King Albert Bruce
14 April 1869 - 10 September 1946
***
King Bruce
Born: Dadeville, MO
Died: Oronogo Rural Mineral Twp. Jasper Co. MO
10 September 1946; 9:30 p.m.
In this community: 24 years
Age: 77 yrs. 4 mos. 24 das.
Name of wife: Mary Bruce
Father: J. M. Bruce; Born: Virginia
Mother's maiden name: No Data
Informant: (wife) Mary Bruce
Burial: Oronogo Cemetery; Date: 9/12-46
Undertaker: Hedge-Lewis Webb City, MO
***
Missouri Death Certificates, 1910 - 1964
Name Date of Death County City Certificate Number
KING BRUCE April 14 1869 - Sept. 10, 1946 Jasper 30751 View Image pdf file
1946_00030763.PDF
***
Millie Effie White Decker
October 14, 1878 - October 28, 1920
***
(Mrs) Millie Effie [White]Decker Oct. 14, 1878 - Oct. 28, 1920 Barton 30980-a View Image pdf file
1920_00033845.PDF
***
Thanks to Bob Pyle (#47315483)
Ozark’s History Detective
Posted: Thursday, December 10, 2015 7:00 pm
http://preview.tinyurl.com/z7qlyfd
By Mary Morris
In 1920, Stockton rocked by arsenic poisonings and alleged affair
King Bruce was a wealthy and highly regarded farmer in the Stockton area in the early 1900s. Locals, according to newspaper accounts from the time, knew Bruce as a giving man always willing to help his neighbors. “He waited upon the sick, contributed to charity and at all times was a friend to the friendless,” according to the Springfield Missouri Republican.
Given his respectable qualities, how did Bruce end up the center of a double-homicide trial, accused of conspiring to kill his wife and another man? As one would imagine, it started with a woman, the widow, Effie Decker.
Decker and her husband, C.E., lived on the land adjacent to Bruce and his wife, but C.E. died unexpectedly of an illness the day after Christmas in 1919.
Oddly, Bruce’s wife Sally Elizabeth, died just days after C.E. died, suffering strikingly similar symptoms to C.E.’s.
Even more perplexing to locals, not long after Sally Elizabeth was lowered into her grave, the widow Decker moved in with the widower Bruce, claiming to be a live-in housekeeper.
Bruce’s sons and his daughters-in-law pleaded with him to not move Decker into his home, but he ignored them. The two new widows were promptly settled under one roof. Gossip on the new living arrangement traveled quickly.
It was so salacious and distasteful to locals, surviving relatives of C.E. and Sally Elizabeth convened to discuss the matter. They determined to thoroughly explore their suspicions, and had Sally Elizabeth and C.E. exhumed for inspection in March 1920, once the ground was thawed of its winter freeze.
A chemical analysis on C.E. found a terrible revelation: He had been poisoned with a large quantity of residual arsenic. Decker was arrested and charged with murder, but bonded out shortly after.
Just two weeks later, the analysis on Sally Elizabeth’s body revealed the same residual arsenic, and Bruce went to jail, too.
Once news got around, an angry mob formed looking for Bruce. Arrested by the Cedar County Sheriff, Bruce faced a large crowd of locals rallying outside the jail, clamoring to take their own justice against the accused.
The sheriff snuck Bruce out the back door of the jail and escorted him to safety in the Vernon County jail.
In the meantime, Decker’s bond was revoked, and she too was arrested again — largely for her own safety. Decker remained at the Cedar County jail.
The two, arrested and held in May 1920, awaited their preliminary hearings in separate jails, in order to prevent communication.
Witnesses reported Decker was cool, calm and collected throughout her arrest, but this demeanor evaporated May 28, 1920 — the date of the preliminary hearing. According to a report in the Springfield Missouri Republican, Decker came to the Cedar County Courthouse draped in veils, hiding her face from journalists, citizens and cameras. The paper said Decker was extremely nervous through the duration of the hearing, “and at times appeared to be on the verge of hysteria.”
Bruce, on the other hand, didn’t seem to know what was going on. “The typical Ozarkian at no time showed the least sign of nervousness and even at times appeared to be dumbfounded by the court proceedings,” according to the Republican. “It was evident he did not realize fully the seriousness of the charge which had been entered against him. As he sat in the courtroom, Bruce appeared to be more of a spectator than a defendant.”
The prosecution outlined its case against the defendants, arguing C.E. had died not from food poisoning, as Decker claimed, but of arsenic poisoning. Prosecutors pointed to accounts from witnesses, including a pharmacist and a doctor, saying Decker had traveled to Springfield twice to obtain arsenic under a false name.
As for Bruce, prosecutors noted his unusual response to his wife’s deadly illness. He never summoned a doctor.
Sally Elizabeth lay sick for days until her son came to visit. She begged her son to find medical help for her, but died within an hour after the doctor finally arrived.
The two were bound over on charges, but bonded out of jail and returned to their shared home.
Although a trial had been arranged, Decker would never face a jury. By the first of November 1920, she was dead. Doctors said she died from a stomach illness.
In another strange twist, Bruce was deathly ill, too. According to the Nov. 20, 1920 issue of the Chillicothe Tribune, Bruce was suffering an illness oddly similar to that which killed Decker, and for a time doctors doubted he would survive. He did manage to pull through, though, and faced a jury trial which revealed, to a packed courtroom, the many allegations and details of circumstantial evidence against him.
Witnesses testified Decker had bragged about obtaining arsenic, and announced a dislike for her husband.
A relative of Decker’s described the signaling system allegedly used between Bruce and Decker while their respective spouses still were alive.
If Decker draped a white cloth over the rose bush in her yard, it meant C.E. was away from home, and Bruce could come to visit.
Another witness described a ring Decker claimed Bruce had given her, with the intent to marry her once they both obtained divorces. According to the witness, Decker said if for some reason divorce was prevented, the two simply planned to run away together.
Despite the outrageous testimony of multiple witnesses and a chemical analysis which proved arsenic poisoning in both victims, prosecutors could never undoubtedly prove Bruce’s role in a murder conspiracy. After all, it was Decker who had the arsenic — and she was dead. The rest was circumstantial.
A jury acquitted Bruce of murder April 1, 1921.
Bruce had vehemently denied his guilt at trial, and endured a grueling cross examination.
He admitted to bringing Decker into his home, ignoring the protests of his children, but his sons testified in their father’s defense. They said, according to the Republican, “their father always had treated their mother with kindness, and said the home life had been happy.”
Bruce went free, and relocated to Jasper County.
According to U.S. Census data, he remarried by 1930 and settled in Oronogo. He died in 1946.
Incidentally, his second wife, Mary, outlived him by 18 years.
~*~
*~*
Sally Elizabeth Morris Bruce
04 November 1861 - 11 January 1920
Born:
Died:
Age:
Cause: Chronic Interstitial nephritis
[This is a kidney disorder in which the spaces between the kidney tubules become swollen (inflamed).]
Contributory: ?uraemia?
[excess levels of urea and other nitrogenous material in blood, characteristic of persistent renal failure; causes range of symptoms]
Autopsy performed: NO
***
Missouri Death Certificates, 1910 - 1964
Name Date of Death County City Certificate Number
Sally Elizabeth [Morris] Bruce Nov 4, 1861 - January 11, 1920 Cedar 458 View Image pdf file
1920_00000497.PDF
~*~
*~*
Mary [Moore] Bruce
24 October 1880 - 09 January 1964
Born: Aurora, MO
Died: Pearl Lee Guest House; Webb City, MO
Length of stay: 53 days
Age: 83 years
Usual Residence: Oronogo, MO
Housewife; White; Widowed; Social Security: NO
Father: William Moore
Mother's maiden name: Frances Wise
Informant: Luther Pharis; Seneca, MO
Burial: Oronogo Cemetery; Date: 1/12/1964;
Undertaker: Hedge-Lewis Funeral Home; Webb City, MO
***
Missouri Death Certificates, 1910 - 1964
Name Date of Death County City Certificate Number
Mary [Moore] Bruce Oct. 24, 1880 - Jan. 09, 1964 Jasper 1942 View Image pdf file
1964_00001942.PDF
~*~
*~*
King Albert Bruce
14 April 1869 - 10 September 1946
***
King Bruce
Born: Dadeville, MO
Died: Oronogo Rural Mineral Twp. Jasper Co. MO
10 September 1946; 9:30 p.m.
In this community: 24 years
Age: 77 yrs. 4 mos. 24 das.
Name of wife: Mary Bruce
Father: J. M. Bruce; Born: Virginia
Mother's maiden name: No Data
Informant: (wife) Mary Bruce
Burial: Oronogo Cemetery; Date: 9/12-46
Undertaker: Hedge-Lewis Webb City, MO
***
Missouri Death Certificates, 1910 - 1964
Name Date of Death County City Certificate Number
KING BRUCE April 14 1869 - Sept. 10, 1946 Jasper 30751 View Image pdf file
1946_00030763.PDF
***
Millie Effie White Decker
October 14, 1878 - October 28, 1920
***
(Mrs) Millie Effie [White]Decker Oct. 14, 1878 - Oct. 28, 1920 Barton 30980-a View Image pdf file
1920_00033845.PDF
***
Thanks to Bob Pyle (#47315483)
Ozark’s History Detective
Posted: Thursday, December 10, 2015 7:00 pm
http://preview.tinyurl.com/z7qlyfd
By Mary Morris
In 1920, Stockton rocked by arsenic poisonings and alleged affair
King Bruce was a wealthy and highly regarded farmer in the Stockton area in the early 1900s. Locals, according to newspaper accounts from the time, knew Bruce as a giving man always willing to help his neighbors. “He waited upon the sick, contributed to charity and at all times was a friend to the friendless,” according to the Springfield Missouri Republican.
Given his respectable qualities, how did Bruce end up the center of a double-homicide trial, accused of conspiring to kill his wife and another man? As one would imagine, it started with a woman, the widow, Effie Decker.
Decker and her husband, C.E., lived on the land adjacent to Bruce and his wife, but C.E. died unexpectedly of an illness the day after Christmas in 1919.
Oddly, Bruce’s wife Sally Elizabeth, died just days after C.E. died, suffering strikingly similar symptoms to C.E.’s.
Even more perplexing to locals, not long after Sally Elizabeth was lowered into her grave, the widow Decker moved in with the widower Bruce, claiming to be a live-in housekeeper.
Bruce’s sons and his daughters-in-law pleaded with him to not move Decker into his home, but he ignored them. The two new widows were promptly settled under one roof. Gossip on the new living arrangement traveled quickly.
It was so salacious and distasteful to locals, surviving relatives of C.E. and Sally Elizabeth convened to discuss the matter. They determined to thoroughly explore their suspicions, and had Sally Elizabeth and C.E. exhumed for inspection in March 1920, once the ground was thawed of its winter freeze.
A chemical analysis on C.E. found a terrible revelation: He had been poisoned with a large quantity of residual arsenic. Decker was arrested and charged with murder, but bonded out shortly after.
Just two weeks later, the analysis on Sally Elizabeth’s body revealed the same residual arsenic, and Bruce went to jail, too.
Once news got around, an angry mob formed looking for Bruce. Arrested by the Cedar County Sheriff, Bruce faced a large crowd of locals rallying outside the jail, clamoring to take their own justice against the accused.
The sheriff snuck Bruce out the back door of the jail and escorted him to safety in the Vernon County jail.
In the meantime, Decker’s bond was revoked, and she too was arrested again — largely for her own safety. Decker remained at the Cedar County jail.
The two, arrested and held in May 1920, awaited their preliminary hearings in separate jails, in order to prevent communication.
Witnesses reported Decker was cool, calm and collected throughout her arrest, but this demeanor evaporated May 28, 1920 — the date of the preliminary hearing. According to a report in the Springfield Missouri Republican, Decker came to the Cedar County Courthouse draped in veils, hiding her face from journalists, citizens and cameras. The paper said Decker was extremely nervous through the duration of the hearing, “and at times appeared to be on the verge of hysteria.”
Bruce, on the other hand, didn’t seem to know what was going on. “The typical Ozarkian at no time showed the least sign of nervousness and even at times appeared to be dumbfounded by the court proceedings,” according to the Republican. “It was evident he did not realize fully the seriousness of the charge which had been entered against him. As he sat in the courtroom, Bruce appeared to be more of a spectator than a defendant.”
The prosecution outlined its case against the defendants, arguing C.E. had died not from food poisoning, as Decker claimed, but of arsenic poisoning. Prosecutors pointed to accounts from witnesses, including a pharmacist and a doctor, saying Decker had traveled to Springfield twice to obtain arsenic under a false name.
As for Bruce, prosecutors noted his unusual response to his wife’s deadly illness. He never summoned a doctor.
Sally Elizabeth lay sick for days until her son came to visit. She begged her son to find medical help for her, but died within an hour after the doctor finally arrived.
The two were bound over on charges, but bonded out of jail and returned to their shared home.
Although a trial had been arranged, Decker would never face a jury. By the first of November 1920, she was dead. Doctors said she died from a stomach illness.
In another strange twist, Bruce was deathly ill, too. According to the Nov. 20, 1920 issue of the Chillicothe Tribune, Bruce was suffering an illness oddly similar to that which killed Decker, and for a time doctors doubted he would survive. He did manage to pull through, though, and faced a jury trial which revealed, to a packed courtroom, the many allegations and details of circumstantial evidence against him.
Witnesses testified Decker had bragged about obtaining arsenic, and announced a dislike for her husband.
A relative of Decker’s described the signaling system allegedly used between Bruce and Decker while their respective spouses still were alive.
If Decker draped a white cloth over the rose bush in her yard, it meant C.E. was away from home, and Bruce could come to visit.
Another witness described a ring Decker claimed Bruce had given her, with the intent to marry her once they both obtained divorces. According to the witness, Decker said if for some reason divorce was prevented, the two simply planned to run away together.
Despite the outrageous testimony of multiple witnesses and a chemical analysis which proved arsenic poisoning in both victims, prosecutors could never undoubtedly prove Bruce’s role in a murder conspiracy. After all, it was Decker who had the arsenic — and she was dead. The rest was circumstantial.
A jury acquitted Bruce of murder April 1, 1921.
Bruce had vehemently denied his guilt at trial, and endured a grueling cross examination.
He admitted to bringing Decker into his home, ignoring the protests of his children, but his sons testified in their father’s defense. They said, according to the Republican, “their father always had treated their mother with kindness, and said the home life had been happy.”
Bruce went free, and relocated to Jasper County.
According to U.S. Census data, he remarried by 1930 and settled in Oronogo. He died in 1946.
Incidentally, his second wife, Mary, outlived him by 18 years.
~*~
*~*
Sally Elizabeth Morris Bruce
04 November 1861 - 11 January 1920
Born:
Died:
Age:
Cause: Chronic Interstitial nephritis
[This is a kidney disorder in which the spaces between the kidney tubules become swollen (inflamed).]
Contributory: ?uraemia?
[excess levels of urea and other nitrogenous material in blood, characteristic of persistent renal failure; causes range of symptoms]
Autopsy performed: NO
***
Missouri Death Certificates, 1910 - 1964
Name Date of Death County City Certificate Number
Sally Elizabeth [Morris] Bruce Nov 4, 1861 - January 11, 1920 Cedar 458 View Image pdf file
1920_00000497.PDF
~*~
*~*
Mary [Moore] Bruce
24 October 1880 - 09 January 1964
Born: Aurora, MO
Died: Pearl Lee Guest House; Webb City, MO
Length of stay: 53 days
Age: 83 years
Usual Residence: Oronogo, MO
Housewife; White; Widowed; Social Security: NO
Father: William Moore
Mother's maiden name: Frances Wise
Informant: Luther Pharis; Seneca, MO
Burial: Oronogo Cemetery; Date: 1/12/1964;
Undertaker: Hedge-Lewis Funeral Home; Webb City, MO
***
Missouri Death Certificates, 1910 - 1964
Name Date of Death County City Certificate Number
Mary [Moore] Bruce Oct. 24, 1880 - Jan. 09, 1964 Jasper 1942 View Image pdf file
1964_00001942.PDF
~*~
*~*
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