Dr. Hyde Trial: 1910

Defendant: Dr. Bennett Clarke Hyde
Crime Charged: Murder
Chief Defense Lawyers: R.R. Brewster, M. Cleary, and Frank Walsh
Chief Prosecutors: M. Atkinson, Virgil Conkling, Elliott W. Major, and James A. Reed
Judge: Ralph S. Latshaw
Place: Kansas City, Missouri
Dates of Trial: April 16-May 16, 1910
Verdict: None. There were three attempts at retrial after a conviction in the first trial was overturned, but no verdict was ever sustained against Dr. Hyde.

SIGNIFICANCE: The Dr. Bennett Clark Hyde trial was a monument to the power of money in the criminal justice system. Hyde's wealthy wife hired the best attorneys available to defend him, and despite the overwhelming evidence of his guilt, he was never convicted.

Bennett Clarke Hyde was born in 1872 in Cowper, Missouri, the son of a Baptist minister, and grew up in Lexington, Missouri. He went to medical school in Kansas City, and stayed in that city to practice medicine after graduation.

From the very start, Hyde's medical career was tainted with scandal. When Hyde was working for his alma mater as an anatomy instructor, two men were arrested for grave robbing, and they confessed that they had been working for Hyde. Charges were filed against Hyde, but were dropped in March 1899. In 1905, Hyde became the Kansas City police surgeon, but he was fired in 1907 for alleged mistreatment of a patient.

On June 21, 1905, Hyde married Frances Swope in a secret marriage that connected him with the richest family in Missouri. Hyde's wife was the niece of Thomas Hunton Swope, who was born in 1829 in Kentucky and moved to Kansas City in 1860. Swope made a fortune in Kansas City real estate, and was now known as Colonel Swope. By 1909 Colonel Swope was 80 years old, and although he was a lifelong bachelor with no children of his own, he was devoted to his many nephews and nieces, several of whom lived with him in his Kansas City mansion.

In September 1909, Colonel Swope suffered a minor injury, and Hyde came to the Swope mansion to take care of him. On October 2, Hyde gave Colonel Swope a pill, which made him violently ill, and he died on October 3. Hyde said that the cause of death was "apoplexy," but the nurse was suspicious. Hyde stayed in the Swope mansion, supposedly to look after the other residents, but a mysterious epidemic of illnesses suddenly swept through the estate over the next few months. Nine people came down with typhoid fever, and Chrisman Swope died after being treated by Hyde. By now there were five nurses in the Swope mansion, and they became afraid that Hyde was trying to kill off the entire Swope clan to collect the family fortune. The nurses went to the authorities. After autopsies on the bodies of Colonel Swope and Chrisman Swope revealed traces of strychnine and cyanide poison, Hyde was indicted for murder on February 15, 1910.

Hyde Escapes Justice

Hyde's trial began on April 16, 1910, with Judge Ralph S. Latshaw presiding. Hyde's defense lawyers were R.R. Brewster, M. Cleary, and Frank Walsh. The prosecutors were M. Atkinson, Virgil Conkling, Elliott W. Major, and James A. Reed.

The State of Missouri had an overwhelming case against Hyde and presented numerous expert witnesses who testified as to the medical evidence of poisoning. The testimony of a Dr. Hektoen was typical:

Question: State to the jury what in your opinion that man [Colonel Swope] was suffering from and died from?

Hektoen: In my opinion, death resulted from some convulsive and paralyzing poison or combination of poisons.

On May 16, 1910, the jury found Hyde guilty of murder. Latshaw on July 5, 1910, sentenced Hyde to life imprisonment. Hyde, however, had a secret weapon: his wife Frances, who refused to listen to any suggestion that her husband was guilty. Hyde publicly stated, "This case is not closed. My wife Frances will not forsake me. Yes, Frances will know what to do."

Indeed, Frances Hyde knew what to do. She financed Hyde's defense team, which launched an aggressive appeal. On April 11, 1911, the Supreme Court of Missouri reversed Hyde's conviction and remanded the case for a retrial. Hyde's second trial ended in a mistrial, ostensibly because one juror became sick towards the conclusion of the case. There were rumors, however, that the juror was bribed by agents of Mrs. Hyde.

A third trial was commenced, but the jury could not agree on a verdict. Once again, there were unsubstantiated allegations that Frances Hyde had used her share of the Swope family's millions to bribe certain jurors. Further, there were more rumors that Mrs. Hyde was financing a smear campaign against the surviving Swope family, who hated her for her efforts to absolve Hyde.

In January 1917, Hyde was put on trial for the fourth and last time. After three trials and more than seven years after the alleged murders, the fourth trial was abruptly terminated when Hyde's lawyers correctly pointed out that, under Missouri law, Hyde could not be tried more than three times for the same criminal charges. Hyde was a free man, but he never practised medicine again, preferring to live off his wife's money instead. Frances Hyde never recanted her faith in her husband's innocence. However, it is worth noting that more than 10 years after Hyde's acquittal, she abruptly left him and took up her own household when he offered to prepare a special remedy for her upset stomach.

Despite the lengthy proceedings and the weight of evidence against him, Hyde was never convicted. Under the law, he must therefore be deemed innocent of the Swope murders, but no law can prevent the obvious conclusion that his loyal wife's money had an impact on the outcome. Not all criminal defendants are equal under the law. Sometimes justice lifts her blindfold when the defendant waves a sufficiently large billfold.

—Stephen G. Christianson

Suggestions for Further Reading

Duke, Thomas Samuel. Celebrated Criminal Cases of America. San Francisco: James H. Barry Co., 1910.

Nash, Jay Robert. Almanac of World Crime. New York: Bonanza Books, 1986.

Murder Among the Mighty: Celebrity Slayings That Shocked America. New York: Delacorte Press, 1983.