August 21, 1923: Doctor on City Council Implicated in Fatal Abortion

On August 21, 1923, 32-year-old Mrs. Catherine Stange died in Denver of septicemia due to an abortion blamed on Dr. Daniel R. Lucy. The coroner's inquest determined that the abortion had been perpetrated using some sort of medical instrument.

This was quite the scandal, since in addition to being a doctor, Lucy was a city councilman. His high position also meant that he was given warning of his pending arrest for second degree murder, to give him time to arrange to pay his $7,500 bond (just over $141,000 in 2025).

Lucy's only comment to the press after being told of the charge against him was to note that he was not surprised, that this was what he had expected from the coroner's jury. He admitted to having treated Catherine but denied using surgical instruments of any kind. 

In October of that year, judge George F. Dunklee instructed the jury to acquit Lucy after he had ruled Catherine's deathbed statement inadmissible. 

Sources: 

• "Denver Physician and Member of Council to Face a Murder Charge," Daily Sentinel, August 23, 1923
• "Doctor Held as Murderer," Fort Collins (CO) Express-Courier, August 23, 1923
• "Jury Frees Denver Physician Held For Death Of Woman," Fort Collins (CO) Express-Courier, October 23, 1923
• "Abortion in Colorado Part Two," Denver Public Library Special Collections and Archives, August 23, 2023