Daily Arizona silver belt., 1910-05-22
Life Insurance Will Figure in Case of Woman Facing
 Grave Accusation
SISTER OF VICTIM
 SUSPECTED MURDER
Began Investigation Which Will Result in. Trial
 of Bogus Wife

ST. LOUIS, Mo-, May 21.-Prepara- tions are being completed for the trial the calendar of the criminal court for next Monday. The case had originally been set for March 2S, but was post poned until May 23 by agreement of counsel. The case, which presents many interesting and unusual features has at tracted considerable interest throughout the state and also in several states, where the defendants had previously lived.
 According to the records and inform ation unearthed by the prosecution William J. Erder, postoffice clerk at St. Louis, was married at Clayton, a suburb of this city, on April 26, 1909, to Mrs. Dora Elizabeth Fuller Doxey, now charged with murder, who at that time was the lawful wife of pr. Loren B. Doxey. The records at Clayton show that Erder, whose age was 36 years, had married woman whose name was given as Dora E. Dodd was in reality Mrs. Doxey.
 A short time after their marriage Mrs. Doxey persuaded Erder to trans fer to her $2,700 of life insurance, of which his mother and sister were the original benefciaries. Although at the time of his wedding healthy and TO- bust man, Erder became i'll few days after his marriage and died on July 10, 1909. The physician called in by Mrs. Doxey signed certificate stating he had died of tuberculosis. Immediately after the death of her alleged husband Mrs. Doxey packed up all of her house. hold furniture and three days later shipped it to her real husband, Dr. Loren B. Doxey, practicing his profes- sion at Columbus, Neb. Before Mrs. Doxey herself started for Columbus, she appeared in the probate court and, mak ing an affidavit that she was the widow of William J. Erder, obtained $500 in surance upon the life of Erder's sister Elizabeth, who had died shortly after Erder's marriage.
 Miss Kate Erder, anpther sister of William J. Erder, suspecting that, her brother had not died a natural death, began to make an investigation, which soon confirmed her suspicious. She as- certained that the furniture had been shipped to Dr. Doxey at Columbus, Neb. She went to Columbus and found that the alleged widow of her brother was living there as the wife of Dr. Doxey. To gain time and detain the woman until careful investigation could be made here, Miss Erdman had Mrs. Dox- ey arrested on the charge of bigamy. Of course, the charge fell flat, as the Doxey's were able to prove, when their case came up in December of last year, that they had been lawfully married at Burlington, Ia, on August 30, 1906. But Miss Erder gained her object of detaining the couple until she was ready to make more serious charges against them. She returned to St. Louis and prevailed upon the police authorities to have her brothers body exhumed and his viscera subjected to 8 chemical analysis by experts. The analysis es- tablished the presence of arsenic in the vital organs of the deceased and, upon that finding by the coroner's jury gave a verdict that William J. Erder had come to his death by arsenic admins tered by his alleged wife and that Dr. Loren B. Doxey had guilty knowledge of the fact. Both were indicted for murder and the governor of Nebraska asked for the extradition of the indicted couple.
 During her confinement in jail Mrs. Doxey broke down and it was found that she had been victim of the mor- phine habit for many years. By judi cious treatment she was cured of the habit and restored to health. Her hus- band was not permitted to treat her during her illness or to be alone with her even moment. Both have re- peatedly denied their guilt and asserted their confidence of being able to prove their innocence.
 Mrs. Doxey was born in AledO, H., in 1880, the daughter of Colonel Jeffer- son Fuller of that city. She was only sixteen years old when she became the wife of Robert l.. Downing, a shoe merchant of Joy, III. On account of her relations to Dr. Doxey MT. Downing obtained divorce from ner in lyUo |, is known that she entertained relations with two men immediately after that and 1t is believed that she married both. One of them, named Dodd or Dodge, is said to have died six months after the marriage and the other, Frank Le- gear has disappeared. She married Dr. Doxey in 1906 and while they were living in Des Moines she married Erder whose acquaintance she had made in the spring of that year. As to her de- fense there are various theories. One theory is that she will claim that it was some other woman that married and poisoned Erder, while some persons are of the opinion Mrs. Doxey will claim to have been under the influence of drugs and Dr. Doxey's hypnotic power when she married and poisoned Erder.