The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1905-01-12
WOODARD MURDER TRIAL.
Cfas. W0Odard Accused Of Poisoning His
Wife Faces Jurycase will Last all
Week--Over 100 Witnesses.


afternoon at three o'clock. The state
is represented by County Attoney w. B.
Kelley, assisted by George W. Baker,
who was retained in the case by rela-
tives Of the deceased woman, the de-
fendant being represented by G. w.
Hoffman and V. r. McGinnis.
The jury was finally secured on Tues,
day afternoon at 2:40 and were duly
sworn, and after short recess the
opening statements of the case were
made by attorneys for the state and de-
fendant, the first testimony being taken
about o'clock. The case is attracting
great attention, the court room being
packed at every session of the court,
many ladies being present. 1t is ex-
pected tEat the case will occupy nearly
the entire week, as it will be bitterly
contested from start to finish, and there
have been in the neighborhood of one
hundred witnesses subpoenaed in the
case. When the first list Of the states
witnesses were called to be sworn
Tuesday afternoon 81 were summoned
to the front to take the oath, and this
number only represented the main
witnesses for the state. The defen-
dant's witnesses, and the witnesses
summoned latter by the state will prob
ably run the total number to consider
able over hundred.
The story of the crime for which Chas.
Woodland is now on trial is we'll remem
bered by our readers, although it occur
red over year ago. On Dec. Is, 1904,
Mr.. Woodland and his wife started in a
buggy from their home three miles
northwest Of Decatur City to go to the
home Of Mrs. Woodard's parents, Mr..
and Mrs. VIM Kirk =: - ,-s4,la s.<-si-s,sas
near tne townsof GRAND River, in the
northwest part Of the county. During
the journey Mrs. Woodland became vio-
lently i'll, being seized with commissions,
but recovered some and her husband
said she expressed desire to continue
on to her mothers home. Mrs. Wood
ard was very sick when she arrived
there and DIR. Robinson, of Grand River,
was hastily summoned over the phone,
but the woman died just as the doctor
entered the house. After viewing her
body and hearing description of how
she died, the physician declared she had
died from strychnine poison. This re-
\ To-
borhood and created intense excitement
in the locality, and DR.. H. r. Layton,
the coroner, was asked to hold an in
quest. The Inquest was held by Coro-
ner Layton the following day, the post
mortem examination being made by Drs.
Layton and Brown, of Leon, and Eiker,
Of Decatur City, who reported that they
found nothing to cause her death from
natural causes. They did not, however,
examine her stomach which was remov-
ed and preserved, being taken to Des
Moines by Drs. Layton and Brown and
delivered to DR.. Kenney, of Drake Uni
versity, for chemical analysis. What
DR.. Kenney found in the stomach has
pever been made public, but it was
rumored that he reported the finding of
strychnine in the stomach. 1t was
rumored that only a short time before
her death Mr.. Woodard had insured his
wife for $4,000, but later it developed
that while an application had been made
by both Mr.. Woodland and his wife for
insurance policies, there was no insur-
ance on Mrs. Woodard's life at the time
she died, as there was some hitch in re-
gard to the policies or the amount and
they had refused to accept or pay for
them. A few days after the death of
his wife Mr.. Woodland was arrested and
held to the grand jury under bonds of
$4,000, which he promptly gave after
waving preliminary examination, and at
the January, 1904, session of the grand
jury an indictment;was returned against
him for murder in the first degree, bond
being fixed at $4,000 which was given
at once with the defendants father,
VIM. Woodland, one of the wealthiest
men in the county, as surety. Aftor the
grand jury had adjourned it was dis
covered there was one member of the
grand jury who was not resident Of
Decatur county at the time, and at the
March term of court the Indictment was
quashed, the grand jury, however, im-
mediately returning new Indictment
against him, and he was released on the
same bond.
Anticipating that it would be inposs-
ible to secure jury from the regular
panel on account Of the prominence Of
the case, Judge Evans on last Thursday
ordered special venirs Of thirty jurors