More Sensational Statements 

Mrs. R. H. Stillwell Testifies in the Noted Hearne-DeYoung Case  

Mrs. Stillwell, wife of R. H. Stillwell, testified as follows:

What is your name?  
Lulu Voorhis Stillwell[29].

Are you the wife of R. H. Stillwell?  
I am.

May I be allowed to ask your age?  
Thirty-four my next birthday, the 16th of September.

Where do you reside?  
1018 Bird street.

When were you married?  
The 28th of April, 1886.

Where did you live in December, 1888?  
On west Bird street.

In the city of Hannibal?  
Yes, sir.

State whether or not you or your husband, Richard Stillwell, obtained any information that had you to visit the home of Amos J. Stillwell on the night of December 28, 1888, or the morning of the 29th?  
Yes, sir.

What relation was Amos J. Stillwell to your husband?
Father to my husband.

He lived on Fifth street in the city of Hannibal, at that time?  
He did.

What was the nature of the information that you had?  
A message sent by Mr. Will League to my husband that his father had been murdered.

Delivered to Mr. Richard Stillwell?  
Yes, sir.

Do you know about what time that was?  
Between half past one and two.

Where were you and your husband at that time?  
At the time I heard the ringing of the telephone we were in bed.

After getting the message, what did you and Richard Stillwell do?  Did you get up and dress and prepare to go?  
I immediately got up, but I insisted on my husband lying down for a few minutes.  We got up and started down.

To the home?  
After informing my family.

Now, what time did you arrive at the residence of Amos J. Stillwell?  
Well, I do not think it was more than half an hour after we received the news.  We hastily dressed and walked down some time after 2 in the morning.

Was it some time after 2?  
Not before 2.

Well, Mrs. Stillwell, how did you enter the residence - through the front door?  
Yes, sir.

After you got into the hall, where did you go and what did you do?  
I preceded my husband up the steps and asked him to wait till I went to see the condition of things.

You went from the hall to the upper floor?  
Yes, sir.  When I reached the landing, I saw Mr. Amos Stillwell in the position he was found, and I told my husband to wait till I could close the door leading into the room where Mr. Stillwell lay.  Then I went into the room occupied by Mrs. Stillwell to the right.

Did you find Mrs. Stillwell in that room?  
Yes, sir.

Who else was in the room?  
As far as I recollect Mrs. Gleason and Mrs. Allen - there may have been others.  They were there I know.

Then what did you do, Mrs. Stillwell, after that; do you remember?  
Not distinctly.  I do not remember what I did.  I went to see what Mrs. Stillwell needed.  Saw that she was well attended to.

Was there any one in charge of Mrs. Stillwell that morning?  
Not until Dr. Hearne arrived.

What time did he arrive?  
Perhaps fifteen or twenty minutes or one-half an hour after we arrived.  We were there some time before he arrived, because we met Mr. Kornder on the way.

When you first went into the room where Mrs. Stillwell was, did you go up to the couch where she lay?  
I think I did.

What did she have on?  
Her night-dress.

What kind of a night-dress?  
A white one.

Was it the kind of a night-dress she was in the habit of wearing?  
No, sir; entirely different.

What was the difference?  
Mrs. Stillwell, to my certain knowledge, had been in the habit of wearing a heavy, untrimmed gown.  When I got there she had on a very nice gown - the kind that the majority of ladies wear.

How do you know she was in the habit of wearing the heavy, untrimmed gown?  
Because I have been there and have heard her remark concerning the gown.

Been there previous to that night?  
Yes, sir.

Was there anything about this white gown that attracted your attention that night?  
Yes, sir.  I thought it looked as though it had not been used very much.  That impressed me very forcibly when I got there that she had her gown changed - that that was not the gown she had slept in.

Not the gown that she had slept in?  
No, sir.  I thought the ladies had re-arranged her in that dress.

How frequently did you see Mrs. Stillwell that night - how continuously?  
I cannot say.

Well, off and on?  
I was in and out of the room the entire night.

Do you remember any of Dr. Hearne’s positions in the room - what he was doing?  Was he lying on the floor or anything of that sort?  
After he had administered to Mrs. Stillwell’s wants he professed to be very tired and sleepy and threw himself on the floor.

Where did he lay with reference to the door in the hall?  
That door enters and faces as you enter the room leading into the room facing west, and Dr. Hearne’s face was north and his feet south.

How long was Dr. Hearne in that position during the night?  
I do not remember.

Did you observe what was Mrs. Amos J. Stillwell’s condition?  
Unconscious to all appearances.

Of course you did not know whether she was or not, yourself; or did you speak to her or she say anything to you by which you could determine whether she was unconscious or not?  Did you try to talk to her?  
Not that night.

Now, what time did you leave the house next morning, or did you leave?  
I did not leave in the morning.

You remained there during the day?  
Yes, sir.

Do you know whether or not Dr. Hearne was in attendance upon Mrs. Stillwell that day?  
I do not remember.

Where did you stay the night after the murder?  
My husband and  I occupied the room in which Mr. Stillwell was murdered.

Did you see Mrs. Stillwell that night?  
No, sir; not after she retired.

Where did she sleep?  
In the front bed-room - the room just  directly in front of the one in which Mr. Stillwell was murdered.

Did you see her next morning?  
Yes, sir.

Where was she?  
She passed through our room.

Was there anything that attracted your attention to her?  
I was awake and she spoke to me.

What was her general condition then?  
Very lively and gay.

Did she say anything to you?  
Yes, sir.

What did she say?  
She said she thought my husband and I were very spoony.  I remarked that under the circumstances it was anything but the condition of spooning - that we were not feeling at all spoony.

Where did Mrs. Stillwell go as she passed through the room?  
Into the servant’s room.

Did she return back through your room?  
I presume she did, but don’t remember.

Did you see her during that day?  
I was there - yes, I saw her during that day.

What, apparently, was the condition of her mind and body during the day?  
To all appearances, when talking to her family, she was very lively, but not so in the presence of Dr. Hearne.

Do you know whether or not Dr. Hearne called during that day?  
I do not remember.

During that night was Dr. Hearne in attendance upon her?  
I do not know.

Where did you stay that night?  
At the Stillwell residence.  We stayed there until she left for Battle Creek.

Do you remember the day that Mr. Stillwell was buried?  
Yes, sir.

Were you in attendance?  
I was.

As the people were congregating at the home, where was Mrs. Stillwell?  
In the front bed-room.

From where did the funeral ceremony take place?  
From the residence.

And the corpse was there?  
In the front parlor, the head of the coffin facing south.

In the front parlor down stairs?  
Yes, sir.

Who was in charge of Mrs. Stillwell, if any one, just prior to and during the ceremony?  
Dr. Hearne.

Who, if any one else, was up in the room where she was?  
Mrs. Heywood, if I remember.

Do you remember any incidents connected with the funeral ceremony just prior to the people coming in?  
Yes, sir.

Well, what was it?  I presume that Mrs. Stillwell had expressed a desire to view the remains of her husband.  Did she come down stairs?  
Yes, sir.

Who accompanied her down stairs?  
Dr. Hearne.

What, if anything, occurred - what did she say or do, if anything?  
She fainted, I presume, and exclaimed something to the effect that “Amos, my husband, is dead!”

As she stood at the coffin, where was Dr. Hearne - was he at the coffin with her?  
He was there in time to catch her as she fainted.

When she fainted did he catch her?  
Yes, and carried her up stairs.

How long was this before the ceremony began - was it about the time?  
It was before.

During the funeral oration was Mrs. Stillwell in the parlor?  
No, sir; she was upstairs.

Who was with her?  
Dr. Hearne.

Did you go to the cemetery?  
Yes, sir.

Where was Mrs. Stillwell?
 She was at her home with Dr. Hearne and Mrs. Heywood, and I think Miss Anderson and Mollie.

The night after the burial did you stay there?
Yes, sir.

How long did you remain there then?  
My husband and I stayed every night until we left for Battle Creek.

What time did you leave for Battle Creek?  
Mr. Stillwell was buried the first of January, and we left on Friday.

Who went with you?  
Mrs. Stillwell and three children, Mrs. Nellie Lyons, Dr. Hearne and Miss Stillwell.

You left here at 5 o’clock on the "Q"?  
Yes, sir.

What, if anything, did you observe in the conduct of Dr. Hearne and Mrs. Stillwell during the trip to Battle Creek?  
Not so much during that trip as I noticed after we arrived there.

Did you notice anything of his attentions?  
They were very marked in solicitations of her welfare.

Do you mean as a physician?  
No, decidedly not.

How long did that continue - mean until you arrived at Battle Creek?  
We took a sleeper and I do not know what transpired while I was asleep.

Well, I mean did these attentions keep up until you arrived at the sanitarium at Battle Creek?  
Yes, sir.

What time did you get to Battle Creek?  
So far as I remember, it was about 2 o’clock in the afternoon.

How did you take rooms there with reference to each other?  
We had two rooms opening into each other.

Where did Dr. Hearne room?  
I do not remember whether it was on the same floor or the one above - it was across the hall.

Did you observe any conduct of Dr. Hearne and Mrs. Stillwell after you arrived at Battle Creek?  State whether his treatment of Mrs. Stillwell was that of an ordinary physician.  
(Objected to as leading by Judge Hendrick.)  
Witness answered:  I was impressed with an idea that they were rather fond of being alone and locked in a room together.

Do you say that they were locked in a room?  
I certainly do.  I went to the door and knocked, and it was locked.

Do you know that Dr. Hearne was in there with Mrs. Stillwell?  
I knew that they were together, because they unlocked the door to admit me.

Was the door locked?  
Yes, sir.

How long was that after you arrived there, about, was that the first, second or third day - do you remember?  
Well, it was either the first, second or third - do not remember.

Do you know how long Dr. Hearne remained during that time?  
I think that Dr. Hearne left Battle Creek on Monday.  I am guessing because I am not able to remember.

During this trip from Hannibal to Battle Creek, how did Mrs. Stillwell seem to stand it?  What was the condition of her health?  
I thought very good.

At Battle Creek, what was the condition of her mind and bodily appearance?  
I saw so little of Mrs. Stillwell that I couldn’t tell.  On the 7th of January Mrs. Stillwell went to the hospital which was connected with the sanitarium.

You say you think Dr. Hearne left there on the 9th?  
I am not positive.  It was after the 7th.

Did I understand you to say that  Dr. Hearne and Mrs. Stillwell were alone while you were there?  
Yes, sir.

Who went there to be in charge of her?  
I thought I did.

Who was really in charge?  
Dr. Hearne.  
(Objected to not as leading, but as pumping.)

Now, after Dr. Hearne returned to Hannibal, what time, if at all, did he come back to Battle Creek?  He came back about the day following the publishing of an article written by the Chicago Herald containing an account of the murder?  
Yes, sir.

How did you first learn of Dr. Hearne being in Battle Creek?  
By a note sent me from Dr. Hearne.

What was the note about?  
He wanted to see me without the knowledge of Mollie.

What did you do?  
I saw him.

What did Dr. Hearne say?  
He said that my husband had sent for me.

What did he say, if anything, else?  
He thought he had better be there to keep Mrs. Stillwell from reading that paper.  I suggested that I was there for that purpose.

What paper did he have reference to?  
The Chicago paper.

Well, do you know what length of time Hearne stayed there?  
I do not.

Did you see him and Mrs. Stillwell together many times during  that visit?  
Yes, sir.

Was there anything peculiar in their conduct?  Did their relationship seem to be that as a physician?  
(Objected to as leading.)  
Witness answered:  No, sir.

How much were they together while Dr. Hearne was there?  
Do you mean the first or second visit?

Well, the first and second.  
The night after Mrs. Stillwell was operated on, Dr. Hearne was with her the entire night.

Well, now the second visit; how long did he remain?  
I do not remember - possibly a day or two days, - think only one day.

What, if anything, did you hear about anyone coming back to Hannibal?  
Mrs. Stillwell had arranged to spend the summer in Battle Creek; made arrangements to be there under Dr. Hearne’s treatment; she had engaged a nurse to take care of her little boy and a French teacher for her daughter; was to remain there during that summer; but after breakfast, when Dr. Hearne came back, he went over to see Mrs. Stillwell and Mollie, and Mrs. Stillwell emphatically declared that she would come back to Hannibal.

Who suggested that she should come back to Hannibal?  
Dr. Hearne.

What time did he see you in the morning?  
Possibly 7 o’clock in the morning.

How do you know that he had been to see Mrs. Stillwell?  
He told me so.

Do you know anything about his leaving for home the last time?  Do you know what time he bade you good bye?  
Yes, sir; I remember very distinctly.

What was said about her and where was she?  
Mrs. Stillwell was brought from Battle Creek sanitarium and occupied a room just adjoining ours, but not connected by a door at all.  I had to meet Mrs. Stillwell that night about half-past 9.  I suggested that it was bed-time and that I was going to bed. Dr. Hearne remarked that he would stay with Mrs. Stillwell until train time, and I suggested that I would stay in the room with Mrs. Stillwell.

Do you know what time the train left?  
After mid-night.  I slept in the room that night.

When you came back to Hannibal, were you frequently at the home of Amos J. Stillwell - did you go there?  
Yes, sir.  I do not now how frequently, but I was a visitor there more frequently than before this.

Was Dr. Hearne a visitor at that home?  
I don’t know; I presume he was.  He was there in the capacity of a physician on one occasion when I was there.  He was called to attend the little boy.  I was not there when he arrived.

Did you observe anything out of the ordinary way between physician and patient existing between Dr. Hearne and Mrs. Stillwell at the house here in Hannibal after they had returned from Battle Creek?  
Well, upon one occasion I invited Mrs. Stillwell to my house to dinner on Sunday, and for some reason she was not able to eat her dinner.  Very soon after dinner she felt too ill to remain and the carriage was sent.  Dr. Hearne telephoned for her and she went home, I presume.  I presume he met her; I don’t know.

You don’t know unless you saw her?  
No.

You were not at the wedding?  
No, sir.

Cross-Examination 

By Judge Hendrick:  Mrs. Stillwell, you are the wife of Richard H. Stillwell, I believe you said.  
Yes sir.

For a long time you have not been friendly with Dr. Hearne and his wife?  
I had been very friendly with them until the time of their marriage.

Were you friendly with them up to the time of their marriage?  
I wasn’t friendly with Mrs. Stillwell at the time of my marriage to my husband.

Why?  
Because she objected to my marriage.  We were married the 28th of April, 1886.

You say that Mrs. Stillwell, on the night of the murder, when you arrived there had on a different night-dress from that which she usually wore?  
Yes, sir.

What kind did she usually wear?  
A partly unbleached night-dress - plain night-dress without any trimming on it.

Well, what kind of a night-dress did she have on this time?  
A cotton night-dress.

In what respect did it differ  from the rest?  
It was very different from the kind which she had been wearing.

Did you speak to her about it?  
No, sir.

How did you happen to mention the night-gown?  
I was asked the question.

Have you ever mentioned this to anybody?  
I don’t know whether I did or not.

Did you mention it to Mr. Mahan?  
I told Mr. Mahan all I know.

He had an interview with you about your testimony in this case, had he not?  
I told him what I know.  I knew that I was subpoenaed here and went to him and told him what I know.

Did he ask you about the night-gown business?  
I told him.

You told him?  
Yes, sir.

You have frequently given your testimony in regard to the case?  
Certainly.

Where?  
Before the grand jury.

Didn’t you give your testimony before the coroner’s jury?  
I did not.

What was your testimony before the grand jury?  
(Objected to by Mr. Mahan.)  
Witness:  I took an oath not to divulge what I told to the grand jury.

Have you ever given any testimony anywhere about this night-gown business before?  Did you before anyone anywhere?  
I have talked of it, certainly.

When did you first mention it to anyone?  
I don’t remember.  It was a circumstance that I noticed at the time I met Mrs. Stillwell.

What interpretation did you put on it?  
I believe that I answered that I thought the ladies had attended to her and re-dressed her.

Nothing unusual for a woman to change her night-dress, is it?  
Not at all; an ordinary circumstance.

You stated that Dr. Hearne was lying on the  floor?  
Yes, sir.

Do you know why?  
He said he was tired and sleepy.  But he was also ill.

Was there anything remarkable about his lying on the floor?  
No, sir.

Why did you testify to his lying on the floor?  Is there anything remarkable about it?  
I remember distinctly that he was on the floor.

You have not been friendly with Dr. Hearne for a long time?  
Not since the wedding.

You don’t object to people getting married, do you?  
Not at all.

Well, why should that influence you?  
Simply because, in my mind, it convinced me of the fact that Dr. Hearne and his wife murdered Mr. Stillwell.

How soon after the marriage were you convinced?  
Less than a week or just a week.  The anniversary of his death was the first fact and the week less than a year at which they married.

Mrs. Stillwell, didn’t you give a nice, social party on the anniversary of that day?  Is there anything more remarkable about that than that the widow should marry within the year?  
I had not been suspected; she had.

Is it not rather a proof of their innocence - that they dared to take this step of marrying?  
I would not think so.

Did not you and other people, here in Hannibal, attempt to have Dr. Hearne and his wife implicated in that murder in some way?  
Witness:  I refuse to answer that question.

Mr. Mahan:  Oh, yes, answer the question.  
Witness:  I felt that I was with Dr. Hearne and Mrs. Stillwell more and knew probably a little more of them than others.

Was it the day of the murder or the day after the murder that Mrs. Stillwell seemed lively and gay?  Was it on the 29th or 30th of December that she seemed lively and gay and made the remark to you and your husband?  Have you testified when Mrs. Stillwell came through your room, where yourself and husband were sleeping, in what way she indicated she was lively and gay?  
From the remark she made to my husband and me while we were still in bed.

Did he hear her say about your being spoony?  
Yes, sir.

When Dr. Hearne was around did she seem to be sick after reaching Battle Creek?  
Well, Judge, when Dr. Hearne was around there was seldom anybody else around.

Well, how did that happen?  How did they exclude the rest of the world from the room in which they were?  
Mrs. Stillwell was confined to her room.

She was suffering from shock?
I think so.

You say that she seemed extremely well when he was not there?  Well, in what way did she seem when he was there?  
I believe Mrs. Stillwell was subject to epileptic spasms, or something - I don’t know what they are.  She was taken with these very often while Dr. Hearne was there.

Wasn’t she subject to these convulsions while her husband was living?
Not often.

Didn’t the calamity through which she passed have a tendency to increase her illness?  
Yes, sir.

Isn’t he a man generally noted for the care and kindness with which he takes care of his patients?  
I think so.  Yes, sir.

Did you notice anything different in the care which he gave Mrs. Amos J. Stillwell from that which he usually bestowed upon his other patients?  
Yes, sir.

Well, what, for example?  
I believe I said they were more fond of being alone than the majority of patients and doctors.

That sometimes happens when you are off by the waters or at a sanitarium, doesn’t it?  
I don’t know, sir.

You say you went upstairs a time or two and found the doctor and Mrs. Stillwell locked in a room together.  How did you know they were in there.  If they unlocked the door there could have been no impropriety going on.  Why should they lock it?  
Judge Hendrick, I don’t know.

“How often did this happen,” continued the lawyer.  
On one occasion at Battle Creek and on one occasion after they returned home.

Did Dr. Hearne ever have the door of your room locked when he was giving you professional service at your home?  
Not that I remember of.

Mrs. Stillwell, I notice that you have a little paper or memoranda?  
Yes, do you want to see it?

When did you prepare it?  
I prepared it this morning at my home.  I have no objection to your seeing it.

Judge Hendrick examined the paper and returned it.

You spoke of Dr. Hearne’s going back the second time after the publication of an article in the Chicago paper?  
I don’t remember which paper it was.

What was the character of that article?  Was it one of those delightful tid-bits of  scandal?  
I presume that probably Mr. Birch can tell you all about it.

Mr. Mahan:  Tell it yourself.

Judge Hendrick:  Did it refer to the murder of Amos J. Stillwell?  Why did Dr. Hearne go back if it didn’t?  Is that why Dr. Hearne returned - because he was a little uneasy about that paper?  
I had kept it from Mrs. Stillwell.

Wasn’t that natural in the doctor as a physician?  
Well, Judge, I was there.  I had taken charge of the children.  I think I remarked to the doctor that -

Yes, but the doctor might have supposed that you would not know what the effect would be upon Mrs. Stillwell of reading an article like that.  Is that not so?  Didn’t she finally see the article?  
I suppose she did.

You spoke of one time there when Dr. Hearne was with her the entire night.  Was that at Battle Creek?  
As her physician, I remarked.

Wasn’t there anyone else there - a nurse?  Was she not scarcely able to turn over in bed?
Not able to.

You say that upon the occasion of the second visit that Dr. Hearne suggested to Mrs. Stillwell the desirability of returning to Hannibal.  How did you know that?  
Mollie became very much incensed and asked her mother and she said the doctor thought it best to come back and live down the scandal.

Was there a scandal so soon?  
Yes, sir.

Did you hear it yourself?  
I heard it myself that Dr. Hearne advised her to return to Hannibal and live down the scandal.  Mrs. Stillwell and her children were present at the time.

How long did Mrs. Stillwell remain in the hospital?  
Until the day of Dr. Hearne’s second visit and she returned that evening.

You say that when the party returned to Hannibal that Dr. Hearne was a frequent visitor at the Stillwell mansion?  
I don’t know.

You say that upon one occasion when she was to take diner at your house that Dr. Hearne telephoned?  
No, sir.

What did you testify in regard to that?  
I said Mrs. Stillwell was not able to eat that day.  She returned home after we telephoned for her carriage and Dr. Hearne.  She returned home I presume.

You know Mrs. Susie Hayward?  
Yes, sir.

Do you know where she is living?  
Yes, at Chicago.

Do you know her address?  
I do not.

Have you recently met one A. L. Clarke?  
Yes, sir.

Have you talked to him about this case?
I had some conversation with Mr. Clarke.

How long ago was that?  
On one of Mr. Clarke’s visits here.

What was the object of the interview?  
To find out what I knew of this case.

Did you tell him all about it?  
No, sir.

Did you tell him the testimony you have given here?  
Not all.

Did you tell him about the night-gown?  
I did not.

Did you tell him anything about Mrs. Susie Hayward?  
I did not.

Do you know whether he knew of her at that time?  
I don’t know.  

Previous     Next