Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-06-06
POISON WOMAN
ON TRIAL SOON
Open aSe of Mrs. Lundgren Next
Week for Murder of Nurse-In-
dicted for Other Deaths.

Lawrence. Mass, June Ode
Tense and prosecution are ready to
start the trial here next week Of
Mrs. Bessie Skeels Lundgrens
charged with the murder of Miss
Florence Gay in this city and alsoI
under indictment on similar
charges at Bayonne, N. J.
The prosecution, as far as has
been outlined, will rely on a mass
of circumstantial evidence TO fasten
upon Mrs. Lundgren the charge OF
murder. Friends and relatives OF
the accused woman, on the other
hand, are of the belief that she WIN
have little difficulty at the trial in
disproving the charges of whole
sale poisoning" which have been
made against her.
Working day and night in an eff
fort to unearth new evidence and
to find new witnesses that might
help to establish the innocence of
the accused woman Alfred J. Lund-
gren, the Andover merchant VINO
was engaged to Mrs. Skeels when
the charge of murder was first
lodged against her, and who insist
ed upon marrying her after her IN
dictment, is looking foru ard with
absolute confidence to the trial that
he is certain will result in mis-
wife's acquittal During the many
months that Mrs. Skeels was CON
fined in a hospital under guard Mr..
Lundgren did all that was possible
for her under the circumstances.
When she was able to leave the
hospital he was instrumental in
securing her release without ball
a proceeding almost without prece-
dent in the cases of persons under
Indictment on a first degree murder
charge in Massachusetts. Immedi-
ately following the woman's re-
lease her marriage to Lundgren
took place and she has since been
cared for at her husbands home.
Miss Florence Gay, for whose al
legged murder Mrs. Lundgren is to
be tried, was a teacher in the Abb
bot academy. Mrs. Skeels. as she
then was, came to AndOVer from
her home in New Jersey and secur-
ed a position as nurse and personal
attendant to Miss Gay, who was in
poor health. The prosecution
charges that Miss Gay was poison
ed with arsenic administered by
Mrs. Skeels, on or about Dec. /,
1917. At the same time she was ac-
cused of the larceny of several hun
dred dollars worth of jewelry.
clothing and other articles belong
ing to Miss Gay.
Four of Family Die In Two Years
Publication of the charges made /.
against Mrs. Skeels led to an
investigation by the authorities in
New Jersey, where four members of
Mrs. Skeels' family had died within
period of less than two years un-
der circumstances that aroused
suspicion The investigation re-
suited in the indictment of Mrs.
Skeels by the grand jury in Hud-
son county. n. J., on a charge of
numbering her brother, Albert viii
kins of Bayonne, who died July z,
1917. The prosecutor of Hudson
county declared that when the body
of Wilkins was exhumed and an
autopsy performed, enough prison
was found in 1t to kill two horses.
1t was also said by the New Jer-
sey investigators that the poison
have been few cases in the history
of criminology where the authori-
ties have been called on to accuse
anyone of administering this par
ticular kind of poison.
Record OF Deaths.
In addition to the death of Albert
wilkins, brother of Mrs. Skeels, the
investigation in New Jersey has
also been concerned with the
deaths of three other members OF
Mrs. Skeels' family. These deaths.
according to the official record. oc-
CURED as follows:
Sept 4. 1916-Amos Wilkins,
father of Mrs. Skeels, death GER
titicate cause of demise, arterio
sclerosis.
July 5, 1917-Mrs. Nellie Wilkins,
mother of Mrs. Skeels, nephritls.
Mrs. wilkins death occurred but
two days before that of her son. Al
bert J. wilkins, for whose death
Mrs. Skeels is under indictment.
April %. I91S-E Elizabeth l..
Wilkins, sister-in-law of Mrs.
Skeels, who was supposed to have
died of arterio scleTosis.
All of the deaths, save that of
the mother, occurred at the Wilkins
home in Bayonne and during a per-
iod, it is said, when Mrs. Skeels re-
sided with the family.