At the word "guilty," Mrs. Sanford gave a violent start; but, as the remainder of the finding was read, she seemed to feel agreeably surprised. She asked for a glass of water in a low tone, turned very white, and then fainted away before the water could be handed to her.
She was then removed to the jail to await the argument on a motion for a new trial. While there, she gave one of the most effectual evidences of her ruling passion—greed. She was the object of considerable sympathy among a certain class of sentimentalists, and the amount of compassion wasted upon her was remarkable to those who knew her real character and habits; but there is no accounting for tastes, and so Mrs. Sanford was treated with great consideration by a number of well-meaning but unsophisticated people. Among the Good Samaritans who took the most interest in her was a lady named Mrs. Jones, and this lady visited her quite frequently in her cell, bringing her books and papers.
One morning, Mrs. Jones complained of feeling unwell, and Mrs. Sanford immediately gave her a glass of water. Soon after drinking it, Mrs. Jones became very sleepy, and in a few minutes, she was in a sound slumber. This effect had been produced, of course, by a dose of morphine in the water, and Mrs. Sanford then proceeded to rob Mrs. Jones of all her valuables. Mrs. Jones was in moderate circumstances, and her purse was not sufficiently well filled to satisfy Mrs. Sanford's avaricious demon; hence, she made a thorough search for other plunder. It happened that Mrs. Jones, having lost all of her upper teeth, had supplied their place by an artificial set, mounted on a plate of solid gold. Not content, therefore, with plundering her benefactress in other respects, Mrs. Sanford actually took the set of teeth from Mrs. Jones's mouth, and hid them in her own trunk.
Of course, on awakening, Mrs. Jones missed her teeth and charged Mrs. Sanford with having taken them. The latter denied having done so, railed and swore at Mrs. Jones, and tried to prevent the officers from searching the cell. The teeth and other articles stolen from Mrs. Jones were found at the bottom of Mrs. Sanford's trunk, and Mrs. Jones retired from the jail strongly impressed with the conviction that philanthropy had its hardships as well as rewards.
The motion for a new trial being overruled, sentence was pronounced in accordance with the verdict of the jury, and Mrs. Sanford was consigned to the Illinois State Penitentiary at Joliet.
In regard to the manner in which young Trafton was murdered, I have always had a theory of my own; and, while of course I do not pretend to any surgical learning, I give it for what it is worth, prefacing it, however, with the remark that several eminent physicians concur in my opinion, or, at least, admit its strong probability.
It will be remembered that Mrs. Sanford used morphine continually, and that she boasted of her ability to administer it in just the proper proportion to cause her victims to fall into a heavy sleep. In all probability, as suggested by the State's Attorney, she gave young Trafton a dose at supper; but it is also possible the effect was not sufficient, and that when she tried to rob him, he slightly revived, struggled, and, seizing one of the bonds in a convulsive grasp, tore it in two.
So far, the theories are identical, but I failed to see a sufficient cause of death in the slight blow and mild choking, especially as the lungs did not present the conditions which would have appeared had death resulted from strangulation or asphyxia. On searching Mrs. Sanford's rooms, Mr. Warner found two or three small syringes, intended for making hypodermic injections, and these led me to believe she caused Trafton's death by morphine alone. My idea was as follows:
When she found that Trafton was not sufficiently drugged to enable her to rob him in safety, she probably let him alone, and the drug again took effect to the extent of putting him to sleep. She then resorted to a subcutaneous injection of morphine, knowing that the soporific influence of the drug would thus be made more rapid and powerful. This operation was performed on the side, and then near the large veins of the leg, and thus were caused the apparent bruises filled with extravasated blood. Now, the effect of morphine varies largely, according to the constitution, temperament, and habits of the persons to whom it is given; but the combined result of internal and external doses almost invariably is death.
It seems altogether probable to me, therefore, that Trafton came to his death in that manner, and that the traces of morphine in the wounds, as in the stomach, had wholly evaporated before the Cleveland surgeons made their examination, twelve days after death.