The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1910-04-19
attorney Be c ms
GREAT BATTLE To
SAVE HYDE
In His Arguments To Jury, He m
sists Some One Injected Poison
Into Col. Swope's Body
After He Died
Death of DR.. Twyman Monday Has
Greatly Weakened the Prosecu-
tons Case.

KANSAS CITY Mn--April IA.
torney Frank p. Walsh took his place
lefore the jury today and began ou;-
lining the grounds on which he sx'
poets the jury to acquit DR.. b. c. Hyde,
on trial charged with the murder ~
Col Swope. AS he cold the jury ana
the court OF the alleged entering ot
The Swo2e vault. after the coloneis
body had been placed there, he sad
the evidence was conclusive that
someone injected poisons into the
body after death. He knew there was
no one in the states array of witnesses
who could take he stand and swear
positively that DR.. Hyde had given
Col. Swope poison 10 cause his death.
There is no one mere who can swea;
positively that Gel. Moss Hunton was
Sled 10 death. lie said. because DE-.
e. t. Twyman. physician and conf
dant of the Swope family, and the only
person who couii swear TO this, Is
dead. With the passing of DR.. ivy
mar late yesterday, the lips that
might have unfolded story support
ing the states charge that Hyde was
tie slayer of Col. Hdnton as well as
Col. Swope was stilled.
DR. Twyman attended the Swopes
during the period they were said 20
have been victims OF Dr. Hyde's whole
sale poison. 1t vas expected that he
would testify thar he found Miss Mar
garet Swope at the point OF death
from cyanide OF potassium few mill
utes after she took medicine from a
box handled by Or. Hyde. II was
through DR.. Twyman that the state
hoped TO establish that Dr. Hyde WAS
accused OF irregularity in practice and
that his conduct was such that IL
amounted 10 evidence against him. He
was relied upon to show that DR..
Hydes bleeding of Col. Hunton was
over the protest of a fellow prac-
titioner and that he drew two quarrs
of blood from the weakened man and
then only stopped when forced to.
DR. Twyman's testimony would have
been both expert and direct. but the
state musr now rely almost solely upon
eircumstantial evidence.
In his opening address today Attor-
rey Welsh laid great stress on the
theory that poison was introduced into
Col. Swope's body after death
Cyanide of potassium may have
been put into Col. Swope's body either
I'm the vault. In the catacombs. or in
the morgue. The state refusing TO
allow the defense any portion OF the
body for analysis" said Walsh.
Chicago scientists who examined
the viscera discredit themselves by
making a report in conflict with the
facts. The defense holds that Col
Swope used alcoholic drinks for %
years before his death. and because
OF this his liver was cirrhotic. Ii Is
well.known in pathology that man
must have cirrhosis in some degree
after years of use Of alcohol.
This condition explains why, II
Col. Swope died of strychnine poison
ing the effect was belated. For months
Col. Swope habitually took strych-
nine tonic TO stimulate his heart. The
use made by Hyde Of culture tubes OF
baccilli OF typhoid and diptheria, was
legitimate experimentation. DR.. Hyde
used his best judgment in bleeding
Moss Hunton and did not purposely
bleed him TO death
THE defendant did not poison Col
Swope. Chrisman Swope or Margaret
Swope, and did not inoculate any
member of the family with bacilH
All OF the charges grow out of malice,
envy and unjust suspicious and they
are based on the manufactured EVIL
dence of paid witnesses"
Walsh surprised the state by de-
claring that Dr. Hyde was not re.
sponsible for the bleeding of Moss
Hunton. which the state claims caused
his death.
DIR George T. Twyman, the aged
practitioner who died last night was
the man in charge of the bleeding. -
declared Walsh