The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-01-13
IS NO HYPNOT|ST.
Mrs. Carmichael Denies
Minister'S Dying Charge.
NO HAND IN CHURCH MURDER
She Declares That Neither the Pas
tor Nor His Victim Nor She
Knew Anything Of
Hypnotism.

hypnotic him. l am no hypnotist,"
said Mrs. John Haviland Carmichael
when told that her husband had &C.
cused her before his suicide at Car.
thage, ILL.,. of having forced him to
murder Gideon Browning, the carpen-
ter, cut up his body and burn it in the
church stove.
When 1t was explained to Mrs. Car
michael that her husband before cut
ting his throat had written a letter
confessing the murder Of Browning
and saying that he had done the deed
while under his wife's hypnotic inf1u
ence Mrs. Carmichael declared that
she knew nothing of hypnotism, that
her husband, she knew, was also igno.
rant of it and that hypnotism had
never been discussed in their home.
II never saw a person hypnotized."
she said, land know absolutely moth
ing about the practice. And If my hus.
band made such a statement in a let
ter he must have been crazy.
II would not think that Mr.. Brown
ing either would have known any
thing of mesmerism or hypnotism.
never spoke Of Mr.. Browning to my
husband, and my husband never spoke
Of him to me. never said any more
than How do you dor to Mr.. Brown.
ing. l never was in their house.
81 never knew Mr.. Browning and
my husband were close friends until
this came out. I can't understand it,
unless my husband wanted to help Mr..
Browning to make success in life.
He would naturally take some interest
in everybody like that.
Now, IL Mr.. Carmichael ever did
anything to Mr.. Browning my husband
! must have been crazy. Why, he didn't
have an enemy. He never showed any
anger to any one. He controlled him
self. He never struck a man or was
ever in fight.
He could not have been aroused
over any action of the people here, for
everybody was kind to us from the
first have often been afraid that the
gatherings in my husbands ears
would cause his death or make him
insane.
1--WE never had any trouble, only
over that manuscript of his two nov
els. l saw some of it once, a few
sheets, but l felt called upon to tell
him he should not write such things
But he persisted. That caused cool.
ness, but not quarrel
Prosecuting Attorney Brown said
that his office would as matter OF
course investigate the allegation ir
Carmichaers letter that his wife's hyp
motto influence impelled him to the
Browning murder.
In conversation with Mrs. Carmi
chael the prosecutor learned that she
has an aunt and cousin in RuShville
! Ill. But Mrs. Carmichael insisted tC
him also that she had no relatives OF
friends in Carthage and knew nothing
of the place.
/ Pastor Carmichacl's confession con
| cludeS with the statement that Brown
| ing attacked the minister with knives
! and that Carmichael was forced to xii
! the man in self defense. This he die
with a hatchet and then cut up an(
burned the body in the stove.
Carmichael also wrote a ten page let
ter admitting his identity and confess
ing that he killed Browning, cut VI
the body and burned it in the stow
while under the hypnotic influence O
his wife"
When Carmichael was found in al
clubhouse with his throat cut he wa
half dead from loss of blood and ex
posure to the cold. At the boarding
house he had stated that he intende'
to start factory and had called o.
the local Catholic priest, stating tha
he was a Catholic and wanted to en-
list that church in his enterprise.