Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-10-20
CHEMIST TELLS
OF POISON THAT
KILLED ADMIRAL
AT Mrs. EatOn's Murder Trial
He Says 1867 Grains
Were Found.

PLYMOUTH, Mass, Oct 20.-Pro-
lessor William F. Whitney. of the
Harvard Medical School. was called
to the stand today in the trial of Mrs
Jennie May Eaton, charged with
the murder OF her husband, Rear Ad-
miraI Joseph G. Eaton, to recount the
result of his analysis of the organs
removed from the body of Admiral
Eaton.
District Attorney Katzmann as
serted that Professor Whitney found
fifteen grains of white arsenic in the
admiral's stomach.
Professor Whitney testified that the
vital organs of the admirafs body
were "permeated" with arsenic. He
found a total of 1857 grains of the
poison.
Poison Taken In Several Doses.
Replying to a hypothetical question
asked by District Attorney Barker at
the suggestion of Judge Aiken, the
witness said that his discoveries
would indicate that the poison had
been taken in more than one dose.
| The first dose was probably taken
within a few hours of the time that
| suffering began.
| The hypothetical question supposed
that the patient became i'll on Thurs
day and died Saturday. In the opinion
of the witness indications were that
the sick man had received poison six
hours before he died.
| The witness said that a large
amount of the poison received by the
admiral had been thrown off. The
body probably had ridden itself of
several times the amount that had
been retained.
Must Have Swallowed Poison.
The poison must have been taken
| through the mouth, either pure or in
some fluid in order to have reached
the stomach in the form found.
Professor Whitney said that death
was not caused by arsenic in the form
to be found in the paris green kept in
the Eaton home.
On cross examination Prof. Whit
ney admitted that the presence of a
large quantity of arsenic in persons
stomach led to the presumption that
it was elf-administered, because it
was so easily detected. He said that
the poison might have been in the ad
miral's system the day before he was
taken i'll, but that one who had taken
fifteen grains of arsenic would suffer
intense pain.
| First Dose About Dinner Time.
He said that the conditions were
not inconsistent with a theory that
the poison had been administered in
many doses. The first dose was prob
ably taken within an hour of dinner
time on Thursday
A letter written by Mrs. Eaton to
Prof. Whitney in 1909, while the
chemist was examining the digestive
organs of an adopted child of the
Eatons, who had died suddenly, was
| introduced. The writer said in part:
will you kindly inform me how
much longer it will be before you can
state exactly what my dear, little,
healthy, strong child died from. l am
here alone in this isolated place with
my husband, Admiral j. G. Eaton,
whom l. know to be a dangerous, in
| sane man,
Now, please search for foreign
poisons, as he has talked to me freely
about foreign poisons, and he has all
I the cleVerness of a maniac and is
cunning enough to use one that would
be hard to detect. He has been plan
ming my death all day today, and yet
I am powerless, and / trust on the
| finding of poison to have him ex-
amined for insanity and taken
care Of"
Professor William Balch another
chemist from the Harvard Medical
| School, testified that in his opinion
poison was administered to Admiral
Eaton in more than one dose. He
said that arsenic might be taken with
tea, with saleratus and water, with
milk, and wifi certain other bev-
erages, without detection by the
patient.