The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1909-10-15
POISON CASE REVIVED
vss. KRAUss DECLARES Hus-
RAND KILLED DAUGHTER.
saYS CONFESSION IS FALSE
sensational Charges Made In Answer
10 Divorce Proceedings Filed
at Hartford City.

Hartford city. Ind. Special: Close
m The heels OF the divorce complaint
eiedb v W r. Krauss against his wife.
pae Alderman Krauss. who is serving
nfe sentence in the women's state
prlson al Indianapolis for the murder
81 her stepdaughter. Crystal Krauss.
comes a cross-complaint. In which the
seltconfessed murderess directly
charges her husband with killing his
own daughter.
The cross-complaint. which may re-
suit in " r. Krauss being tried for
frst degree murder. alleges that after
he murdered his daughter by admins
tering stry chnine that through threats,
persuasion, false pretenses and false
Promises Mrs krauss was coerced. ca
joled and misled to make an alleged
confession that she had committed the
crime
The complaint continues to say that
this confession was made upon the as
surance that the prosecutor and Judge
Z C. Vaughn, who at that time was
fudge Of the Blackford county circuit
court. had promised that she would be
pardOned az the end of two years. Out
on love for her husband, Mrs. krauss
declared she took the blame on her
own shoulders and his recent actions
have caused her 10 see that her CON
fdence was misplaced and that II
would b. best il she should disclose
all
Recently William r. Krauss attempt
ed to secure his wife's signature TO a
deed IA the krauss home in this city,
and she refused 10 sign the document
He hen resolved 10 divorce her and
thgs remove the necessity of gaining
her consent TO the transfer OF the
property
Crystal Krauss, the beautiful and
accomplished daughter of William X
Kralss by his first wife. died August
. 1905. OF strychnine poisoning II
was Az first supposed that she had
committed suicide because of a love
affair with a newspaper reporter
Soon. however. suspicion was directed
toward the girls stepmother. whom
Kauss had married less than two
months before the death OF his daugh-
ter
Mrs Krauss was arrested two DAYS
after ne death OF the girl. She stout
ly detained her innocence. but cir
cumstantial evidence piled up against
her and on September % Of the same
year the woman made a written con
iess.on II was not until October %
that the confession was made public.
and Mrs Krauss was Immediately sen
fenced 10 life Imprisonment by Judge
Stlreis
When William r. Krauss married
Rae Alderman marriage agreement
was made whereby she received $4,000
from her husbands estate in the event
q his death This was TO be her full
share and il was generally believed
that the woman killed her stepdaugh-
ter tn order 10 get her share OF the
estate should Kraus-s die.
On Monday evening. August /. the
night before Crystal died. Mrs. Krauss
sent Lloyd Someryille. age nine. to
drug store with a note to which the
name OF Mrs. Shewalter. a neighbor.
was signed The note read. Give boy
Is cents worth Of strychnine. | want
% clean out some mice"
A forged note supposed TO have
been written by Crystal Krauss. stat
ing that she could not live without her
lover whom Krauss had forbade her
seeing was found after the girls
death This note was in the same
handwriting AS the note ordering the
stychnine
After the bed in which her step
daughter had died had been searched
Pc an undertaken and physicians.
Mrs krauss produced two bottles,
which She declared she had found in
NE death chamber The bottles. how
ever lad not contained the poison.
CRYSTAL Krauss had been i'll for sew
era days before her death and il was
tle belief OF the doctors that Mrs.
hfAnss had been administering strych-
nine % her for some time and that the
Gil finally died from the effects OF
the poison
Indiana was shocked at the crime
committed by Mrs. Krauss. and her
concession was only another incident
~ ne series that had kept Hartford
ti,y al fever heat for days The al.
Force case will likely be heard by
Judge Sturgis at the October term of
Ae BlackiOrd circuit court. and on the
ol'come will likely depend the fate OF
William Il Krauss. who stands ac-
6lsed Of numbering his own daughter
"a The woman whom he married and
"ho has already confessed the crime
William r. Krauss made this state
hent realize now that | should
nave begun action for divorce long
ago bat my affection for my wife in
her trouble was too strong. loved
her and did until today Now ! in
'ehd 20 press that suit. do not pro
nose 90 let any nurderess stand in
we way " my disposing OF my prop
e-iy This is exactly what this Is all
ABOUT and added to il she is seeking
ie'enge. | shall easily clear nv name
Y me cloud that now hangs over n
Plans an Ideal Race.