Las Vegas daily optic., 1907-04-05
CHARGED sT POLICE WITH nav.
ING KILLED a DOZEN
WOMEN PATIENTS.
A TRIPLE Murder
Crime for Which Or. housh was
Sentenced Was Killing Of Father.
nother and Brother.

charged by the police with having
caused the death Of ~ least a dozen
women patients when he robbed and
ravished before taking their lives. Dr.
Oliver Crook Haugh. Ohio's Blue
beard. will die In the electric chair at
the state prison tomorrow. As one1
Of the arch assassins of the age. his |
name will go down In criminal annals !
alongside OF those Of Holmes and
Johann Hoch.
A few years ago DIR. Haugh wasI
one OF the most popular practitioners
OF Dayton. The habitual use OF drugs
effected his physical. mental and mo-
raj ruin Deserted hy his wife. scorn-
ed by his former friends. he lapsed
into the lowest stages OF bestiality.
From that time forth the story Of his
criminal exploits reads like page
from "Dr Jekyll and Mr.. Hyde" Wo-
men patients died mysteriously. ap-
parcntly without cause and under
suspicious circumstances. The police
now believe they were poisoned At
intervals DR.. Haugh disappeared
from his accustomed hannts. Strange
ly coincident with these trips of the
doctor were crimes against women,
some Of whom were murdered In Gin.
cinnatti and other Ohio cities. II DR.
Haugh was the guilty man he cover
ed his tracks with great cunning and
sufficient evidence could not be sec.
ured TO warrant his arrest.
The crime for which DIR. Haugh will
be electrocuted tomorrow was com.
mttted on November 5. 1905. At that
time he had retired to the farm
house OF his parents. eight miles
from Dayton. and was living off the
earnings OF his father and brother
Late at night DR.. Haugh appeared at
the farmhouse of a neighbor. weeping
Historically and crying for help. He
was scantily clothed and badly burn.
ed and. between his sobs, declared
: that the house was on fire and tha,
his father, mother and brother, Jesse
were unable to escape. A rescue
party was quickly formed but the vic
tins were dead when dragged from
the blazing building. Dr. Haugh was
taken to a Dayton hospital to be
> treated for his injuries. Upon his re-
covery he was arrested, charged with
: the murder Of his three relatives
At the trial 1t was shown that the
three victims had been drugged and
their clothing saturated with kero
sene. 1t was also shown that their
lives were insured and that the farm
2 property would pa s to DR.. Haugh
upon their death. Dl. Haugh was
, known to have been penniless and
unable to purchase the drugs which
: had brought him to the level of an
assassin and which his APPETITE still
crayed. Witesses testified that a few
! days prior to the crime DR.. Haugn
; had purchased considerable quan
tity of hyocine and the post morte1n
investigation resulted in the discov
cry that this poison had been admin
istered to the victims. All circum
stances pointed to. the guilt of DR.
Haugh and he was convicted of mur
der in the first degree. The decision
of the lower courts was recently sus.
tanned by the supreme court.
| Later an attempt was made to have
Haugh adjudged insane. He played
we'll the part of madman but on sew
eral occasions. when he thought nc
one was watching, was caught off his
guard.
| Among the women whom the Day.
ton police believe were murdered by
Haugh are the following:
May Mcdonald. young Cincinnati
girl, who died under mysterious cir
cumstances.
Mrs. Della Patterson of Chicago
who lived with Haugh for some time
in Wisconsin.
Mrs. Harry Towny, who died at Lo
rain, Ohio. while living with Haugh
Lulu Miller of Cummingsville, O.,
who was mysteriously murdered.
Alma Steinigeweg of Cincinnati,
and three unknown women who died
while living with DIR. Haugh in Lo.
rain, Toledo and Stark county.
Tt is also believed that the doctor
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