The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1916-07-14
0RPET CASE
NEARING END
Of ARGUMENT
AND WILL PROBABLY GO TO THE
JURY SATURDAY EVENING =
PERPLExlNG INCIDENTS WHICH
HAVE ARISEN

ldSt argument OF counsel in the case
of William II. Orpet, charged with
the murder of Marion Lambert will be
begun. and by Saturday night it is the
intention to have the case in the
hands of the jury.
The case of Marion Lambert and
William II. Orpet in the course OF its
development became one of the most
perpleXing in the annals of criminal
history. Motive paralleled motive
action paralleled action, opportunity
paralleled opportunity until the marks
of murder and of suicide became sub
stantially as one.
In the end the guilt or innocence
of the defendant, so far as the ad-
duction of actual fact was concerned
went to the jury on the mystifying
niceties of chemical analysis and Or
pets own compromising conduct. The
mystery attracted unusual interest in
all parts of the United States and
Canada.
Trial Of the case, including selec-
tion of jury, occupied the better
part of two months. There appeared
in evidence forty-four letters written
by Orpet to Marion over period of
a year; bottles and boxes containing
samples of cyanide fom the McCor
mick estate, from the Deerfield high
school laboratory, from Kraft's drug
store at Lake Forest and white pow
der scraped from Marions hand and
from spots on her cloak; the girls
garments magazine article deal
ing with the use of cyanide as a flu
migatOr in greenhouses; the chemis-
try text books used respectively by
the high school girl and the college
student, a copy of the Wisconsin
statute dealing with the sale of poi
sons, and a bottle of molasses and
water.
Five chemists, all of whom were
specialists in toXicology, one alien
ist, two surveyors, druggists, street
car men, an undertaken, school teach
ers. police officers, reporters and
friends of the Orpets and Lamberts
were among the long array of wit
nesses who testified.
Ralph w. Dady, states attorney of
Lake county; David r. Joslyn, states
attorney of McHenry county, and
Eugene NJ. Runyard appeared as coun-
sci for the prosecution, and James
II. Wilkerson, former United States
district attorney at Chicago, Ralph F.
Potter, his law partner, and Leslie
P. Hanna, of Waukegan, for the de-
fense. More than thousand venire-
men were examined before a jury,
said by counsel upon its selection to
be above the average in intelligence
and character, was chosen. Judge
Charles H. Donnelly presided.
The series Of parallels started at
Lake Forest, one of a series of aris-
tocratic suburbs dotting the heavily
wooded bluffs along the west shore of
Lake Michigan from Chicago TO Wau
kegan. for Frank Lambert, father OF
Marion, was superintendent of the
Kuppenheimer estate, and Edward o.
Orpet, father of the defendant, SUI
perntendent of the estate of Cyrus
Mccormick. both at Lake Forest.
Last summer, young Orpet, then
palld, slender youth Of nineteen, of
sharply regular features, somewhat
vain of his college opportunities and
undisciplined as to character, return
ed from the university of Wisconsin
at Madison for a vacation at home.
He fell madly in love with Marion,
according to his letters. She had
completed her junior year at the
Deerfeld high school and was then
seventeen and known for her gaiety
and laughter, the life OF the party"
as one witness put it.
When Opret returned to college in
the fall of 1915 frequent letters were
exchanged. Orpet destroyed hers,
she saved his and they remained af-
ter her death to speak of the great
fear of exposure that came upon her.
Orpet, in testifying, said that he was
certain that these fears were ground
less. Once he mailed her a bottle
of molasses and water TO ease her
mind" and he brought similar COM
pound with him for the same purpose
when he entered Helms woods, near
Lake Forest. with her on the morn
ing of Wednesday, February ., last.
Orpet testified that he made the
trip to allay her fears and to explain
a story which had reached Marion
that he was engaged to one Celestia
Youker, but the elaborate efforts
which he made TO keep the trip Sc
cret, and his subsequent conflicting