Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1917-10-12
WHAT IS TO BE
NJ 'CORM|CK' FATE?
Trial Next Week to End Long
Story of Tragedy in Many
Chapters.
JUDGE QUINLAN WILL
OCCUPY THE BENCH
Former Attorney General Sturdevant
to Assist District Attorney Falge
History of Case.

Unless the program is changed at
the last moment Arthur Harrison
Mccormick, of Ladysmith will be ar
raigned in the court for the nine
teenth circuit sitting in Rusk county,
at the court house in Lad.ysmith. on
Tuesday morning. next !; O. j. Falge,
district attorney for Rusk, will have
charge of the case and will be assist
ed by l.. M. Sturdevant. of Eau Claire,
former attorney general of the state
of Wisconsin, The defense will be in
the hands of l.. e. McGill and Glenn
Williams, of Ladysmith. On the bench
will be Hon. w. d. Quinlan, of Mari
nette.
Getting jury
The task of securing a jury will be-
gin promptly. There are various con-
lectures as to the time this will take.
1t is predicted that another panel will
have to be obtained before the twelve
men will be selected satisfactory to
both sides and the court.
Anyhow it may be put down as a
certainty that the contest of legal skill
will be oen that will make history in
the annals of Rusk county. That there
will be one that will make history in
court room too is assured and Sheriff
Dodson realizes that he will not have
an easy week of it.
Story of the Tragedy
On Monday afternoon, August s,
1915, Ida Kimball Mccormick was
eating dinner with her husband at the
family home on Fritz avenue in the
city of Ladvsmith. She had just fin
ished when she turned suddenly and
gasped out, I'm going" She lapsed
into unconsciousness and died a few
minutes later. Death, it was determ,
ined after examination, had been caus-
ed by strychnine poisoning. Two juries
impanelled by Coroner O. B. Ellingboe
heard testimony in the case and rend
cred yerdicts. The first one was call
ed Monday night following the death
1t was made up of VIM. Jung, n
Whiteford. G. A. Kenyon, Phil S
Reed, D. W. Maloney, and R. B. Nc
Donald.
This jury examined as witnesses
DR.. landmark who was called but
reached the dead woman's side toe
late to aid. her husband, A. II. Nc
Cormick, sister, Mrs ]. A. Hewitt
Miss Hotter, nurse,
Second Jury Changes Verdict.
The verdict was that death had
come from strychnine self-administer-
ed In other words Mrs. Mccormick
had committed suicide. But there was
dissatisfaction with the verdict by
some of the dead WOman's relatives
and on the Thursday Of the same
week another jury was called and the
same witnesses heard. The jury this
time was: Matt Edgar, Lee Cass, j.
G. Lee, G. D. Swain, Elmer Wise and
Roger Hassett. District Attorney Kir-
wan who had caused the jury to be
called, examined the witnesses. Mrs.
Montgomery a niece of the deceased,
and Mrs. Couey, neighbOr, were the
additional ones.
There was a different verdict this
time, the jury deciding that Mrs. Nc
Cormick had come to her death from
strychnine poison administered by
unknown hands.
The dead woman was buried at her
III sal, Sl,o
was IS years old and had been mar
ried to Mccormick two years. She had
been in poor health and for some time
had been under the care of a nurse.
Will Starts Trouble.
Then a will was probated and it
was found that nearly all the prop
erty of the deceased had been left to
her husband
The will was contested by the father
of Mrs Mccormick, VIM. ID. Kimhall
| of Ladysmith. At this time there had
been no formal charge Of murder, the
district attorney, after an extended
investigation. finding no evidence that
would warrant a prosecution.
The will case was tried in probate
l'court. Judge Maloney had disqualifi
ed himself for the hearing, and Judge
Lebeis of Chippewa county presided
District attorney Charles Kirwan rep
resented the plaintiff in the hearins
| and after an extended fight the cour1
| decided that the will was legal, thai
it was properly executed and yalit
document and also that Mccormick
had been legally married to the deaG
woman. 1t had been alleged that an
other woman who had posed as Nc