The Body in the Grave: A Spokane Poisoning Trial Takes a Strange Turn
Prosecutors secretly exhumed James Grier's body a second time to identify it, and the court ordered yet another examination in Helen Grier's murder trial.
SPOKANE, Sept. 10.—There were sensational disclosures in the trial of Helen Grier today for poisoning her husband. The state had failed to prove that the stomach analysed was that of James Grier, and it came out today that the prosecution had sought to repair this defect last Sunday by going secretly to the grave and again exhuming the body. At this examination Coroner Newman, Prosecuting Attorney Fenton, two daughters of the defendant and Sheriff Pugh were present. The identification was established. In court today the defense objected to this as irregular and opposed the admission of testimony thus developed. The court sustained the objection and ordered another examination, at which the defense should be present. The defense excepted and declined to take part in the third examination.
“The prosecution had sought to repair this defect last Sunday by going secretly to the grave and again exhuming the body.”
The Grier case shows how much a trial could turn on the handling of a body and the chain of evidence—issues that still decide modern murder cases. It also reminds us that sensational coverage of women accused of poisoning was a staple of the 1890s press, often mixing legal procedure with moral spectacle.
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