The result of 'deliberate' acts

Marysville Journal-Tribune
Marysville, Ohio
Friday, July 2, 1926 • Page 1

MAKE REPORT ON O.S.U. MYSTERY

 

SUBSTITUTION OF CAPSULES CONTAINING STRYCHNINE FOR QUININE CAPSULES TERMED "DELIBERATE"

COLUMBUS, July 2 --Governor Donahey today reiterated that he will not drop the investigation into the "poison capsule" deaths of two Ohio State University students as long as he is governor in the hope that the criminal or criminals responsible can be apprehended.

The declaration followed the report of the state board of pharmacy that the strychnine poisoning, which was in January and February of 1925, was not due to accident or carelessness,  but the result of "deliberate" acts of unidentified person or persons. The students who died were Charles H. Huls, Logan, and David I. Puskin, Canton. Four other students were ill from poisoning, but recovered.

Capsules containing strychnine were handed the students when they applied to the university dispensary for capsules containing quinine, according to all evidence. It has never been discovered how the poison capsules got into the jar with the quinine capsules.

The board report states that Ohio State University violated the law by not having a registered pharmacist in the dispensary at all times, but held that this violation had nothing to do with the poisoning. All officials and employes [sic] of the university were cleared.

In the report, physicians were scored for faulty diagnosis or failure to report promptly to the university. "Prompt action might have saved lives," the report states.

One of the most important statements in the report is: "Carelessness or accident in compounding as the source of the poisoning is proven absolutely absent. Thorough investigation shows no trace of poisonous admixtures as would have been the case with carelessness or accident in compounding. All strychnine was in separate capsules as though added to the stock in a limited number."

There is one difference in the opinion of the board and that of Police Prosecutor John J. Chester, who conducted a probe following the poisoning and is still watching the case. Chester states that he does not believe the strychnine necessarily came from outside the college of pharmacy as: "my investigation disclosed that at least two ounces of strychnine, enough to kill 200 persons, was not accounted for by the officials of the college of pharmacy."

In the board report, it is stated that chemical analysis and examination of strychnine found in capsules convinces the board the strychnine was not obtained from the university supply and that there is evidence the poison capsules were of a different make from those used by the university.

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