The Evening standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1910-1913, 1910-11-10
LLOY WILL
BE & ! Y EN-
FREEDOM

Because of an unexpected collapse
OF the card house of evidence which
the police had been building about
Benjamin F. Lloyd. the alleged pois-
oner of three fallen women, the man
viii doubtless be released from Gus
tody this afternoon and his bond oi
$50. which has kept him from being
under lock and key. returned. The
police, once so certain OF the man 8
guilt, now state that there IS not
sufficient evidence against Lloyd 10
warrant even preliminary hearing.
The case against Lloyd is In many
respects a pecIliar one, Lloyd visit
ed tho apartments OF three different
demlmondos In each OF the places he
purchased bottle OF beer and aftor
drinking the beverage the women
became violently IN. These three In
cidents took place on three different
nights. In each case LLOYD dlsap-
peared while the woman was either
unconscious or IN commissions In
each incident, according to the state
mcnt OF the women, money Was
found 10 be missing from the room
when the tenant recovered from her
attack OF Illness
DR.. William j. Browning, who treat
cd two OF the women. stated to the
police that their illness was undoubt-
edly due to some form OF opium pois-
Oning He states that 1t was only by
the most heroic treatment that he
was able TO save the life of one of the
women. Each of the women de-
scrlbed the same man as her supposed
pnisoner and this description ans
~ered that of Lloyd, whom the police
found had a room rented at a room
Ing house on lower Twenty-fifth
street. The man had an appoint
ment TO meet another woman at
certain hour of the night Two de-
tectiyes filled this appointment in
place OF the woman and Lloyd was ar
rested after h0nd-to-hand battle with
the two officers Al the police station
the prisoner claimed that be thought
the officers were hold-up men and II
was for this reason that he offered
resistance whom they attempted TO ar
rest him.
When LLOYD was searched a small
bottle OF dark fluid vas found in one
OF his pockets and this was seized
by the police as a piece OF valuable
evidence against the man. IN
Browning, while not able to state post
lively as TO the contents of the bottle,
gave 1t as his opinion that the bottle |
contained a preparation of laudanum. ..
Had the surmise of the physician |
proved correct the case against Lloyd I.
would have been most convincing |
one. II would also have proven tho |
pF l..
ing type for in each instance where .
lie drank beer with his supposed vic. !
Ian he displayed the bottle before
he woman's eyes and the bottle was
me which when once seen would not
20 forgotten The cork of the bottle
vas wrapped with paper
After lloyd was arrested the three
women who had been poisoned were
'rought to the station and all three
II them identified the prisoner as the
poisoDer. The women also
cry readily identified the bottle as
he one which they had seen in tho
mans possession at the time OF his
.isit to their apartments
When arrested Lloyd had about
l30 In cash on his person and claim
d that he was a mining man from
Wyoming The man was we'll dressed
nd had the appearance of being Il
porting man or man OF the street.
le would not be looked upon by any
ne as a crook. at least not as one
I the petty crooks with which the
olice do most of their dealing
One of the first Investigations
'hlch the police made was to de.
lr,a A ]
( fluid was true one The man
sd told the police that the bottle
ontaIned merely an antiseptic pre-
aratlon and that he had purchased
from local druggist This drug
ist verified Lloyd's story and stat
d that the only poisonous Ingredi-
Mt in the fluid was sulphlde of zinc.
ut that the bottle did not contain
nough OF this poison 10 prove dan
erous even II the whole contents of
he bottle should be taken inter
ally.
This started the collapse of evi-
ence, but the possibility OF securing
conviction of Lloyd was made doub-
uncertain by the statements of the
lree women The police say that
enc of the victims could testify that
he had seen the man place anything
the beer which he offered her TO
rink
Another bit OF evidence which the
Olice expected could be used against .
lloyd went glimmering when II was
und that the suspect would not ad-
- the ownership or any knowledge
woman'S purse. containing mon
Y. which they found between the
atresses of the bed in which he ,
ept at the roomiug house. Lloyd 1
gorously denies that he knew the
lrse was in the bed. although he Z