The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1906-04-03
The ACCUSED
WOMAN TELLS
Her STORY
Was On the
Stand Today

Th,. same interest that has been
prevalent during the Payton-wrisht
trial was still manifested to-day by
those who are In attendance at the
trial The attendance Is not 50 large
- other days The evidence is almost
ir and soon the fate OF Helen Aay-
paStcn-TriShs viii rest with the jury
Whether f:le State has made out case
against her. beyond reasonable
doubt. for The crime of which she IS
Indicted remains for the jury to say
If the State has rot done this It IS
also I question for the jury TO decide
Dr. P P Ogden was examined this
morning. He gave the physiological
effect OF strychnine upon the human
system He said that one grain Of
st-ychnine was considered the min
imuu for Ietha1 dose He also said
that strychnine found in the stomach
would not necessarily cause death 1t
is the strychnine absorbed that causes
death He thought that it would be
impossible for person to drink cup
OF coffee without detecting something
wrong He thought g. person taking
one and 4 half to two grains of Strych-
nine would not likely go to sleep and
that such dose would prove fatal In
from forty minutes to an hour and
half He said that coffee would not
disguise the taste OF the drug very
mitch The witness gave the physio4o-
Gical eject OF morphia upon the hui
man system The use Of morphine de-
preciares the viii power. the victim
weakens. has poor memory and enter
rains thoughts of self-destruction- He
also gave the physiological effects of
wood alcohol. He said there was less
coma in wood alcohol than in grain
alcohol He said that the convulsions
produced by wood alcohol are more vio-
lent than those caused by grain aico-
hol- He said that after dissolution
poisonous animal alka1oids formed by
the putri6cation OF the stomach.
which were very much like the vege-
table alkaloids The witness was ask
ed the same Hypothetical question
that had been asked the other wit
nesses- He said that conditions con-
tanned in the question would indicate
that the man died from poison OF wood
alcohol.
On cross examination the witness
said that If strychnine were found in
the stomach Of 4 man that died It
would be natural TO conclude that he
died OF strychnine- He was asked the
same Hypothetical question asked the
expert witnesses for the State. He
said that man dying under such con-
ditions he would say that he died from
strychnine poison He said that he
never knew OF any one taking strych-
nine IN coffee
DR.. Lee Boyers was the next wit
ness examined. He said that from
one to three grains would be lethaI
dose and II taken upon an empty
stomach would cause death within an
hour. He said that It would be so
bitter that a man In his right mind
would not take It knowingly. His tes-
timony was corroborative OF the other
Lostor's evidence. He was asked the
same hypothetical question that At
torney Ogden asked the other doctors.
His answer was that a man dying un-
der such circumstances would indicate
that the man died from alcoholism
He was asked the same Hypothetical
questions that the expert witnesses OF
the State were asked. He said that d
man dying under such conditions
would indicate that he died OF strych-
nine.
DR.. C. F. Boyers. ST.. was the next
witness. He stated that he treated
Payton for syphilis.
Lucian y. Yost was the next wit
moss to take the stand. He related the
physiological effects OF strychnine up
on the nervous system. He did not
think that coffee would disguise the
taste OF the drug very much. He said
the lethal dose OF strychnine would
be from one to two grains. He did
not think a man taking that amount
of the drug could go to sleep. and II
CONTINUED on Fourth Paae.)