At some point, doctors told Faye that she was going to die. It was then that she told Dr. Bernard Weber, a surgeon at the sanitarium, and nurse Marie Bech that she had not suffered a miscarriage but that the loss of the unborn baby had been a result of a criminal abortion perpetrated by Dr. T. C. Webber of West Salem. She had paid him $24. The statement was written out for Faye, and she signed it.
She died on January 31.
Dr. Bernard Weber performed an autopsy and attributed Faye's death to peritonitis "from causes unknown." Dr. Bernard Weber, Dr. F. J. weber, and Dr. H. D. Fehrenbacher agreed that there had been a septic abortion but did not agree that it had been induced.
Webber was arrested.
Faye and her husband, Frank, had only married the previous August. Frank was held as a witness. He said that he had gone with Faye to Dr. Webber's office on Saturday, January 26. He sat behind a stove at Webber's office while Faye and the doctor went to the other side of the room. He denied any knowledge of what took place there, but said that Faye asked him for $5, which he gave her.
After they left Webbers's office, Frank said, Faye reported feeling unwell. They went home and Dr. Ralph King began caring for the ailing women until she was admitted to the sanitarium.
An Edwards County Grand Jury investigated the case and released Webber.
Sources:
- "Claim Bride's Death Due to Illegal Operation," Mattoon (IL) Journal Gazette, February 4, 1929
- "Charge Doctor With Murder When Woman Dies in Olney," Decatur (IL) Evening Herald, February 7, 1929
- "Held on Murder Charge," The (Murphysboro, IL) Daily Independent, February 7, 1929
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