The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1905-05-12
DIR. KOCH AGAIN ON TRIAL
Charged With the Murder of DR.. Gebf1ardt
at New Ulm.
at New Ulm.


certain interested persons to reach
the jurors with a written argument
in the corridors of the Blue Earth
county court house.
This report gained credence imme-
diately after the adjournment OF court
last evening, and il was fostered by
instructions of Judge Cray to the jury
a few minutes before the close, in
which the court ordered that the jur.
ors remain in their secluded room Gf-
ter the adjournment of court until all
persons had left the corridors of the
court house.
In Effort to Impeach.
The defense launched it's heavy ar
tiilery yesterday, in the testimony OF
several witnesses put on the stand in
an attempt to prove that the poison
package mailed to DIR. Gebhardt was
not sent from the village of Hanska
on the day DR.. Koch visited that town.
The two principal witnesses to this
were l.. Leech and Nels Nelson, rail.
way mail clerks who have been run
road between Hanska and New Ulm
for several years. These men, accord
ing to their evidence yesterday, We're
the only two mail clerks on the run
between these two stations the week
The Poison Package
was said to have been received by DR..
Gebhardt Both declared that, in their
opinions. the blue box produced by
the state as the exhibit which con-
tanned the bottle of poison when it
was sent to DR.. Gebhardt was not
mailed from Hanska to New Ulm at
the time alleged. They said the post
mark on the blue box was not the inn
preston left by the stamp of either
clerk. AS the box, were it mailed
from 1anska to New Ulm, must have
been stamped on the train, providing,
as claimed by several witnesses of
the state, it was mailed at the depot,
the defense evidently could convince
the Jury through these witnesses that
the states testimony regarding the
mailing of the poison package is i'm.
peached.
Mankato, Mimi, May 9.-It is prob
able that in five days more the jury
in the trial of DR.. George r, Koch,
charged with the murder of Dr. l.. A.
Gebhardt at New Ulm, will receive
the instructions of Judge Cray and re-
tire to find a verdict. The defense
o1r -, o1o ~
it's witnesses, and as there are less
than a hundred in all to be produced,
it is very likely that the arguments
will be made Thursday or Friday OF
this week.
Good Day for Koch.
Dr. Koch left the court house Sat
urday evening happy man. Through
the pushing crowd of curious, morbid
men and women who had come to get
a glance at him, he made his way
had suddenly been relieved of tor.
menting cares.
For it. was the defense's day in the
murder trial. Witness after witness
twenty in all, were introduced by the
defense and questioned in an appar.
the accused man was not the owner
of the hammer found in the Office OF
the murdered man; that he wore the
same clothes for many days after the
murder that he had worn on the night
it occurred; that he had never shown
itv hn
that it would have been impossible
for him to send the poison package.
Mankato, Mimi, May 10. - Prof.
Richard Fischer, state chemist OF
Wisconsin, and DR.. ]. w. Andrews OF
Mankato, two experts on chemistry
and poison, were on the witness stand
for the defense in the DR.. Koch muir
der trial yesterday afternoon, to
prove to the satisfaction Of the jury
that it is impossible to compute the
exact proportion of poison which ex-
listed in the bottle sent to DR.. Geb-
hardt.
In the testimony Of Prof. Fischer
yesterday the defense hopes it has
proven that it is impossible to say
whether there was sufficient poison in
the bottle to cause death, if thorough
ly compounded with the effervescent
salts and taken as directed While
Prof. Fischer did not say that an or
binary dose of the contents of the
poison bottle would not be sufficient
to cause death, provided the poison
was equally compounded with the
other mixture, he said that if only q
few grains were analyzed it would be
impossible to ascertain the general
proportion of poison.
The chemist also said that strych-
nine was the most bitter substance
known, and this point was brought
out by the defense to show that a
dentist, had he sent the bottle of
poison to DIR. Gebhardt, should have
known a more certain means of ac-
complishing his purpose, as he would
have been aware that a dentise at
once would recognize the taste of the
poison.