New-York tribune., 1911-01-17
OETECTVE-NURSE
CALM UNDER GR|LL|NC
Admits She Lied to Mrs. SChenk,
but 1t Was Pursuant to
Instructions.
IS RELATED TO THE FAMILY
pivorced from the Physician
Wheeling Trial Is Being
Prolonged Beyond
Expectations.

Wheeling. ". Va, Jan. le-Five hour
-, e,rcuuous Cross-eXamination in the cas-
:, Mrs Laura Farnsworth Schenk. charged
,,,b administering poison to her million
.,ra husband, John .. Schenk, failed Il
,rske today the story told the jury OF
a;rect examination on Saturday by Eleanor
7oeckIer. the detective-nurse. who is alsC
,novn as Mrs. Klein. She alleges tha
Ms schenk offered her 81 600 10 put poi
soned pill IN the medicine which was taker
~, the patient at the North Wheeling Hos
pital
Miss Zoe-kler, who is connected with a
p,,tsburg detective agency. was on IN,
s,ard all day. and. with the exception OF
, balf-hour when the remainder OF her
testimony was brought out by Prosecuting
Attorney J. 3. Handlan, she was In the
hands Of 6. O. Boyce who grilled her with
out mercy.
The womans verscity, her character and
her past life were referred 10 I'm the Ques-
tons propOunded by Mr.. Boyce So fierce
Was the attack on the witness at the very
ol,sst of the discrimination that Pros
sgrtirc Attorney Handlan objected and the
isrv was excluded while the objection was
argued out
u submit said Mr. Handlan. that
counsel for the defence is going too far.
This witness was placed in a peculiar po-
s,,,o0 She was under instructions from
the time she was brought here from Pitts
burg. and had been treated with even more
consideration than ordinary witnesses in
position 20 act for themselves. Counsel
-. q.
80 beyond the bounds Of authority"
A Commercial Witness.
Mr. Boyce replied with equal bitterness.
He said. This IS commercial witness
and vii treat her commercially. She was
employed to squirm and ingratiate herself
into the confidence Of this defendant with
a tissue 0f les. she has agreed TO lie for
money and 1 will cross-examine her on
those lines. The detective profession is an
honorable one IL conducted along regular
lines but iU this case it was not This
woman IS not a detective. She is only an
operative. and I will conduct this question
trg along lines to show that in such capac-
ity she lied and entered into a conspiracy
against this woman
Time after time Mr.. Boyce asked: when
You tod Mrs. Schenk that, you lied again,
didn't you?''
Without faltering or changing her ex-
preston the witness answered on every
occasion with a Straightforward Yes or
sure J did" She declared in explanation
Of her course that she was put on the case
10 obtain Information from the alleged
poisoneT Dy any means possible.
The remaining direct testimony Of Miss
Zoe-bler was taken at the morning session.
only a short time being required by Prose
cgtor Handlan. Asked if she had had con-
versations with Mrs. schenk regarding the
probable death of her husband, she said
she had; that Mrs Schenk had often ex-
pressed a fear that she would not get
what was coming to her" and that she was
not sure that she would get a good home
- the husband should die
b "I watched every board. every stone
going into our house" Mrs. schenk told
her the witness testified. and I know il
IS worth lot OF money
Following our talk when she offered me
Er5 10 poison John. Mrs. Schenk evaded
mo for several days" the witness said.
"On the morning Of her arrest she came TO
tho hospital and asked me If she could see
her husband. 7 told her yes. to 60 IN. Miss