Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1904-03-26
MRS, DYE DIDN'T SEND
POISONED CANDY
Pierre Lawyer investigates and
10 Satisfied Boone Woman
10 Innocent.
sUicIDE IS SUSPECTED
While Attorney Goodner Will Not Tel
His New Theory, II Is Believed
Miss Nelson May Have
Taken Her Own Life.

Boone, Ia, March 21.-Just before
taking tho train for his home at Pierre
s. D., County Attorney Goodner oil
Hughes county, $. d., who has been In
Boone investigating the Rena Nelson
poisoned candy case said that he was
satisfied that he had solved the mys-
terry OF the poisoning. but refused to
give out his theory. He said the de-
velopments would come TO light In q
day or two, and that he does not sus-
pect Mrs. Dye.
Farther than this Mr.. Goodner re-
fused to give out any definite informa-
ton, but he as good as said that one
Of two things must be the case. Either
Miss Nelson sent the candy 10 herself.
using for the address an envelope from
a letter to herself from Mr.. Dye. or
else some one in Boone. who has es-
capped general suspicion, mailed the
package. Mr.. Goodner intimated in a
way to leave little doubt hat Mr.. Dye
is also cleared OF suspicion.
CIoseted With Mrs. Dye.
Attorney Goodner and Sheriff Laugh
lin were closeted with Mr.. Dye In the
Wells hotel for two hours this after
noon. The interview, which Mr.. Good
ner said was friendly throughout.
seems to have cleared up some dark
points in the minds Of the South Da-
kota officers.
Corroborative OF the theory that Miss
Nelson sem the candy to herself is the
fact that the postmark on the envelope
used as a wrapper bore a postmaTk of
Boone for January /. Mr.. Dye says he
sent Miss Nelson a letter On or about
that day. The postmark on the pack
age would not bear any date, so the
envelope must have been used before.
Mystery of the Stamping.
VrAo ~,,n,r,, 90 tha o,,nInr nP Tho
package deepens. The stamps have
been used on the front Of the package.
BY lifting up the edge OF the second
stamp 1t can be seen that the cancella-
ton line run under II, which prove
that the stamp was put on after the en-
velope had been used on a letter. But
the cancellation marks on the second
stamp are in lines, which could only
be made by q machine, proving cOnclu-
sively that the SECOND stamp was can
celled before 1t was put on the pack
age. II appears then that the postage
which carried the package was On some
other part OF the package and must
have been removed by some one who
handled the package before 1t came
into the hands of the officers, probably
by Miss Nelson herself.
Eppel's Evidence.
Frank Eppel, an eccentric chap who
has acted as a medium between Miss
Nelson and Mr.. Dye, has made q mix
up Of his evidence. Yesterday after
moor he said hat a letter from Mr..
Dye to Miss Nelson had been sent him
by the latter in October to be handed
to Dye. Later yesterday he changed
his mind and said that 1t was about
January 10. Mrs. Dye admits sending
4 letter to Miss Nelson on January 4.
The handwriting on the letter on the
package was evidently disguised, but
there would have been no object In
Mrs. Dye having attempted to disguise
the handwriting with which she adj
dressed her letters to Miss Nelson.
The post mortem held on the body Of
Rena Nelson at Pierre showed that h
was Il pure girl, and there was no evil
dence OF violation.
The postal authorities here, while not
having made any public statements,
individually, incline to the opinion that
the package was not mailed in Boone,
but may have been mailed on any of
ne trains running out of Boone.