The Asylum Poisoning Scandal
A state mental hospital is rocked by accusations that a patient was murdered, triggering a battle between local officials and an Eastern chemist.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Shadle Steilacoom asylum case has been disposed of by the board of trustees with a report to Governor McGraw that Shadle died from natural causes, not from atropine poisoning as was alleged by Dr. W. I. Hamlen of Detroit. The report is based on an investigation by Superintendent Waughop, who consulted eminent chemists in the East. These experts stated that chemical tests for atropine are notoriously unreliable. Dr. Waughop accused Dr. Hamlen of incompetence and suggested he was manipulated by a local physician, Dr. Bennett, whom Waughop labeled the 'evil genius' of the affair. The trustees took the opportunity to clear the name of Dr. Kedpath, who had been unfairly slandered by rumors of an improper relationship with the deceased's wife during the investigation.
“If experts fail into error, how much more a novice like Dr. Hamlen. I never had the least reason to believe that Mr. Shadle died from poison. Dr. Hamlen's certificate is not worth the paper it is written on.”
This 1894 case highlights the precarious nature of forensic science in the late 19th century and the power of local gossip to ruin reputations. Modern newsrooms still face the challenge of distinguishing between legitimate medical science and sensationalist claims that can turn ordinary institutional deaths into dark mysteries.
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