The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-11-07
JURY ACQU|TS BROUWER
AND SPECTATORS CHEER
Demonstrations of Joy in Court.
One Girl Kisses Him.
HOME AGAIN WITH HIS BOYS
They Thought He Had Been Away on
a Trip-The Jury Out an Hour
and a Quarter - Two Jurors
Wept-History Of Case.

Toms River. n. 1.-The trial Of
DR.. Frank L. Brouwer on the charge
Of numbering his wife. Carrie BTou-
..wer, ended with his acquittal.
:" When the foreman Of the jury ar
nounced the verdict the crowd of peo.
pie which packed the court room
broke into wild demonstration of
delight. The jury had been out an
hour and quarter, just long enough
to sharpen the anxiety of prisoner,
counsel on both sides and the village
folk who had been following the case
with keenest interest from the start
Of the trial, nearly two weeks ago.
Judge HendrickSon's charge to the
jury lasted an hour. 1t was consid-
cred fair and strictly impartial by
the defense. He sent the jury to its
rooms to deliberate on verdict and
held court in session. awaiting word
from it's foreman.
After short recess the court con-
vened and announced the verdict.
The court was in an uproar as Judge
Hendrickson declared the prisoner
discharged. The men cheered and
the women applauded. DR.. Brouwer
was so overcome that be seemed to
have difficulty in speaking as he
turned to the court. When order
was restored the discharged man
asked the courts permission to ad-
dress the jury. He first thanked the
Judge for the impartiality he had
shown, and then, turning to the jury,
he said:
II am thankful. very thankful for
the way you have treated me, and I
hope that none of you will ever be
placed in position such as 1 have
been in"
He then shook hands with each
juror and started to leave the court
room. The crowd was so anxious to
congratulate him on his acquittal,
however, that he was compelled to
stand and shake hands with the men
and women as they filed by. A four
teen-year-old girl wanted to kiss him,
and he leaned over and received the
kiss.
The last day of DR.. Brouwer's trial
consisted entirely Of argument.
Frank McDermott, for the State, re-
viewed the evidence presented by the
prosecution, and declared that it es-
tablished circumstantial case which
proved the prisoner guilty of poison
ing his wife.
Mr.. Wilson, for the defense, point
ed out that had DR.. Brouwer intended
to divorce his wife he would not have
transferred property to her or made
out insurance for her. In reply to
the charge that the accused man
loved another woman Mr.. Wilson
asked why this woman had not been
produced.
2 During the plea for acquittal two
of the jurors were so affected that
they had to wipe the tears from their
eyes. DR.. Brouwer, at the mention
Of his dead wife and of his mother
and children, also wept.
q, DR.. and Mrs. Brouwer had been
married nine years when Mrs. Brou-
wer died. Before her marriage she
was school teacher. Before going
to Toms River they lived at Lake
hurst. The doctor established a good
practice and became one Of the best
known physicians in Ocean County.
When Mrs. Brouwer was taken i'll
her husband employed two nurses.
both of whom appeared as witnesses
against him in the trial. They left
the Brouwer house, as they declared,
because they became suspicious of
the treatment the patient was receiV-
ing from her husband. Another
aurse was engaged. After seven days
Of illness Mrs. Brouwer died, and ru-
mors were started that there was
something mysterious in her death.
Trevonia Hyer, brother Of the dead
woman, began an investigation, as
did the Metropolitan Life Insurance
Company, which had issued $1,000
policy on her life. The body was ez-
humed and an autopsy was held. An
unweighable quantity Of arsenic was
found in the organs of the body, and
a very small quantity of glass.