The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1904-08-11
GIRL DIED OF POISON.
Stepmother Is Suspected and the
the CircumstantiaI Evil
dence Is Strong.
MOTIVE SEEMS TO BE ABSENT
No Known Discord Between the Two
Remorse Troubles Mrs. Ford
State News Items.

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Hartford City, Ind, Aug. 4. = MRS.
w. E. Kraus has been arrested on a
. charge of having poisoned her step
daughter Crystal Kraus, who died
Tuesday of strychnine poisoning.
Mrs. Krausrwas lodged in Jail to await
a preliminary hearing, which has been
set for Saturday. When Crystal Kraus
died Mrs. Kraus told the physicians
that the cause of her death was acute
indigestion and heart failure. fhe
physicians refused toissue death GER
tificate. alleging that the girl died
from the effects of strychnine poison
ing.
Note and Bottle Is Found.
During the coroner's examination
Mrs. Kraus produced bottle contain
ing white powder and a note whilh
she said had been found in the girls
bed. The note is as follows: Good
bye, papa, cannot live without jim"
This note was found By her step
mother after the ped, as it is claimed,
had been carefully searched by three
physicians, the coroner and the neigh
bOrs, who were seeking some clew to
the mystery of her sudden taking of.
With the note was the bottle sup
posed to contain strychnia, but which,
the coroner says. is calcium powder.
The "Jim" referred to is James Cron-
in, Jr., who had been paying atten-
lions to the dead girl, to which her
father objected.
Aforesaid Note Was Forged.
A boy has identified Mrs. Kraus as
the woman for whom hecarried note
purpOrting to be signed by. Mrs.
Showalter, neighbor, to a drug store
requesting an amount of strychnine to
poison mice. This note was not writ
ten by Mrs. Showalter. The hand
writing in the note to the druggist
and the one found in the girls bed
are similar, the coroner asserts. w. r.
Kraus, the father. is under physi-
clans care. Mrs. Kraus protests her
innocence.
No Discord Was Apparent.
The coroner is waiting for the re
turn of Prosecutor John Burns. who
attended the convention at Indianapo-
lis, before proceeding with the inves-
tigation. The dead girl was the only
child of W. X. Kraus Last June she
became of age, taking possession of
the estate of her dead mother. A few
months ago her father married Miss
Ray Alderman. The dead girl and
the step-mother apparently lived in
harmony together.
Hartford City, Ind, Aug. 6.-onorr-
ly after the board of inquiry had con-
cluded its work in the Crystal Krauss
poisoning case Coroner Hollis an
nounced his verdict, which accuses
Mrs. X. Nj. Krauss of having ''caused
the death of her step-daughter, Crystal
Krauss, by administering strychnine. "
The court of inquiry completed its
work late at night. Neither Prosecu-
tor Burns nor Coroner Hollis would
discuss the evidence further than to as
sert that they were quite ready for
the preliminary hearing, which was set
for 8 a. m. before Mayor Lucas.
Testimony of the Milk Boy.
Before the court Of inquiry Lloyd
Summerville, milk boy, testified that
Mrs. Krauss had given him 10 cents
with a note and that he bought strych-
nine at Logan's drug store. The de-
Tense will insist that it was Crystal,
the dead girl, who gave the boy the
money and note. The note to the drug
gist was signed Mrs. Showalter." II
is said to be i'm the same writing as
the note alleged by Mrs. Krauss to
have been found at the girls side.
briefly bidding farewell to her father.
Mrs. Krauss Took the Package.
The boy testified that when he re-
turned with the strychnine and note
Mrs. Krauss met him ct the door, took
the package and said she would give
it to Mrs. Showalter. There are two
women named Showalter living across
the street from the Krauss home. Both
say positively they never wrote the
note and knew nothing of it.
Suppose There Il No strychnine?
Fort Wayne, Ind, Aug. 6. = Or.
Drayer, of this city, who Is making an
examination of the stomach or Crystal
Krauss, who is supposed to have died
from the effects of strychnine poison
ing, and in connection with which the
dead girls step-mother Is being held in
jail, says that as yet he has been I'M
able to find actual evidence OF strych-
nine poisoning.
7EMORsE Is KILLING HEB
Woman Who Killed Msn Who Tried ia
Enter Her Home When She