The Mena weekly star., 1908-10-29
THE INSURANCE
 COMPANY LOST
Jury in Gus Frye Case Believed Frye to Be Dead and Returned Verdict Against Insurance
 Company.

One of the most sensat ion- al cases that has come up in the circuit court here for years is that of the New York Life Insurance Company vs. John P. Logan, as curator of the estate of the Gus Frye heirs, which was set for Fri day and was decided in favor of the defendant Tuesday noon. The jury was out all Monday night and until noon Tuesday. IL is said that on first ballot the jury stood s for the defense and 4 for the insurance company, but first one and then another gave in and shortly before noon today an agreement was reached in favor of the defense and is theory that Gus Frye was actually killed in the we'll accident a Grannis sev- eral months ago and that the S7 800 which is held by John r. Logan for Frye's children shall remain in his hands for their ben eft.
 No steps have been taken by the attorneys for the insurance company as yet regarding an ap- peal.
 The plaintiff was repre- sented by Messrs. Locke & Locke of Dallas, Tex, and Hal l.. Nor wood of this city. Senator Otis T. Wingo of De Queen represent iug the defense.
 This is the case in which Gus Frye of Grannis, who carfiea $10,000 life insurance in the above named company, was sup posed to have been blown up in a we'll on August 20 of last year, and iu which the coroner's in- quest shows that the body viewed was that of Gus Frye. The com pany paid the $l0, ,000 insurance, S2, 500 to Mrs. Gus Fry and S7. .50O to John P. Logan as curator. La ter suit was brought by the com pany for the $7, 500 on the ground that Frye was not blown up, but | that be secured and placed in the we'll body or part of body and caused the explosion with view to getting the benefit of the in- surance. One of the claims was that Frye borrowed a sum of money from the First National Bank of De Queen on the pretext ot buying mules, wagon and har- ness in Louisiana and later check ed out $350 to the New York Life company to pay on his insurance.
 h the testimony given was a deposition by James A. Pitcock, superintendent of the state peni- tentiary shows that Frye was sentenced from Polk county to serve two years in that ison; that he served one year all nine teen days and was pardoned. Dr. J. K. Davis and Dr. F. A. Lee testified as experts as to whether the condition of the body found in the well was such as would result from an explosion of dynamite.
 o. l.. Gregg of Grannis then testified as to the digging the dirt from the we'll after it had been filled in after Frye's sup posed death, and of the finding of pieces of bones. He also stat ed that on Monday of last week he found a portion of skull near where the dirt was thrown out.
 The manager of the Shreveport, branch of the insurance company testified as to having received letters from people at Grannis after the supposed death asking what he would give for the ar res of Gus Frye. Also told of newspaper articles telling of the presence of Frye at picnic ID Louisiana, at time when child of his was caught and killed by an alligator.
 The strongest feature of the defense was that there was not sufficient tune, from the time when other parties were at the we'll in which Frye was working, for him to bring another body and place it in the we'll before the explosion took place.
 That this was done was the theory of the insurance company, and according to the witnesses there was only about ten minutes elapsed from the time Frye was last seen in the we'll and the ex- plcsion, which threw portions of body over the sides of the hole and the ground for hundreds of feet around the well.
 Frye's age was given at 27 years at time of explosion. The application for insurance was made in Shreveport, Frye repre- seutinp himself to be farmer.
 Mrs Gus Frye, J. Ii. Frye, w. E. Hungate and Senator J. F.