The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-08-18
In Being The Guilty Party OF
Havana Poison Case.
New Testimony Is Decidedly
Favorable to Her.
Sheriff Found That Her Shoes
Did Not Fit Tracks.

uSiChuhhS III viz HSiiHeeioii'e
Havana poisoning case, was bound over
to the next term of the district court
last Saturday afternoon at three o'clock
by Judge Newsalt. Her bond was fixed
at $1,000 and the bondsmen for the
amount were secured.
The examination in the sensational
Johnson poisoning case of Havana was
continued Friday afternoon before Mum
icipal Judge Newsalt. During the af-
ternoon session and including the one
witness called during the morning SEES
sion, the state called In ali sixteen wit
nesses, al of whom were sharply ques-
toned and questioned as to what
they knew about the case.
The only new development in the
case seemed to be in favor of the
defendant. This testimony was given by
Sheriff Chambers, who had been called
to the scene of the poisoning on June
I, the day it happened, by the father of
the plaintiff, John Johnson. In the
testimony that the sheriff gave he stat
ed that while examining the tracks he
had used one of the defendants, Vida
Johnson's shoes, and he had found by
putting them into the moist tracks
made along the road and leading from
the Johnson home to that of the defend
ant, that they did not fit the tracks, be-
ing a little too long.
Sheriff Chambers also testified that
on the day when he visited the defend
ants house he found the private high
way leading into their house plowed
up. When he asked the defendant why
the road had been plowed up she re-
piled that her brother had done that.
The witness further testified that the
defendant stated to him that she had
paris green in the cellar and that he
examined the cellar thoroughly but
could find no paris green there. He also
testified that the defendant appeared to
be very excited at that time.
The Misses Bertha and Anna Larson,
two young lady dressmakers of the city
were called to the stand on behalf of
the state. They testified that they had
attended the church in the Johnson
neighborhood on the Sunday following
the attempt at poisoning and that while
there they saw the defendant staring at
Mrs. Lundstrum, with hard and pro-
longed stare, they pronounced it a ere
vengeful stare and said that if any one
had looked at them in such manner
they would have been forced to retire
from the church
Bonnie Wardwell testified that he had
sold paris green while in the employ
of the Metz & Vinton drug store, very
know to whom he had sold it. He was
excused.
John Christgau, of the drug firm of
Gauswitz & Christgau, stated that he
had analysed the bottle of water taken
| from the Johnson we'll Immediately af-
ter it was discovered that it contained
paris green and he found that the water
contained 45 grams of the deadly poison
or enough to kill three men. After be-
ing cross questioned for some time he
was excused.
A number of other witnesses were
called to testify in the case before the
state through County Attorney Little
ton announced that the state would rest
its case.
The afternoon session opened at sc
and the first witness called was Mrs
Johnson, mother of the defendant She
was kept on the stand for nearly two
hours.