Show HER DEATH FEIGNED t i Startling Crime is Broiight to Light in Chicago I I TRAGIC END CONSPIRACY Three Mon Arc Now Under Arrest Charged With Conspiring to Defraud De-fraud an Insurance Company and Two Insurance Societies A Plot Which Ended in Murder by Poison of tho Insured Woman in Case Expected Ex-pected Another Dead Body Was t Play Passive Bole of Her Corpse f Chicago OoL 8lhe prosecuting authorities au-thorities of Cook county have laid hands on what they regard aa one of the startling crimes of the countys history Charges of conspiracy back of which are allied Insinuations of murder are lodged against three men all of whom are In custody These men will have to answer allegations of n carefullylaid plot to swindle an Insurance company and two Insurance societies plot which It Is said progressed pro-gressed with the growth of fear Into time actual death by poison It Is thought of the Insured person According to the theory on which tho prosecution will proceed thc dead person per-son C young woman of Chicago was r originally one of the quartette of conspirators con-spirators She had expected that her l death was to be feigned and that another an-other dead body was to play the passive pas-sive role of her corpse Instead of that real death came to her THREW ARRESTS MADE The person whoso death adds n new phase to what otherwise would have been a simple Insurance swindle was Marie Defenbach 2 years old and the three person arrested upon bench warrants war-rants issued by Judge Gibbons arc Dr August M Unger Frank H I Smiley and W Va land the latter manager of a detective association When Marie Dofcnbach died there I were three Insurance policies on her life aggregating 512000 all of recent date and Issued In thc following company com-pany and associations New York Life Insurance company 5000 Canadian Order of Foresters 3000 Knights and Ladles of Honor 52000 INVESTIGATION SEARCHING ONE The alleged conspiracy has been Investigated In-vestigated wIth searching care by a private detective agency by the Chicago Chi-cago Attorney and detectives of thc New York Life Insurance company I and lalterly by the States Attorney himself Yesterday at n meeting between be-tween States Attorney Dlncen Assistant As-sistant Slates Attorney Wllliard Mc J wen Edward OBryan attorney for the New York Life Company Edward Maher attorney for the detective agency the case was canvassed and It was decided to cause the Immediate arrest of thc suspects OBTAINS INSURANCE POLICIES Last April Miss Defenbach applied to the New York Insurance company for a 10000 policy This was refused and later one for 55000 taken I On or about August 10th laat she also scouted insurance in the Canadian Order of Forester to tho amount of 5000 At the l eaine date she took out a policy In the Knights and Ladies of Honor for 52000 HAD HElL WILL MADE On August 21st Miss Defenbach called at the ofllcc of a lawyer in thc Unity building named Johnson and told him she wanted to make her will Some days earlier It I is stated Dr Unger had told thIS lawyer u woman would call on him for this purpose and she announced she had come In accordance ac-cordance with the appointment She told Mr Johnson she wanted to leave her property to Frank H Smiley her affianced husband and then she went away Two days afterward she returned and Mr Johnson had the will ready Itj provided as she had instructed that after her debts were paid her property prop-erty was to go to Smiley but she then wanted another provision inserted It way that after her death her body be cremated CALLED IN WITNESSES This surprised Mr Johnson but he compiled with the rcquesL He was so struck with the circumstance however how-ever as the cremation clause had not been In the original Instructions that he called In witnesses to the will from adjoining offices as a matter of protection protec-tion Miss Defenbach then signed and executed the document Two days later she died In great agony Her body was hurriedly embalmed and then cremated A Coroners Jury ns turned the verdict that death was caused by dysentery BODY CREMATED The next day the body was cremated and the ashes were scattered to the four winds of heaven Without much delay proceedings were begun to recover re-cover the value of the Insurance policies poli-cies she had left This was resisted by the Insurance companies with the result that the fraud was discovered MEN ALL COMMITTED The three men under arrest were arraigned ar-raigned before Judge Gibbons and in default of 15000 ball each were committed com-mitted to Jail It was learned today that several other Insurance companies besides the one which the policies were taken out on Miss Defenbachs life had been applied to by one or two of the defendants for similar policies the amount applied for In each case being 10000 SMILEY MAKES CONFESSION Frank H Smllej the detective of the Mooney and Boland agency who wag one of the men arrested today In connection con-nection with the insurance frauds which ended with the death of Marie Def n bach August 26th has made a full written confession of his part In the crimp Time confession If true Implicated with him DI Auguat M Unger and Frank Waylnnd Brown assistant manager I of the Mooney and Boland agency the other two men un der arrest When the case goes to trial Smiley It Is announced will turn States evi deuce States Attorney Dinccn expects that all three men will be convicted of conspiracy to defraud the New York Life Insurance company and two nj > Foclatlons the Canadian Order of Foresters For-esters and the I Knights and Ladles of Pythias but It Is not known If a charge of murder call be formally made on the evidence so far obtained Every man connected with the Mooney and Boland agency in now un surveillance for suspicious actions t 1 thc time of Miss Dcfonbachs death I and It Is not Improbable that several I other conspirators can yet be connected con-nected with the crime |