" said he had
given a woman some powder more than
a year ago to get rid Of her husband.
The woman promised the doctor"
S1OO, but only gave him S5l
A city detective then took up the
story and told of having found two
boxes of rough-on-rats in the negro's
store. He also told of Mrs. Dances ar
rest. and testified that she admitted
having secured a drug from Hoossey,
which she put in her husbands coffee
in order to cure him of the drinking
habit; that he was hard drinker and
| abused her. She further admitted, the
detective~said, that she paid Hoossey
after she had collected $4,000 insurance
: that was on her husbands life.
A chemist testified that the package
the negro intended to give the private
detective to kill the fictitious woman
| contained 100 grains of white arsenic.
The body of the husband was ex
! humed Thursday afternoon and the vi
tai organs were turned over to a
chemist for investigation. This will
take several weeks, and pending his
report no date will be set for the in
quest
Mr.. DAME. who has a daughter 10
years cf age. and a son Is, has always
borne a good reputation. The physi-
clan who attended the husband in his
last illness assigned rheumatism Of the
heart as the cause OF death. The ply
sician said he had been a chronic suf-
ferer from this disease.
Well-known physicians in all sec
tiOns of the city have reported cases to
| the district attorney that~will probably
lead to the opening of many graves and
to the holding of as many inquests by
J the coroner. In each of these cases the
patient first appeared with a minor
complaint. which grew progressively
worse and which, just before death.
manifested what are now recalled as
the usual symptoms of arsenical poi
soning. In each of these reported cases
there is a story of insurance, disturbed
domestic relations, or an affair of next
of kin. It is said Hoossey's home was
visited frequently by many women,
most of whom wore heavy wells, who
bought his deadly potions.
1t is not believed, however. that
Or" Hoossey was knowingly a
party to any extensive plan to murder
people for insurance money. This the
ory is based upon his moderate means.
Being uncommonly shrewd, HoOssey
would have demanded a large share of
any proceeds derived from any policies
issued on the lives of his victims His
speciality seemed to be the clearing up
of disturbed domestic relations by de-
liberate murder, with the insurance
feature as a secondary incident of his
work. His price, according to themem-
orandum found in his shop, was in
variably $780, Some Of his patrons are
only referred to by numbers, oLneTs by
hieroglyphics that nobody but himself
will ever be able to solve, but there can
be no mistake about the entry "s10O'
that appears after each of "a entries
made on the same record with the S51
entry which admitteuly applies to Mrs.
Catharine Dance and the $40 entry
which identifies the case Of Detective
Gavin. who says he contracted to have
his wife murdered by Hoossey for 500.
Celebrated ST. Patriek's Day.
Princeton, N. j.. March IS. - The