Smith Conspiracy Part 5

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”!