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Show ' ALLEGED POISON PLOT KILLINGS STIR TINY MISSOURI VILLAGE o BY MABEL ABBOTT, N. E. A. Staff Correspondent. STOCKTON, Mo., May 29. The preliminary hearing In tho Efflq Decker, Deck-er, 41, King Bruce, 5S, poison mystery case, will bo hold May 2S in the courthouse court-house in the Uttfe squaro at Stockton. Stockton is almost 100 years old. It has onlj- 700 population, no telegraph, and no railroad. Yet Stockton is a wealthy town. The farms surrounding it are steep and stony, but wonderfully rich. It has iwo banks and almost as many automobiles automo-biles as inhabitants. Both In Jail. Mrs. Decker is in the Stockton jail, suspected of poisoning her husband. Bruce is In Jail at Nevada, Mo., suspected sus-pected of poisoning his wife. The wealthiest farmer in the county coun-ty Is Eber White, JEffio Decker's father. . Last December Ed Decker died. Two weeks later, Mrs B'ruce died, with similar symptoms. A few days latr Mrs Decker wont down tho road to Bruce's home and became his houae-keeper. houae-keeper. A buzz. of scandal started. Decker's brothers started an investigation. inves-tigation. Decker's body was exhumed. Tho State University reported "enough arsenic to kill three persons." Mrs. Decker was arrested, released on $15,000 bond furnished by her father, fa-ther, and went back to Bruce's house. Then tho body of Mrs. Bruce was ex.-humed. ex.-humed. A preliminary report indicated indicat-ed arsenic In deadly quantities. County Flames Up. The county flamed up. Bruce was arrested ar-rested as he worked In his fields. Mrs. Decker's bond was revoked. She was taken to the Stockton jail, and Bruce, partly to keep tho two separate and partly to avoid any possible attempt at violence, was taken to Nevcda, Mo. Mrs. Decker maintains her Innocence. Inno-cence. So docs Bruce. Eber White says he will furnish the money for his daughter's defense. "I talked tho thing over with her when they took up Decker's body," hcvtold me. "I said: Effle, I'll give you ihe money to go." But she said sho didn t want to go. I'll see that she has a fair trial.' If she did it sho ought to do punished." |