Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-07-16
Wisconsin University Student
Declared Not Guilty of
Staying Sweetheart.
ONE LONE JUROR AGAINST
ACQUITTAL FIVE HOURS
Death of Marion Lambert at Home
in Illinois Has Been Subject Of
,Two-Month Proceedings.

wAUKEGAN. Ill, July 15.-William
H Orpet, the university student
charged with numbering Marion Lam
bert. high school girl and his for
mer sweetheart, was found not guilty
today by jury in Judge Donnelly's
court after five hours deliberation.
The jury retired at ESQ o'clock. At
s o'clock it's members were taken to
dinner, where they spent half an hour.
One hour later came word that ver-
dict had been reached Probably fifty
persons were still waiting for it. Or
pet was sent for in his cell and Judge
Donnelly was still at the courthouse.
Three ballots were taken. The first
two stood eleven to one for acquittal
Shakes Hands Of Jurors.
Orpet was silent through excess Of
emotion. He was barely able to return
the handclasps of his attorneys. He
made his way to the jurors and shook
their hands one by one. smiling wanly,
but saying nothing.
Mrs Orpet received the verdict as II
1t were a mere matter of routine. she
noted that photographer was trying
to snap a picture Of her son and her
self and warned him, meanwhile shield
ing her own face with a newspaper
The defendant, his father and mother.
his brother and several friends hurried
into the witness room, where their prt-
vacy was safeguarded by bailin.
Half AMI hour later they emerged.
We'll go home now, William" Mrs.
orpet said, and they made their way
down the back stairs and to the Jail.
Orpets few belongings in his cell
were already packed: He had recovered
his self-possession by this time, ana
four months stay in jail as comfort
able as possible. The party was then
driven home in the automobile of one
Of Orpet's lawyers.
Important Events on 18th.
The important events of the trial all
occurred on the 18th The selection OF
the jury began on May 15. the taking OF
testimony was begun on June is and
acduittat cafns on July rs. r5.'s-s
The Jurors In their deliberations car
ried with them instructions from Judge
ponnelly which James H. Wilkerson
and Ralph F. Potter, orpets counsel
fendant in their Interpretation OF rea-
sonable doubt as applied to the series
of circumstances which constituted the
principal part OF the evidence. Five
superfuous counts of the ten in the in
dictment against the defendant were
stricken out by the court.
The morning and forty-hve minutes
Of the afternoon session were occupied
by Attorney David Joslyn in the final
summing up for the state.
Proves Perplexing Case.
The case Of Marion Lambert and
William H. orpet in the course of its
became one of the most
perplexing in the annals Of criminal
history. Motive paralleled motive, ac-
ton 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 abduction
of actual fact was concerned. went to
the jury on the mystifying niceties of
chemical analysis and Orpet's own COM
promising conduct. The mystery at
tracted unusual interest in all parts of
the United States and Canada.
There appeared in evidence forty
four letters written by Orpet to
Marion over period of year; bot
ties and boxes containing samples Of
cyanide from the Mccormick estate.
from the Deerfield High School labora-
tory, from Kraft's drug store at Lake
Forest and white powder scraped from
Marion's hand and from spots on her
cloak; the girls garments. magazine
article dealing with the use of cyanide
as fumigator in greenhouses. the
chemistry text books used. respective
ly, by the high school girl and the
college student. a copy of the Wiscon-
sin statute dealing with the sale of
poisons and bottle of molasses and
water.
Five chemists. all Of whom were
specialists in toxicology: one alienist.
men. an undertaken, school teachers,
police officers. reporters and friends
OF the orpets and Lamberts were among
the long array of witnesses who testi-
fed.
Ralph w. Dady. states attorney of
Lake county; David r. Joslyn, states
attorney Of McHenry county. and Eu-
gene NJ. Runyard appeared as counsel
for the prosecution. and James H: Will
kerson. former United States district
attorney at Chicago; Ralph F. Potter,
his law partner. and Leslie p Hanna
OF Waukegan for the defense. More
than thousand veniremen were ex-
amined before jury. said by counsel
upon its selection to be above the av-
erage in intelligence and character,
was chosen.
Events at Lake Forest.
The series Of events started at Lake
Forest. one Of series Of aristocratic
suburbs dotting the heavily wooded
bluffs along the west shore of Lake
Michigan from Chicago to waukegan,
for Frank Lambert, father of Marion.
was superintendent of the Kuppen-
heimer estate. and Edward o. Orpet,
father Of the defendant. superintendent
Of the estSte Of Cyrus Mccormick,
both at Lake Forest
Last summer young Orpet, then a
pallid. slender youth of nineteen, re-
turned from the University of Wiscon-
sin at Madison for vacation at home.
He fell nnadly in love with Marion, ac-
cordtng to his letters. She had COM
pleted her junior year at the Deerfleld
High School, and was then seventeen,
and known for her gayety and laugh
ter-''the life Of the PARTY" as one
witness put 1t.
When orpet returned to college in the
fall OF 1915 frequent letters were ex-
changed. Orpst destroyed hers; she
saved his, and they remained after her
death to speak OF the great fear Of ex-
posure that came upon her Orpet, in
testtfyfng. said that he was certain
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