TYPHOID GERM PLOT

Greymouth Evening Star, 30 April 1925, Page 3

TYPHOID GERM PLOT

MUBBEB OF A MILLIONAIRE. ■ . z '■ / . SAN FRANCISCO, March 24. Surpassing in villainy anything in America’s criminal annals, testimony ’■ has been adduced in Chicago connect- < ing the head of a Chicago School of 1 Bacteriology with the recent sensational and mysterious death of the J heir to millions of money, and also inculpating the foster-father of the dead ■ wealthy youth. Coincident with the death recently of William Nelson McClintock, well ■ known all over America as “the Millionaire Orphan,” it was charged at the time he had apparently died an unnatural death, when Miss Isabelle ; Pope, of Wilmette, Illinois,, had been ■ prevented from being the leading lignt ' in a death-bed marriage with the wealthy McClintock, a s this would have eliminated William D. Shepherd, J the Chicago lawyer, former chemist'' and druggist, the foster-father, from becoming the sole heir to the McClin- * tock fortune. .■ .. ,- ’ ;.. Miss Pope, grieving over her lover’s ■. death and aroused at certain circum- ; stances surrounding it, told her story ■ and suspicions to Chief Justice Harry Olson, of the Chicago Municipal Court,y a lifelong friend of the McClintock family and also a close friend of the Pope household. It was Olsqn who . thereafter demanded an investigation J of the circumstances of McClintock’s death and asked thS exhumation of the ‘ body. He sought the aid in the in- . vestigation of State Attorney Robert ■ E. Crowe, of Chicago, who subsequently led in the probe of the various ramifications of the sensational case. ' Throughout the whole “quiz,” however, Chief! Justice Olson was the command- 1 • r» • *. 1-h _ •

i in g figure in pressing the matter to x the i point where sensation followed sensa- ; tion in the almost incredible admissions and confessions. ' A score of physicians and others of ■ national repute have been involved iin the investigations, and the verdict of Coroner’s Physician William D. McNally that McClintock died from natural ciiuses. hold a strong psnt in the defence of Shepherd. Since then, " however, the probe of the case quickened, but it had been conducted chiefly in private until there came the confession of Dr Charles Faiman, head of the National University of Sciences, that Shepherd had taken a course of study, there under him, that the heir to the McClintock fortune had questioned as to how to administer typhoid germjt to a person without leaving a trace, and that several tubes of typhoid germs had subsequently been “stolen’ \ from his place, that led to the detention rtf Shepherd. “A masterpiece in i/ie art of murder has been cleared up; the undetectable crime has been solved.” Judge Olson stated when he placed together new evidencp in the prosecution of Shepherd on the charge of killing “Billy” McClintock for his fortune. “I consider this case one of the most diabolical murder plots of the age,” he added. “The plot, I think, was conceived about sixteen years ago, just after Billy’s mother died. My brother, Dr Olson, had suspected Shepherd for a long time. However,’ I paid comparatively little attention to, the doctor’s remarks because I thought, perhaps, personal dislike for Shepherd prompted him. The first thing I did after Billy died was to call in my son, Sanford, who had had long talks with my brother. Sanford said the doctor had told him that Billy would never come into the fortune, but would die at Shepherd’s hands. t I decided on a bit of detective work. Instead of hiring a flock of professional detectives I read a work on psychology * * T Knrl Imrl nnn.

siderable exepi'ience in detective business during my work as an assistant State,’s attorney. “I called in several newspaper men and Sanford." Then I had one of the newspaper men call up Shepherd and ask him about the division of the estate according to the will. The work on psychology showed that Shepherd’s reaction to this question would be indicative. It was because he hedged in his answers. “Then we started to work in earnest. I had the body exhumed and examined. The city chemist finally reported Mc.Clintock had died from typhoid fever,' which was the finding of the attending physicians. This apparently killed ->ff the case and cleared Shepherd. I was laughed at. Great politicians oppose! my work. But T pushed on ; my charges were given wide use by the newspapers, and soon letters started coming in from all sorts of persons. Again it was crowd psychology working. Many of these - letters gave t/s valuable tips. I demanded an extensive coroner’s inquiry. We produced witnesses who delved into Shepherd's past. We were establishing a motive And that motive was the foilin',e of young McClintock. Here again the human factor. A young man who used to work for the National University of Sciences, Dr C. C. Faiman’s School of Bacteriology, read the story and recalled that Shepherd had written a let ter asking about a course in germ study. He went to a salesman of + be school and told him of the letter, voiced his suspicions, and .said if they could secure the letter it would beworth 50,000d01. to them. But t n e matter preyed on his mind so much that he told his lawyer and his lawyer

told me. I did some more investigating, and then T had summoned John P. Marchand, the salesman. He told me about the letter, and gave the testimony at the inquest. We then called Dr Faiman. What has happened since then is current history. ” Subsequently, both Shepherd and Dr Faiman were indicted by the Grand Jury, the latter having offered the amazing confession that he had been an accessory to the alleged murder plot by giving three tubes of germs to Shepherd. . » Faiman, after three days of questioning by the police in Chicago, shook his finger in Shepherd’s face and said : T gave those typhoid germs to Shepherd. He told me in plain words that lie wanted them to “inoculate somebody with’ and told me he would pay me plenty when ho got the 1,000,000 dollars.” “You’re a liar,” Shepherd retorted. Ho maintained to Public Prosecutor Crowe that he had never before seen Faiman. Faiman declared that he had told the truth, and “you can’t deny it,” he said to Shepherd. Faiman said that after Shepherd had taken a two weeks’ course in his school

and obtained the gerlns in November, 1923> he .flowed him how to-care tor them and ‘keep them alive itl 3 hermetically sealed bottle. ‘■‘About a yeari ago,” said Faiman, according to the State Attorneys, “Shepherd and I met several times. We planned -how McClintock might be inoculated with the typhoid germs which ‘I had given to Shepherd in the autumn of I knew Shepherd was going to give germs to McClintock. , “It was the understanding that Shepherd was to wait until young McCJintock had signed a will, leaving the money to Shepherd, - and then at the first favourable opportunity he was to be givefi the germs. Finally the moment arrived. The boy .had m!ade his will, leaving the money to Shepherd. “The first dose of'germs was given to McClintock in a glass of cold water. After that the doses were repeated and his condition betaine aggravated, i “A week after McClintock became ill. Shepherd met me and asked me what to do. I told him to administer a cathartic to the youth when the latter’s .stomach was "empty. I told him that it would penetrate the intestines and cause almost-<■ certain, death. At, this,, time Shepherd asked me for ad ’ vice as to how he could make the fever more deadly, as McClintock was very. > ill. ' , K “Shepherd tojd me that he was after the McClintock fortune and was going to get it by getting the boy. I yielded to his plea after he had assured me that when he got the fortune in. his hands he should share it with m'e.” Faiman’.s statement culminated thef. story he. began three days previously- , when he said Shepherd had attended his school and that three test tubes of typhoid germ cultures disappeared . about that time. A few hours later, Faiman, said Shepherd had given him 50 dollars for a letter written to the school inquiring about ba'cteriological courses.

“Some time after McClintock was sick, Sheuherjl came to me,” Faiman continued. “He was very excited, saying that the doctors were vaccinating McClintock and he was afraid it might counteract the germs he had administei,,ccl “I told him not to worry, that the boy was too far gone and death was certain. “J studied his face when I told him that. . He seemed satisfied. There was no evidence of remorse.” Faiman then referred to a bribe offered him by Shepherd for h.'s silence. It was placed at 100,000 dollars. In a formal statement Shepherd .said: “All there is against mo is a dead body and a motive. These two facts, supported by a lot of babble, gossip and .susD’cion, are intended to break me down.” , “It’s a frame up—a frame, up,” he added. “It’s all a conspiracy to deprive me of the money'Billy willed me. /' They’re all a bunch of liars.”