The Yale expositor., 1910-05-20
MURDER FOR AN
INHERITANCE
THE CASE OF DR.. HYDE CLOSES
WITH A VERDICT OF FIRST
DEGREE GUILT.
ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE
CRIMINALS OF POLICE
RECORD.
An Originator Of New and Modern
Methods Of Disposing Of Those
in His Way.

imprisonment for life Is the pun
ishment meted out to Or. b. c. Hyde,
OF Kansas City, Mo-, found guilty of
numbering Col. Thomas H. Swope, the
millionaire philanthropist and also
accused OF poisoning with typhoid
germs and in other ways ten rela-
tives and connections OF Swope.
BY the verdict of the jurors. re-
turned after they had been out for
three nights, DR.. Hyde goes down to
history as one of the most remark
able criminals in police annals. AL
though the formal charge against
Hyde dealt only with the rich mans
death. the judge permitted TO go be-
fore the jury evidence by which the
prosecution sought TO show that Hyde
was the originator of new and
strictly modern murder method-the
injection OF disease germs into the
bodies OF his victims. This evidence
influenced the jury in its decision.
The motive alleged for the attempt
to perpetrate a Borgia-like series of
murders was the doctors desire to
get rid OF all those who stood be
tween his wife and the inheritance
OF the Swope fortune.
FllotoTy OF Ine Urine.
Dr. Hyde administered a capsule TO
Col Thomas II. Swope, millionaire
real estate and mine owner of Kan.
sas City, on Oct 3, 1909. Shortly
afterwards Col. Swope died Eminent
Chicago doctors found strychnine in
the dead mans stomach and liver.
This was followed in December by
an epidemic of typhoid in the Swope
household. Five members of the
family were taken ILL.,. Chrisman
Swope swallowed a capsule given him
by Hyde. He died An examination
OF his stomach showed signs of
strychnine.
All five OF the people affected were
legatees OF Col. Swope, who left an
estate of more than $3,500,000.
In prosecuting Hyde the state
claimed that he tried TO dispose of
the Swope legatees by poison and by
typhoid fever germs, which il was
shown he had purchased in Novem-
ber,. 1909.
Miss Pearl Keller, nurse who at
tended Col. Swope at his death, who
afterwards was one OF five nurses
who refused TO work with Hyde as
physician, told on the stand that after
the patients death she had hunted
for the capsules given Swope by
Hyde's direction, but had found them
gone.
Witnesses also testified that Hyde
bought germ media in large quanti
ties and cyanide OF potassium. On
one occasion he is said to have
ground box of drugs beneath his
heel when he thought himself unob-
served. The box was shown to have
contained cyanide of potassium.
Hyde's defense was that he pur-
chased the germ media for bacteria
logical work, and the cyanide of
potassium for cleansing office towels.
He said some unknown person stole
the germ media from his Office.
DR.. Twyman, who was to have been
a witness, died at the opening of the
trial
DR. B. c. Hyde is the son Of re.
tired Baptist minister in Lexington,
Mo. He graduated in the '90s from
the Wentworth Military academy at
Lexington and studied medicine in
Kansas City After being appointed
police surgeon there he was removed
for unprofessional conduct His name
was mentioned in connection with
several bold grave robberies in 1908
About 1902 he married Miss Margaret
Swope, niece of the late Col. Thomas
II. Swope. The girls mother opposed
the marriage. The physician is said
to have been discharged from the
Office OF city physician because of
cruelty to his patients.
Several breach of promise suits
were brought against Hyde. After
some years relations with the Swopes
were patched up and re 'ations be-
came fairly cordial The first victim
in the list OF tragedies was James
Moss Hunton, cousin, executor and
confidant OF Col. Swope. The state
tried to show that DIR. Hyde was re-
sponsible In having advised too much
blood letting during an attack of
apoplexy.