Hometown Heritage
Contact
  • Home
  • About
  • PerryScope
  • Blog
  • Exhibits and Events
  • Collection
  • Volunteer
  • Contact

Smith Conspiracy Part 11

4/27/2016

0 Comments

 
Happy Wednesday readers!
 
I hope that you are all surviving out there in the rain. Today we will be continuing the Smith Conspiracy Case, drawing ever closer to its conclusions. This week’s paper is from September 7, 1931, and it contains a big break-through in the case: a confession from Mrs. Smith that she was indeed involved in a conspiracy with her husband!
 
According to the paper, County Attorney George Sackett released portions of a signed confession from Mrs. Smith after she had been grilled for more than five hours. This session occurred at the statehouse in Des Moines, and was conducted by Attorney Sackett, State Agent Tullar, Sheriff C. A. Knee and James E. Risden, the chief of the state bureau of investigation. Sackett did not release the full confession, but the portions that were released were sufficient to unquestionably incriminate both Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
 
Two particular portions were quoted directly in the paper. First, after admitting that she had conversations with her husband about life insurance, Mrs. Smith goes on to describe one in particular. She said that “In one of those conversations he told me that he would disappear and that it would be up to me to bury him and collect the insurance. Then, after I had collected the insurance, we could communicate in some way and then go back together and live together again after a year or two. Under our plan I was to collect the insurance or accept it when paid and then meet John when he got into communication with me, which might be any time from one to two years.” Clearly, Mrs. Smith knew of the conspiracy, and was quite willing to go along with it.
 
The second portion that was quoted in the paper indicates that Mr. and Mrs. Smith had indeed been in communication since his disappearance. Mrs. Smith said, “I received a note asking me to meet a certain party near Fremont, Nebraska, on the 19th day of June. On that day I together with my son drove to Fremont and met my husband, John M. Smith and spent the afternoon with him.” Most surprising about this meeting was that it occurred exactly four days before Mr. Smith was found on a side road near Garner, Iowa. Perhaps the two decided the conspiracy was in danger and they needed to take some kind of action. At this point, it is unclear.
 
Unfortunately, no details were secured about how the couple procured a corpse to use in the conspiracy. Other details also remain untold, but authorities said they would be released when the proper time arrived. Another unfortunate matter is that the case against the two does not seem to be moving ahead as fast as hoped. Sheriff Knee of Dallas County said that he expected no developments on Monday, as the court in Adel was not in session. In addition, although Smith has claimed he would tell all to a grand jury, he has not appeared willing to appear before them.
 
Despite this set back with the grand jury, it appears we are finally getting to the heart of this conspiracy! Come back next week to see if Smith and his wife finally go before the jury!
0 Comments

Smith Conspiracy Part 10

4/20/2016

0 Comments

 
Good afternoon readers!
 
I hope that you are all ready for yet another exciting installment of the John Smith Conspiracy! Today we will be looking at the Perry Chief for September 5, 1931. In this issue, the mental health of John Smith is once again called into question, and Mrs. Smith is returned to her home only to be questioned for four hours!
 
The main headline of September 5’s paper reads “No Report on Smith’s Sanity.” Dr. Donohoe, one of Smith’s alienists (psychiatrists) apparently would not testify unless the court called for his appearance. Dr. Donohoe was the superintendent of the State Hospital for the Insane at Cherokee, and at the time of that paper, he was withholding his report on the matter of Smith’s sanity. In a different meeting between the doctor and the principals in the John Smith Case, Donohoe declined to discuss his findings. Meanwhile, Risden of the State Bureau of Investigation revealed a telegram in which “Dr. Donohoe claims he [Smith] is insane. I have also been advised that he was discharged from the army on the account of being insane.” If Smith was insane, Risden believed that he would be transferred to the state hospital for the criminally insane until he was declared fit for trial.
 
Another article in the September 5th paper is about the four hour questioning that Mrs. Smith was put through. According to the article, Mrs. Smith was taken from Des Moines to her home, where Court Attorney Sackett, Sheriff Knee, and deputy sheriff Burger, Chase, and McCarthy had her open a private safe. Inside the safe were dozens of business letters and a number of letters written by Smith since he had been confined in Clarinda Hospital. They questioned Mrs. Smith of the papers for four hours, but she maintained she did not know the businessmen in the letters well enough and she still upheld her position about the fraud conspiracy. Sackett claimed that nothing of exceptional importance was found, but they kept a large amount to use as reference if it was found to later pertain to the trial.
 
What will happen next? I bet many of you are wondering when the trial will actually start and if any progress will ever be made. I can ensure you that next time, when we will look at the September 7th 1931 paper which has the headline “Mrs. Smith Confesses Part in Conspiracy”, things will start moving. Return next week to found out what she says!
0 Comments

Smith Conspiracy Part 6

3/23/2016

0 Comments

 
Hello Readers,
 
Welcome back to the Hometown Heritage blog! Once again, we will be continuing the story of John Smith today. Instead of looking forward to September 1931, we will actually be taking a brief look at the July 1, 1931 paper. Although not a major headline, it is still important to the plot of the conspiracy: “Smith Ordered to Clarinda for Treatment.”
 
At 8 p.m. on June 30, 1931, County Attorney George Sackett brought Mr. Smith before Judge E. W. Dingwell. George Sackett presented charges against Smith for “conspiracy to defraud.” Harry Wifvat, Mr. Smith’s attorney, entered a plea of not guilty. This plea was made owing to the question of Smith’s sanity, which was in question ever since he was found near Garner. Judge Dingwell ruled that Smith, because of his condition, would be order to Clarinda, a state hospital. He was to stay there for treatment, upon consent of Mrs. Smith, until the court reopened in September. It would be during September that the criminal charge would be sought if Smith had any improvement in his mental condition. If not, the question of his sanity will be brought before the court, possibly resulting in his confinement to a hospital for the criminally insane.
 
Mrs. Smith did consent to Mr. Smith’s admission to Clarinda. She also filed a petition, seeking appointment as the legal guardian for her husband. This was so that she would be able to control his property and collect pension payments from Mr. Smith’s service during the World War. After this, county officers took Smith to Clarinda, and placed him under the care of hospital physicians. His treatment seeks to return him to a normal mental balance.
 
Will Smith return to his normal mental faculties, if he really is insane at all? What surprises does his court case hold? Find out next time as we dive into September and the court case!
0 Comments

Smith Conspiracy Part 5

3/16/2016

0 Comments

 
Happy Wednesday readers!
 
I hope that you are all ready for more John Smith and his baffling case. Is Smith insane? Was he kidnapped? On the other hand, is he simply faking it as an insurance swindle? Without further ado, let us find out what happens in today’s installment!
 
The date is June 26, 1931. Not much news has happened concerning the Smith case today, but there is a small article in the paper titled “Sackett to File Charge on Smith”. For the most part, the article discusses the charges that Smith could face and where he would be held. Unfortunately, the exact charge was not disclosed on this day, but County Attorney George Sackett did say he was ready to file charges. The thought was that charges could be pressed for conspiracy to defraud insurance companies. With these companies, Smith apparently carried policies totaling $50,000. With inflation, today that amount would be about $734,549.68. Other charges included could be related to the burning of his car and the body that he used as a decoy for himself.
 
The biggest part of this article, however, was about Mr. Smith’s mental state. According to the article, efforts were being made to place him in a prison for the criminally insane. Dr. George Donahoe of Cherokee, state hospital for the insane, recommended that Smith be committed to the state institution for the insane. According to him, a skull fracture (the same one that originally help authorities to determine the burned body was not Smith’s) that he received 8 years ago at Norfolk, Nebraska was the cause of Smith’s mental condition.
 
Do you agree with Dr. Donahoe? Do you think that John Smith really is insane, or is he plotting this in an attempt to get away with his crime? Find out next time, with the heading “Smith May Face Bigamy Charge”!
0 Comments

Smith Conspiracy Part 4

3/9/2016

0 Comments

 
Hello Readers,
 
I hope you are all ready for a ride, because we are continuing the story of the Smith Conspiracy today! This part of the story comes from the June 23, 1931 Perry Chief, which had the headline “Smith Must Face Trial in Dallas.”
 
Early in the morning of June 23, 1931, cries and whistles coming from the road near his home, near Wilson Highway No. 15 on a byroad, attracted Charles Grau, a Hancock county farmer. He went to investigate, and what he found was quite the surprise. Lying at the side of the road was John M. Smith. His hands and feet were bound together with wire, and were connected with a rope. There was no car nearby, and Mr. Grau had not heard any car in the vicinity, so how Mr. Smith ended up there was a mystery. Grau released him, took him to his home, and called Sheriff Hanson. When the Sheriff arrived, he found that Mr. Smith was in a dazed and semi-sane condition, bordering on hysteria or insanity, but physically seemed in good condition. He was unable to give details about how he got to the vicinity, any about the apparent attack, and only talked about his wife and the truck. Sheriff Hanson did indicate, however, that Mr. Smith’s bond were loose enough that it “might not have been impossible for the man to have wired and tied himself.” The sheriff arrested Smith that day, on a warrant charging him of “conspiracy to defraud” insurance companies.
 
Upon reaching Garner, Iowa, positive identification that this man was John Smith was provided. Harold Gesell, a fingerprint expert identified him using fingerprints from his army records. Unfortunately for authorities, Smith was not very helpful. He continually referred to his wife and his car, but appeared unable to talk about his disappearance or the incidents prior to and after the finding of the car and burned body. He claimed that three men knocked him unconscious with a blow to the head, bound him, and threw him to the side of the road, and that he had been kept in a basement for the past 5 and a half months. However, a physician failed to find any head injuries, casting doubt on the story. According to a Chief representative, Smith had lost considerable weight, was haggard in appearance, and seemed to have aged much in the five months he was missing. His mental state still appeared to be in disarray, as he was irrational and still semi-dazed. His reappearance resumed the investigation into his affairs by local insurance companies, and a question of where he was to be taken arose. The accident and burning of the other body occurred in Crawford County, but Dallas County officers carried out the case. County Attorney George Sackett stated that he would endeavor to have Smith brought to Dallas County to face charges unless Crawford officials decided to prosecute. As of the night of June 23, there was no decision on who would get custody over Mr. Smith.
 
As you can see, the plot of this story only continues to thicken. Was John Smith actually kidnapped and held in a basement? Is he just delusional and going insane? Find out next week as the charges are laid against him!
0 Comments

Smith Conspiracy Part 2

2/24/2016

0 Comments

 
Happy Wednesday Readers!
 
Last week I told you all the beginnings of the Smith Conspiracy, which was a big event here in Perry in 1931. Today, we will be continuing that story, looking at the next big headline in the March 13th Perry Chief, which read “County Attorney Sackett to Ask Complete State Inquiry In Smith Case”.
 
The County Attorney at the time, George Sackett, formally requested that the State Department of Criminal Investigation in Des Moines inquire into the mystery of the John M. Smith Case. Now, many of you may be asking why such an inquiry was needed. Well, if you remember from last time, there was also an article in this paper titled “Body Exhumed Here Was Not That of John M. Smith Thought Killed in Accident.” This happened because of an inquiry carried out be three insurance companies: Traveler’s of Hartford, Massachusetts Mutual and Minnesota Mutual. Primarily, Mr. Smith had bought a $5000 Travelers policy in Omaha good for only 12 days, and his supposed death occurred 7 days later. There were also other details about John’s death that aroused suspicion, such as how the car had not been wrecked but merely driven off the road at an angle and then burned.
 
Both of these suspicions lead to the exhuming of the body at the C. D. Bemmar funeral home. Dr. D. J. Glomset and Dr. C. B. Luginbuhl performed an autopsy, along with many other doctors and dentists who attended. What they found was startling: the body that was buried there was not that of John M. Smith. There was much to back up this discovery. First, the doctors found that the body was embalmed before it had been burned. They found that the body had an incision under the right arm, arteries had been drawn and drained, and then had been tied off. In addition, they found that the dental work did not match Mr. Smith’s dental records. The doctors also examined the skull of the body for a fracture that Mr. Smith had received while living in Nebraska that they believed had left an indentation. They did not find any such marking on the skull of the body. Clearly, the body buried in the cemetery was not that of John M. Smith. So, the all-consuming question became “Where was John M. Smith?”
 
Further details only made the case more interesting. To start, friends of Mr. Smith presented the theory that foul play might be involved. Where the body was secured also became a mystery, and mutilation of that body was determined to be a charge placed against anyone found to have taken part in the incident. Mrs. Smith also gave a statement, saying she would not collect any of the insurance money as long as there was doubt that her husband was alive. However, it was reported that Mr. Smith had approximately $50,000 in insurance, which was all payable to either his estate or Mrs. Smith.
 
Many factors about the Smith Case were coming to light, and each one only brought with it more questions. What happened next? Find out next week as the story unfolds with the headline “Smith Escapes Officers and Wife”!
0 Comments

    Archives

    October 2019
    February 2018
    December 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    March 2015

    Categories

    All
    1800s
    1900s
    2nd Avenue
    4th Of July
    Abandoned Towns
    Adage
    Adrienne Gennett
    African Americans
    All About Bacon
    Alley Oop
    Ames
    Anamosa
    Ancestors
    Angus
    Animal
    April
    Arcade
    Arcade Café
    Art
    Art And Seek
    Art Cart
    Art On The Prairie
    Art Tour Odd Thursday
    Attendant
    August
    Authorities
    Automobile
    Babe Ruth
    Bacon
    Ballroom
    Bandits
    Bank
    Barbershop
    Bars
    Baseball
    Basketball
    Beaverdale Books
    Betsy Peterson
    Betsy Peterson Designs
    Bike Trail
    Bill Clark
    Bill Wagner
    Bird
    Blue Jay
    Boat
    Bob Meusel
    Bonnie And Clyde
    Book
    Boone
    Bouton
    Box
    Boy Scouts
    Brunnier Art Museum
    Building
    Bureau Of Investigation
    Bus
    Butter
    Buxton
    Café
    Camp Mitigwa
    Camps
    Candy
    Captain Hook
    Car
    Carl Hansen
    Carnegie Library
    Carolyn Guay
    Carpenter And Son
    Cart
    Carter Block
    C. Durant Jones
    Celebration
    Cemetery
    Chad Elliot
    Chair
    Change
    Charles Joy
    Chautauqua
    Cheerleaders
    Chicago
    Chicken
    Childhood
    Children
    Children's Room
    Chocolate
    Chocolate Shop
    Christmas
    Christmas Tree
    Civil War
    Coal Mine
    Code
    Coins
    College
    Collins
    Color
    Commercialized
    Confession
    Cookies
    Cork
    Corn
    Costume
    Counterfeit
    County Attorney
    Court Case
    Courtroom
    Craft Beer
    Creative Mornings
    Crime
    Crocodile
    Curtains
    Dairy
    Dale Grow
    Dallas County
    Dance
    Database
    Dave Willis
    Dawson
    Dayton
    Death
    Depression
    Deputy Sheriff
    Des Moines
    Des Moines Bacon Company
    DeSoto
    Dexter
    D. H. Burrell
    Dice
    Dick Shoesmith
    Dinner
    Dog
    Donald Johnson
    Door
    Dress
    D. R. Jones
    Dr. Pam Jenkins
    Dr. Randy McCaulley
    Early Settler
    Education
    Elementary School
    El Rey
    Emergency
    Engineer
    Entertainment
    Equipment
    Event
    Explosion
    Family
    Farewell
    Farm
    February
    Festival Of Trees
    Fire
    Firefighters
    Fire Hall
    Fireman
    Fireman's Convention
    Fireplace
    Fire Truck
    First National Bank
    Float
    Folklore
    Food
    Forest Park Museum
    Forest W. Starling
    Fort Dodge
    Fort Leonardwood
    Foxy Theatre
    Frank Fullhart
    Friends
    Fullhart Carnegie Charitable Trust
    Fun
    Future
    Game
    Gang
    Garner
    Gary Ernest Smith
    Gary Ernest Smith Exhibiton
    Gasoline
    Gas Station
    Genealogy
    George And Merle Watson
    George Soumas
    Gift
    Gilded Age
    Girl Scouts
    Glenn Theulen
    Graduate School
    Grand 3 Theatre
    Grand Jury
    Grand Opera House
    Greene County
    Greenfield
    Guthrie County
    Haircut
    Hair Salon
    Halloween
    Haunted
    Hay
    Hearse
    Heater House Hotel
    Henry Draper
    Henry Hock
    High School
    Highway 169
    Hoagland Grocery Co.
    Holidays
    Homecoming
    Hometown Heritage
    Horse
    Horseshoes
    Hose
    Hotel
    Hotel Pattee
    House
    Illinois
    Immigrants
    Inflation
    Insurance
    Integration
    Intern
    Introduction
    Iowa
    Iowa State University
    Italian Immigrants
    Jacob Heater Jr.
    Jail
    Jamaica
    Jared Bloom
    Jefferson
    Jennifer Drinkwater
    Jeweler
    Jim Autry
    Jim Godown
    John Darling
    John M. Smith
    Jones Business College
    Jon Wolseth
    July
    Kansas
    Kids
    Kid's Fest
    Kitt's Locker
    Ku Klux Klan
    Landscape
    La Poste
    Latino Americans: 500 Years Of History
    Lecture
    Leo Landis
    Leo-LaVonne Carr
    Life Preserver
    Light And Water Plant
    Louise Fullhart
    Lucinda
    Lucinda Street
    Majestic Theatre
    Manhattan Oil Co.
    March
    March Madness
    Marshal
    Marvel
    Mascot
    McCreary Community Building
    McDonalds
    Mechanical
    Memorial Day
    Memories
    Men
    Mental Health
    Metal
    Michael Darling
    Mike's Pub
    Milwaukee
    Milwaukee Line
    Milwaukee Road
    Minburn
    Mining
    Model T
    Mom
    Money
    Moon
    Moon Landing
    Moran
    Morbid
    Morning
    Mother's Day
    Moving
    Mural
    Museum Curator
    Museum Studies
    Music
    Mystery
    Neighbors
    Neverland
    News
    Newspaper
    November
    Occasion
    October
    Office
    Opening Reception
    Oral History
    Original
    Outside
    Overalls
    Parade
    Party
    Pella
    Performing Arts Center
    Perry
    Perry Chief
    Perry High School
    Perry High School Band
    Perry High School Drama
    Perry High School Music
    Perry Historic Preservation Commission
    Perry Marching Band
    Perry Public Library
    Pete Malmberg
    Peter Pan
    Photos
    Piano
    Pie
    Pipes
    Pirate
    Play
    Present
    Presentation
    President
    President Eisenhower
    President Truman
    Price
    Prizes
    Programing
    Prom
    Pump
    QR Code
    Queen
    Questionable Items
    Raccoon River Valley Trail
    Rachel Schwaller
    Radio
    Railroad
    Read Farm
    Recreation Center
    Red Cross
    Refreshments
    Restoration
    Rex Theatre
    Rhodes
    Rick Stewart
    Rippey
    Robbery
    Robert Dean Harrison
    Robert Spellman
    Room Of Wonder
    Rooster
    Roundhouse
    Routine
    Rude Auto
    Sad
    Saint Louis
    Saint Valentine
    Santa
    School
    Scraps Of The Past
    Second Language
    Second Street
    Secret Service
    Security Savings Bank
    Seed Corn Belt
    Segregation
    September
    Seventh Street
    Shave
    Sheriff
    Shuler
    Sign
    Singing
    Skeet Shooting
    Small Town
    Smith Conspiracy
    Snow
    Snow Blower
    Sonia Nazario
    Soumas Court
    Spanish
    State Agent
    State Historical Museum Of Iowa
    Store
    Stories
    St. Patrick's School
    Stroudtman Farm
    Summer
    Summer Break
    Sunday
    Swimming
    Swing
    Table
    Teacher
    Technology
    Teenagers
    Television
    Thanksgiving
    Theatre
    Theperrynews.com
    The Perry Press
    Thrasher
    Tickets
    Tile
    Tool
    Tour
    Tournament
    Town Craft Building
    Toys
    Track
    Tradition
    Trains
    Travel
    Trial
    Trivia
    Truck
    Turkey
    Uniform
    Valentine's Day
    Valentine's Day Cards
    Vault
    Vehicles
    Verdict
    Veterans
    Violet Hill Cemetery
    Visual Learning
    Volunteer
    Vote
    V. R. Starling
    Wagon
    Wall Of Witnesses
    War
    Water
    Waukee
    Wealthy
    Weekend
    Welsh
    Wendy Darling
    Whistle
    William Jennings Bryan
    Willis Avenue
    Wimmer Building
    Wind
    Windmill
    Winterset
    Wood
    Woodward
    Woolworth Store
    Work
    Worker
    World War II
    Youth

    RSS Feed

All Rights Reserved, Fullhart Carnegie Charitable Trust, 2014-2019
This website is possible with the support of the
Dallas County Foundation