The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1910-04-20
ATTORNEY Be c IN S
! GREAT BATTLE TO
SAVE HYDE
In His Arguments To Jury, He N
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. Mo. April IA
forney Frank p. Walsh took his place
lefore the jury today and began OUT
lining the grounds on which ne sN'
poets the jury TO acquit DR.. Is. {. HYDE,
on trial charged with the murder 81
Col. Swope. AS he told the jury ana
the court OF the alleged entering ..
the Swopc vault. after the colonel
body had been placed there, he sad
the evidence was conclusive tnat
someone injected poisons into the
body after death. He knew there was
10 one In the states array OF witnesses
who could take ;he stand and swear
positively that Dr. Hyde had given
Col. Swore poison TO cause his death.
There is no one here who can swea:
positively that Col. Moss Hunton was
aled to death. lie said. because DE-
& #. Twyman. physician and comb
cant of the Swope family, and the only
person who coull swear 10 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
The slayer of Col Hdnton as well rs
Col Swope was stilled.
Dr. Twyman attended the SwopeS
during the period they were said 20
have been victims of DR.. Hydes whole
sale poison IL was expected that he
would testify tina. he found Miss Mar
garet Swope at the point OF death
from cyanide OF potassium few min
utes after she took medicine from
box handled by DR.. Hyde. IL was
through DR.. Twyman that the state
hoped to establish that DR.. Hyde vas
accused OF irregularity in practice anu
that his conduct was such that II
amounted TO evidence against him. lie
vas relied upon To show that Dr..
Hydes bleeding OF Col. Hunton was
over the protest OF fellow prae'
titloner md that he drew TWO quarts
of blood from tho weakened man am
then only stopped when forced TO.
DR. Twymans testimony would have
been both expert and direct. but the
state mus now rely almost solely upon
circumstantial evidence
In his opening address today Atto'-
rey Welsh laid great stress on tee
theory that poison was introduced into
Col Swopes body after death.
"Cyanide of potassium may have
been put into Col Swope's body either
in the vault, in the catacombs. or in
the morgue. The state refusing 10
allow the defense any portion of the
body for analysis" said Walsh.
Chicago scientists who examined
the yiscera discredit themselves By
making a report in conflict with the
facts. The defense holds that Col.
Swope used alcoholic drinks for 20
years before his death. and because
of this his liver was cirrhotic. Ii Is
wellknown in pathology that a 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
1.-The defendant did not poison Col
Swope, Chrisman Swope or Margaret
Swope, and did not inoculate any
member of thee family with bacilli
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.
''Dr. George +. Twyman, the aged
practitioner who died last night was
the man in charge of the bleeding"
declared Walsh