The San Francisco call., 1910-09-30
Woman Declares She Prepared
Instruments for Operation
on Eva Swan
WAS PRESENT WHEN THE
ANESTHETIC WAS GIVEN
Many Witnesses Called to Clinch
Case Against doctor"
Accused of Murder
ALMOST EVERY LOOPHOLE
OF ESCAPE BLOCKE1

with the object Of indictina
Robert Thompson. alias DR.
James Grant. the man accused by tha
police of the murder of Eva Swan.
proceeded before the grand jury last
night with every Indication that a bill
would be returned by that body in.
dieting the accused man.
Deputy District Attorney James
Brennan conducted the hearing. and
all the witnesses who had testified
before the coroner were subpoenec
by the authorities to recite the ghast.
ly details before the inquisitorial
body. BY far the most important
witness was the nurse, who occupied
the stand an hour and a half.
The central figure in the grand jury
room during the Investigation was
the nurse, Marie Messersehmidt,
wdhose confession tore away the veil
Of mystery which had for days sur
rounded the discovery of the body OF
Eva Swan. In only one material re-
spect did the girl vary her story as
told before the detectives and the
coroner's jury. This variation was
highly material. because it went into
important details with respect to the
actual operation on the dead girl.
Heretofore the nurse had insisted
that she was not in the room when
DR.. Thompson operated. In effect this
statement is true, but. informed that
she must tell absolutely all she. knew
before the grand jury, the woman who
shared the physicians secret admitted
that she prepared the instruments and
was present when the girl was
brought under the influence of the
anesthetic. As soon as Eva Swan lost
consciousness the nurse left the room
and what was done after that she
could not testify to. This left no pos
sible doubt in the minds of the jury
as to the guilt of the man now
charged with murder
That the evidence before the grand
jury might be complete in every
sense and leave the indictment beyond
attack, Assistant District Attorney
James Grennan, who conducted the
hearing for District Attorney Fickert.
first positively fixed the identity of
Thompson alias Grant, by Miss Irene
Canty of 329 Eureka street and also
by Mrs. Margaret Dean, who occupied
the house on the other side of the
street from the one in which Detec-
tiyes Wren. Burke and Richards
found the girls remains.
Detectives Ed Wren, NJ " Burke and
G. H Richards were also placed upon
the stand to tell what they discovered
at the Eureka street house and of their
identifcations OF the remains as those
of Eva Swan, the girl who Miss Mes
serschmidt had last seen alive on the
operating table OF 'Dr. Grant" The
testimony of the three men was only
valuable in tracing the movements OF
Thompson and Willie Sack and in TX
ing the time when Eva Swan was last
seen in her usual haunts. They were
followed by DR.. @. A. Glover. the
autopsy surgeon. who reported on the
condition of the body and of his in
ability to determine the cause of death.
because of the condition Of the remains.
He did testify, however. to the mutila-
tion OF the corpse. which the nurse
declared she had witnessed in the Of
| fee Of Thompson-the horrible post
morten operation which had sickened
her.
Paul Parker followed the nurse and
told all he knew of the dead girl dur
ing her life time He endeavored to
explain his silence to the jury by de-
cIaring that he was afraid to become
identiied with such an affair. His
testimony was not material in fixing
the commission of felony. except in
so far as it traced Eva Swan to the
ONCE OF Thompson. where Parker had
last seen the girl fever stricken and
raving Parker continued to declare
his innocence and stuck to his original
declaration that he did not know Eva
Swan was going to such an institution
until he received word that she was
there. His subsequent search and
story regarding his personal anxiety
was corroborated by Mrs. Carrie A
Ware, the Iandlady Of 2040 Scott street.
where both Parker and Eva Swan
lived.
/ The testimony was concluded Wsah
Ben Gordan. the youth whose failure %