A Grain of Strychnine in the Stomach: The Death of Edith Pepoon
Two Portland physicians testing the stomach of a woman who died in a homestead cabin six miles from Northport find more than a fatal dose of poison — and suspicion falls on her husband and another man who, the report alleges, mixed the dose while she played the organ for callers.
PORTLAND, Ore., March 9. — A clinical examination of a small portion of the contents of the stomach from the body of Mrs. Edith Pepoon, completed by Dr. Ralph G. Matson and Dr. George Cabey of Portland, resulted in the recovery of more than one grain of strychnine, a dose which is considered fatal.
When the balance of the matter shall have been tested, it is believed that the physicians will discover that the woman was given enough of the drug to kill several persons.
Mrs. Edith Pepoon met her death in a cabin on a homestead situated six miles from Northport, in Stevens County, Wash., and it is alleged that the drug was administered in a mixture prepared by her husband, Geo. L. Pepoon, and Ray Wilcox, and while she was entertaining a number of callers with organ music.
“…it is believed that the physicians will discover that the woman was given enough of the drug to kill several persons.”
In 1910 a suspicious death on an isolated Stevens County homestead could only be answered by shipping the stomach contents to city physicians — forensic chemistry as long-distance detective work. Modern toxicology returns results in days, but the questions this case raises (who had access, who benefited, whose account was trusted) still decide how rural deaths get investigated today.
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