Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-06-03
MURDER, SUICIDE OR ACCIDENT
ALL POSSIBLE IN cLEMlN.
son CASE.
cLEMINsoN SAYS SUICIDE
BECAUSE OF wlFE's SINS
Declares He Accused Her Of lnfidelity
and that Once Before She Took Poi
son-Physician Remanded to Jail
Without RaiI-Poliee Hold to MUIR
der Theory.

Chicago, June 3.-Out of the conflict
of statement made by DR.. Haldane
Cleminson, the former Dubuque resi-
dent held on the charge of having
murdered his wife, Nora Jane Clemin-
son, who was found dead in their res
idence at 41SS Wayne avenue, Rogers
Park, last Sunday morning, Capt.
Thomas G. Kane of the Sheffield av-
enue police station has picked story
which he considers most important
pivot upon which to revolve the case.
Captain Kane last night said that
since he obtained DR.. Cleminson's con-
fession that his original story about
burglars chloroforming him and his
wife was a lie told ito save the honor"
of his children, the accused physician
told him his wife attempted suicide
two weeks previous to her death, af-
ter he had accused her of infidelity.
I'VE had been man and wife in name
lazy AOA S"O SSoASS OSAO1S JllC
world we lived together" was the doc
tors story as given out by Captain
Kane. II accused her of unfaithfulness
on account of her condition. She tried
TO commit suicide. think 1t was
morphine she took. administered
strychnine to revive her, and after she
had recovered she promised me faith
fully that she would not attempt sui
eide again. But she did, and succeed
ed"
Doctor Evades Question.
did you accuse your wife of I'M
faithfulness and did she attempt to
commit suicide afterwards?" asked a
reporter in the evening OF the doctor
in his cell.
II don't care to say anything about
that now" replied the doctor, his eyes
glued to the pages of a magazine eff
1t has to come out I suppose it will
have to come out"
Captain Kane now bases HIS belief in
the doctors guilt is another story at
tributed to the doctor to the effect that
a mixture containing twenty grains of
choral in his medicine chest was made
up for a graduate of the 1906 class of
the Hahnemann Medical School and
that his wife knew 1t was there. He
said he had refused TO give it to the
classmate after the latter had admitted
that ne wanted to use it fof Knockout
drops"
Also. the captain said he was inter-
ested in one of the stories attributed
to the doctor to the effect that he had
told his wife that he was intimate with
other women.
Awaits Chemists Report.
Corner Hoffman in the evening an
nounced that possibly by noon today he
will have received a rough report from
the experts in poisons who are endeav-
oring to learn what poisons caused
Mrs. Cleminson's death The inquest
is set for tomorrow afternoon at 2
o'clock at the Rogers Park police sta
ton, but owing to the necessary slow
ness Of the chemical search for poisons
1t is probable the hearing will be con-
tinued until early next week, when
Prof. Walter Haines and Prof. r. R.
LIE Count will have finished their ex-
aminations.
I'm view Of the lies Cleminson has
told and in"the absence Of strong evil
dence to the contrary, lean at pres
ent to the belief that Mrs. Cleminson
was murdered" said the coroner. 1T
was murder or suicide, and the thing
we now have to determine is which II
was. I had a long conference with
Capt. Kane today. but we found our
selves without as clear information as
we would like to have and as we ex-
pect to get"
The feature OF the afternoon was DR.
Cleminson's arraignment in the Shelf
field avenue branch of the Municipal
court before Judge Mancha Brugge-
meyer. The doctor, with his attorney,
S. p. Douthart, went into court without
a collar and conducted himself in a
composed manner while the proceed
ings We're going on. No plea was en-
tered and the court declined to adj
NIT the doctor TO bail, continuing the
case until June 9. when Assistant
States Attorney Benedict J. Short will
take charge Of the prosecution. The
doctor was booked formally on a charge
Of murder at the police station by or
der Of Capt. Kane.
Murder, Suicide, or Accident.
The story at night had simmered
down to several theories: the chief Of
which being about as follows:
]. That DR.. Cleminson murdered his
wife.
q. That she committed suicide.
g.. That she took poison accidentally
while thinking she was taking harm
less stomach medicine from her hus-
bands stock Of drugs.
A story to the effect that Dr.. Clemin-
son had accused relatives Of conspi-
racy to kill his wife was put out OF ac-
ton by Captain Kane. who said the
nearest the doctor came to rejecting
upon his wife's relatives was in saving:
Il guess I can't expect much help from
my wife's folks"
The possible motive that Captain
prnnor Co.c