The Irish standard., 1911-04-15
PHYSICIAN NOW UNDER LIFE
SENTENCE FOR MURDER OF
COLONEL SWOPE.
FAMOUS CASE is RE-0PENED
Long List Of Mysterious Deaths Of
the Heirs to Big F,ortune.-
Attorneys Claim c55
Errors.

Kansas City. April 122.~-Dr. E. Clark
Hyde. convicted after a sensational
trial of the murder OF Colonel Thomas
H. Swope, millionaire philanthro-
pist, was granted Il new trial by the
Missouri supreme court sitting at JET
ferson City. DR.. Hyde has been in
the county jail at Kansas City nearly
q year following a sentence of life
Imprisonment.
The Missouri supreme courts deci-
sion today was OH an appeal OF Hyde's
attorneys for new trial. He had
been sentenced July s, 1910, to life
imprisonment by Judge Latshaw.
Sept. %, 1910, his attorneys asked the
highest court in the state for new
hearing charging error in 255 points.
These included the following allega.
tons:
Attorney Attacks Evidence.
That the indictments were illegal
and the evidence insufficient to sup.
port the allegations: that competent
testimony received; that prejudicial
remarks were allowed by the prosecu
tor and by the court; that the court
should not have revoked Hyde's bond
during the trial and that the verdict
was the result OF passion and pref
udice.
The chief evidence attacked was
that OF the Chicago and Michigan tox
biologists who examined the viscera
OF the dead Swopes,; an especial at
tack was made on Professor Vaughn
of Michigan, who testified he found
strychnine in the liver of Colone
Swope
DR.. Hyde was found guilty of muir
der May Is, 1910. His inability pro
perly to explain the purchase of cap
sules OF potassium cyanide was chief
ly responsible for his conviction. He
said it was used tt, kill cockroaches
the prosecution said it was to xii
members of the SWope family ant
asked, Does a mar kill cockroach
with poison capsuAes?" Two days ant
a half after the arguments ended th,
verdict was returned
| Series Of Tragedies.
The first OF the series of tragedie
in the Swope family was the death O
James Moss HunAocn, Oct /, 1905
| The prosecution charged Hyde ble'
the patient beyond the limit of re
covery. purposely.
Two days later Colonel Swope wa
stricken with oonvulsions and died
| Witnesses testified that few minute
before the conv'ulsion DR.. Hyde ha,
given Colonel S'vope a capsule, sim
liar to the cyanide capsules it wa
shown he bought. The colonel's will
leaving $1,6Oo,OOO to relatives wa
filed and then Miss Margaret Swope
a niece of the Colonel, became i'll witt
| typhoid fever. Then Chrisman Swop
and two other relatives mentioned il
the will became i'll of typhoid. Dec
6, Chrisman Swope died, having con
vulsions similar ito those of his uncle
the colonel.
Two days later two more girls, leg
atees under the, will, became ill witt
typhoid fever and nurses at the tria
! testified Hyde had inoculated tn
sick persons with the fever germs
I
The repeated and continued Hines
and the two sudden deaths arouse,
suspicion and "a secret autopsy wa
made of the eXllumed body of Colone
Swope and lat r that of Chrisman
On the Psychologists reports and TIL
testimony of a druggist who sold Hyd
the potassium as we'll as that o
nurses in the sIwope home and of tn
typhoid patients Hyde was convicted
Mrs. Hyde Is Loyal.
Mrs. Hyde stuck by her HUSBAND
and against 1er relatives and Wen
on the stand in his behalf, but il
vain. Hyde claimed the men died o
natural causes, said the cyanide wa
to exterminate vermin and said h
had purchased typhoid fever culture
to experiment. with.
/