The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1910-04-15
CHARGED WITH MURDER OF SIX SHE GOES FREE;
CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE WAS WRONG
Remarkable Case Of Mary
kelleher, Who Was Con-
fined in New England
Prison for lS Months.

HftF hNt AUftl lh When Mrs.
Mary kvlleht was acquitted hy a
jury Ia tho superior court az East
Cambridge az the frlghtfui charge
% numbering her husband. her three
children. her sister and hsr sister
Ia law tht district attorney and her
own lawyer congratulated her. and
che case waa written down aa "ru-
markahie instance uf circumstance
tending t9 make pn innocent person
appear guilty
Year and . Hall IN Jall.
There was mighty little comfort
in this f1r MARY Kei'rher slx Nom.
bern ~ htr family died rather sud.
denly Within three years ii ls tvue.
bat there wRs n8 evidrpce against
Mary except a few circumstance
which ore ulu satisfactorily sa.
planned However fof d year and
half the poor woman lay in iait De
ti,ute and fr.endisHa. awaiting the
day in court wheu she would uroyc
herself innocent For "a monfhsithe
police. prosscltins officers and ihe
court held Mary Kelirher itke
common mufderess though thcy
now have CO. admit inst there was
$50 grain Nf actual proof against hsF
TIE circumstances leading 20 the
unfortunate uuurna legal rrfae.
rutiun are aH f1iiawa MarY keiir-
hrr. peer and Obscure worked es
tameatle ia the home ~ " Boston
family There we're three ur four
A. al.
and detectives investigating decided
10 iotk up Mary She didn't know
how thr fires started. and the deter.
tigss failed g. find any reason why
enc ahauit fry ta burn htr employ.
ers house besides damage was
small
ST. Relatives Dead.
while thr detectives were trying
tn imrneate MARI ln an attempted
arson raae she's discovered that six
~ hsf Relatives had died within
three yrars az follows Bridget
Knouls sister. Anne Keiiehsr. aia.
trr m Jaw Stephen kei'ohcr hos.
band MARI daughter. William aons
Katherine. daughter
Physicians had given certificates
~ natural death in each case
Ths body ~ Katherins was ira
sNhamsd. and less than enc finh ~
a grain ~ nnsenir was found Then
fhf other bodies sKsfs due 40. ard
arsenic was found in each. uut in
small Quantities
81 the raiies made thc case ard
Mar kalehar Without shs power ~
money a. property defend herself 81
hasten hyr trial sfsu pals and ecs
at heart "a prison.
Net Encush 10 xiii.
Ftnafig When ths case cAms into
court she 'proHeeutiou pressed TIRE
chAFas relating 20 she death - kaih-
crime. fhis being called thr siranEv-t
evidence against the woman It eas
admitted that ere arseuic fnuad in
Katherine body vas lees ihan nne-
nfih ~ what fn required 20 kiH ~
uaH aiso hrnaght aat thaf the ehiifH
hrsy contained ptomsine poison due
% fhe icr cream she had eaten hf a
lawn part1 lurt hffarr she waH taxi
ca lli
irhtr had called physician. bad
worked uighi and day o. save hor
child and vas grief stricken shen
ahs died
After abe presentation ~ thc
states ease. poison experts employed
m behalf % Mrs Ksii~hsr testified
that thrY had examined the cuutsnts
u a rhaau haIf mattress upon whffh
ali % the accused Hpman'a relatives
had died and had found IN the hair
quantities ~ arsenic
TIE experts also testified that
arsenic bad hesn contained % the en-
balmlug fluid used Dag every caHs. and
also thai trees Is tbo nelghborhood
bad bwsn sprayed wifh "a preparation
containing the poison
a Fsss Dollars iusvrsnes.
The state had claimed that the
only motive Mrs kelieher could
have hma fuf the crimes would have