The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-01-29
TODD ARRESTED ON CHARGE
OF NUMBERING HIS WIFE
Claimed He Accidentally Killed
Young Woman with Gun, but
Grand Jury Indicted Him.
THOUGHT IT WAS OVER

Special TO the Indianapolis Journal.
LEBANON, Ind, Jan. pa sensation
was sprung to-day when Cyrus NJ. Todd
was arrested at the home of his uncle,
Solomon Buechler, at Jamestown, on a
grand jury Indictment charging him with
the murder of bis wife. Todd is only nine
teen years old, and his wife was twenty.
They were married March 25. 1903. He is
a son Of Calvin Todd, living southwest of
jamestown. in Hendricks county. His wife
was daughter of ex-County Commissioner
James A. Mclean.
Mrs. Todd's death occurred at her home
one and one-half miles north of James
town on the evening of Dec. 81. 1903 Her
husband had been complaining during the
day of a severe headache and in the after
noon took his gun and went hunting in
order to secure relief from the headache.
When he returned home about o'clock in
the evening his head was no better. He
placed the gun on the bed and his wife.
picking up the gun by the muzzle. was
shot through the left breast, the charge
of shot penetrating the heart. causing in
slant death. This was the story told by
Mr. Todd at the time. He was the only
witness to the tragedy. There were GER
fair. however. that aroused suspicion and
led to the matter being brought to the at
tentior of the grand jury.
One of the suspicious circumstances was
the fact that the gun was a safety-hammer
weapon There was also evidence adduced
at the coroner's inquest that tended to
show that Mr.. and Mrs. Todd had expert
enced some trouble during their short mar
ried life.
Mrs. Mary Mclean. mother of the dead
girl, testified at the inquest that her daugh-
ter had told her about Todd calling her
bad names, about his running her into the
house with a gun on one occasion, and
about his threatening her life. Cecil Nc
Lean, aged fifteen, brother of the dead
girl, testified in similar vein.
In his testimony before the coroner Todd
denied that he and his wife had any espe-
cial trouble. although they had words once
in a while. He declared that he had never
struck his wife with his fist to hurt her.
He said he did scare her once with a gun
when she had told him she did not care II
she were dead. He had no explanation to
offer to what made the gun go of. The
gun was not cooked when he brought II
into the house.
The evidence taken at the coroner's in
I'll to-day after Todd's arrest had been eff
fected. The coroner, in rendering his YER
dict, while considering the question OF foul
play, arrived at the conclusion that the evi-
dence was not sufficient to warrant the
returning of verdict to that effect and
consequently found that the death OF Mrs.
Todd was accidental In considering the
question of foul play. the coroner says:
THE strongest evidence against the young
man is the fact that we have been unable
to explode a cartridge in the gun without
pulling the hammer to full cock and snap
ping it off by using the finger on the trig-
GER But the coroner. in concluding, says:
In the light of all the evidence so far
found against the boy | am inclined 10
give him the benefit of the doubt and be-
lieve that the affair was accidental
Since his arrest on the grand jury indct.
ment Todd has refused to talk TO anyone
other than his father and his attorney. He
will probably be arraigned in Circuit Court
next Monday and his case set down for an
early hearing.
Rev. Demetrius Tillotson, pastor OF the
Lebanon NJ. Z. Church. and one of the
best-known Methodist divines in Indiana
was foreman of the grand jury that re-
turned the indictment against Todd. He
is the first minister who has served on the
grand jury for many years.