It was very early in December when Elmer Ryan’s case was scheduled for trial. Originally, the plan had been to try Ryan and Stackpole together, but the latter’s attorney, Dover lawyer John Kivel, filed a Motion to Sever, which was granted, and the State chose to begin with Ryan’s case. Proceedings began on the afternoon of the 2nd, Chief Justice Robert M. Wallace of Milford presiding, assisted by Associate Justice Charles F. Stone. County Solicitor Dwight Hall and Edwin Eastman from the Attorney General’s office appeared for the State, and Attorney William H. Bent of Lowell, Mass., represented the defendant. The indictments were read. There were two: accessory before the fact of a death caused by drugs, and accessory to death caused by a foreign instrument. A plea of not guilty was entered as to both.

Jury selection began and at the very outset Charles Fairbanks of Dover and George Nutter of Rollinsford were excused because both were local physicians. The Foster’s reporter then provided a brief summary of each of the subsequent candidates — questions asked and answered. It seemed that the majority were challenged by either the State or the defense and excused. At the end of the reporting day, it appeared that only five had been chosen, although the reporting may have been cut off at that point in order to meet the afternoon printing deadline.

By the following day, a full jury had been chosen, all men, of course. One interesting pick was Washington Anderton of Dover. He was a person of some consequence in the community. Residing in the still existing house at the corner of Church and Middle streets, for many years, he worked his way up to become the Superintendent of Cocheco Mill #5, now Washington Street Mills. At one point, he purchased land and constructed a substantial building on the westerly side of lower Locust Street. Anderton had been born in England, but in 1907, he was presumably a US citizen, eligible for jury duty.

The person chosen as foreman was identified as the Hon. Joseph D. Roberts of Rollinsford, “farmer,” but he was something more than a plain old farmer. He was the son of Hiram Roberts, a prominent community member, and the local Grange Hall namesake. Joseph, (the “D” was for Doe, another prominent family), had been elected to the New Hampshire Legislature in 1895, had an advertisement in the Dover Directory as a special breeder of Holstein and Frisian cattle, was a member of the NH Board of Agriculture, and like his father, President of a local bank.

All members of the panel were sequestered for the duration of the trial and were housed in the Kimball Hotel on Third Street. Those not chosen were sent home with directions from Judge Wallace that they were not to return to attend the trial or to discuss the case with anyone on the chance that they might be recalled as possible jurors for the anticipated upcoming trial of Dr. Stackpole.

And so the Elmer Ryan trial began, before a “well-filled courtroom”. All those present received a warning from Sheriff Smith that “he would be obliged” to remove anyone who made any noise and “annoyed the Court”. The opening for the State was made by County Solicitor Dwight Hall, who summarized the prosecution’s case: Katherine Ryan, the deceased, resided in a rooming house in Lowell, Mass., owned by her aunt, Mrs. Graffam. The defendant, Elmer Ryan, had visited on a number of occasions. Katherine left her residence to visit an uncle in Littleton, NH, and while there, a series of letters passed between Katherine and Elmer. On August 16, she came to Dover and stayed in the home of Dr. Stackpole. On the 24th, he notified Dr. Tolman, the deputy medical examiner, that a “lodger” had died at his home. Dr. Stackpole advised that she had been in good health, but complained of shortness of breath at one point, and he had given her several “heart tablets”. A subsequent autopsy, however, found the death to have been caused by a “criminal operation”. (The Foster’s reporter noted in passing that Dr. Stackpole’s attorney, John Kivel, was in the courtroom taking notes during the proceeding.)

The first witness to be called was Dr. Tolman. He stated that he had responded to a call from Dr. Stackpole, who told him that he had been in Boston for the day, but had returned to be informed by Miss Heyer of Katherine’s death. Tolman said he viewed the body, detected a strong odor, and observed that decomposition had begun. He made arrangements with the local funeral director, Tasker & Chesley, to remove the body, where he and Dr. Sullivan later performed an autopsy. He ascribed the cause of death to blood poisoning resulting in peritonitis from an abortion performed by some instrument, at least one week before the death, during which time the deceased would have been very ill and “a great sufferer”. His opinion, based on the condition of the body, was that death would have occurred 22 to 36 hours before he received the call from Stackpole.

On cross-examination, Tolman acknowledged the remote possibility that death could have been from natural causes, and he could not state with certainty what type of “instrument” may have been used.

The second witness was Dr. Miah Sullivan, a prominent Dover physician over the previous 26 years, the same Dr. Sullivan who testified in the Edward Dame murder case. Here, he testified on assisting Dr. Tolman in the autopsy of Katherine Ryan. Based on his observations, he agreed with the assessment that death had resulted from an abortion performed with an “unclean instrument”. A question relating to a conversation he had with Dr. Stackpole following the autopsy brought an objection from Attorney Bent. This led to a brief recess and a decision from the Court to exclude Stackpole’s comments. No further questions from the State, and on cross-examination Dr. Sullivan admitted that his opinion was not based on anything specific that he saw during the examination, but on his experience in dealing with other similar situations in the past.

Michael Ryan, the father of the deceased, was called to the stand, and for some reason not otherwise explained in the news article, all other witnesses for the State were removed from the courtroom. Ryan’s testimony was brief: He last saw his daughter alive on July 27; he next saw her at the funeral home on August 28. There was no cross-examination.

Katherine Graffam, the aunt, was next. She stated that she owned a rooming house in Lowell, and Katherine Ryan had been a tenant. Elmer Ryan would visit once or twice each week, and there were occasions when they would be together and unsupervised. Graffam was then asked to identify several letters that had been found in Katherine’s trunk at the Stackpole residence. These had been found by her friend, Loretta Rabbit, following the death, and Graffam had then turned them over to County Solicitor Hall.

Ellen Sherman testified briefly, identifying herself as Katherine’s aunt by marriage. She confirmed that Katherine had been at their home in Littleton from the 6th of August to the 15th.

The next witness was Strafford County Sheriff Frank. L. Smith. That position included being the Superintendent of the County jail, where Elmer Ryan had been held following his arrest in August. Smith testified that it was customary to intercept and examine all correspondence to and from prisoners, and he identified several letters written by Ryan which had been retained at the request of the County Solicitor. (Apparently, copies were then forwarded to the intended recipient.) Attorney Bent voiced an objection to the entry of the letters as exhibits, arguing that they had been obtained by fraud on the rights of the prisoner and should be inadmissible. The objection was overruled.

Dover City Clerk, Fred E. Quimby, then took the stand to identify several official city records that carried the original signature of Dr. Stackpole.

He was followed by two handwriting experts, Dr. Bennet E. Davenport, from Boston, and Professor Charles French, who resided in Newtonville, Mass. Both appeared to offer more experience in the field than Professor Angel, who had testified at the preliminary hearing. Davenport spoke of his 20 years of experience in handwriting analysis and numerous appearances as a witness in previous court cases. Professor French claimed more than 15 years in the field. Both identified the letters found in Katherine Ryan’s trunk as having been written by Elmer Ryan. Both described and explained the similarities between this correspondence and the writing obtained by Sheriff Smith at the jail. Davenport was subjected to extensive cross-examination — interrupted by a two-hour break for lunch — but he remained constant in his identification.

The main focus of the trial now moved to the content of the letters found in Katherine Ryan’s trunk. He was, after all, charged with having been an “accessory before the fact”, and to this point in the trial, there has been little or no direct evidence of his involvement with Dr. Stackpole. But in the first letter offered to the jury, dated August 6 and addressed to Katherine Ryan in Littleton, the writer, now identified as Elmer Ryan, says the following: “I am in Dover to see a doctor. He says the right kind of medicine ought to fix you… it will not be an operation but it may keep you in a week… Tell your aunt you are not feeling well and you may visit friends in Dover… Be sure to destroy all letters as we must keep this quiet. Lovingly. Bro”

A second letter: “Did you get the medicine I sent… You will probably have to go to Dover about next Wednesday or Thursday for a few days. That medicine may fix you. At any rate it will hold you right where you are so that this Dr. in Dover can fix you in short order after that… better destroy all letters quick”.

And another: “Your letter just received. Do not come here Wednesday unless I telephone you. Will probably have to go to Dover, NH”. All three letters are postmarked from Lowell, Mass.

Then one final witness. Harry Tasker testified and confirmed that the autopsy was performed at his funeral parlor by Doctors Tolman and Sullivan. There was no cross-examination, and at that point the State rested. There was a brief bench conference, then a longer conference in chambers. Returning to the courtroom, Attorney Bent offered a Motion to Acquit, which was denied. The judge then announced that there would be no further evidence as the Defense had chosen not to offer any rebuttal witnesses. The trial was over.

The newspaper report noted that Katherine’s friend, Loretta Rabbit, had been expected to testify. The greater question, however, might be the failure of the State to call Miss Heyer, Dr. Stackpole’s housekeeper, as a witness. She was the one who apparently discovered the body, and she must have been aware of when Katherine had arrived, and to some degree at least, why she was there and the nature and extent of her dealings with Stackpole.

That brings us to the morning of the 3rd. Everyone is in their place as of 9 a.m. The jury is advised that the first indictment, charging that the administration of drugs had procured the abortion, has been withdrawn by the State. That leaves the remaining charge, that the death was the result of using a foreign instrument. Attorney Bent, on behalf of the Defendant, made his closing argument. It is alleged, he says, that Elmer Ryan hired Dr. Stackpole, but the jury must first decide if the State has provided sufficient evidence with regard to the cause of death being the use of an “instrument”. There was testimony that it could have been from natural causes, and no strong physical evidence that any kind… or what kind … of “instrument” was used. There is no direct evidence in the letters that the defendant and Stackpole had any kind of an agreement, nor any indication that Stackpole had provided any kind of medical attention beyond the “cold tablets” he described to Dr. Tolman.

It was then Attorney General Eastman’s turn to review the facts. Katherine Ryan is found dead in Stackpole’s house. Dr. Tolman is called. Stackpole thought her name was Kitty and believed she was from Lowell. From Tolman’s description of the odor and degree of decomposition, it is clear that the death occurred before Stackpole left that day for Boston. The defendant may argue that there is no direct testimony of an instrument being used, but there must have been some form of “operation” to produce the end result. Since drugs did not appear to be a factor, it was either from natural causes or some foreign instrument, and all of the indications from both medical experts support the latter. The case is submitted to the jury at 11:25 a.m.

(to be continued)