The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1904-03-25
WAS A VICTIM OF
Her own PLOT
Startling Story of the oeat'
Of Rena Nelson Of Pierre
by Poison.
LED ON HER DEATH BE1
County Attorney and Sheriff From
Pierre Tell Startling story--Miss
Nelson Had Sent Poisoned
Candy to Herself.

Des Moines, Ia, March 22.-For dia.
bollcal cunning and utter heartlessness
Rena Nelson's solemn ante -morten
statement. made in full cor emplatior
of death and when she was almost
ready to face her Creator, has rarely.
II ever been surpassed.
To County Attorney c. NJ. Goodne,
and Sheriff G. w. Laughlin, of Pierre
S. d., the dying girl told an ingenious
story for the purpose of fastening sus-
plcion upon Mrs. Sherman Dye, OF
Boone, Ia, of causing her death with
poisoned candy.
Both these officials, in discussing the
case in this city this morning, de-
clared the girls statements unquali-
tiedly false.
Dahon q Co., confectioners of Pierre
sold Miss Nelson the candy on the aft
ernoon of February %, the day before
she received the package at the post
office. When she received it in the
mail 1t bore the identical wrapper, was
In the Identical box, and contained the
Identical candy which she purchased
save that scattered here and there
among the chocolates was a small tab
let OF corrosive sublimate, resembling
the ordinary peppermint tablet.
A Strange Story.
Then came a remarkable feature OF
the girls plot. Everything points to an
intention on her part to take Just
enough to produce a slight illness and
establish that she was the victim of an
attempt to poison. Understanding the
deadliness of the drug. she ate an entire
tablet and was then seized with an ILL
ness that resulted in her death nine
days later.
10 1,t, Y
to secure conviction of Mrs. Dye as a
would-be murderer, to enable bye to
obtain a divorce and then herself be-
come his wife. But when she found
death was inevitable. she declared that
Mrs. Dye must be the guilty person,
and detailed circumstances to fasten
suspicion upon the poor woman whose
only offense had been to try to retain
tne love OF a recreant husband
mat Miss Nelson led a Jekyll- Hyde
existence is the theory of Messrs. Good
ner and Laughlin who have known her
ior years and believed her young
lady OF rare virtue and charm.
The Girls Explanation.
TN tell you something which I now
tell for the first time" said Mr.. Good
ner. just as he was boarding the train
back to Pierre. TO me, and in the
presence of five others on the Thurs
day preceding her death. Rena Nelson
made her dying statement After /
told her the doctor had said she could
not possibly recover and that her words
would mean life or death to some per-
son. she solemnly declared that Mrs.
Dye, in her opinion, was her slayer
She said her relations with Dye had
been honorable. She said he had treat
ed her as gentleman should and that
she had learned to love him; that he
had told her he had once been mar
ried man. but long ago divorced upon
discovery that his Wife was meeting
other men and that her child was not
his.
Dye undoubtedly told the Girl this
infamous story, although she must
have subsequently learned it's falsity.
l have letters that she had received
from him, in which he made the out
rageous charge involving the good
name of his wife. a woman whom l be-
heVe to have been grievously wronged.
Her Double Life.
Miss Nelson claimed TO have eaten
several of the corrosive sublimate tab
let's. l suspect she never ate more than
a part of one.
1T was difficult for me to believe
her guilty of misconduct, but my inves-
tigation at Boone has convinced me
that the Rena Nelson of Boone was far
different from the Rena Nelson we all
loved at Pierre"