On September 23, 1907, 27-year-old homemaker Mabel Brock of Lake Station, Indiana, died in Chicago's John Streeter Hospital. The coroner's jury determined that she had died from an abortion perpetrated by midwife Mrs. Bertha Laube of Hobart, Indiana on September 5.
Laube was originally charged with murder but the indictment was reduced to criminal abortion and she was released on house arrest pending trial.
During the case, there was squabbling before the judge by the defense and the prosecution about what testimony Dr. Clara Faulkner would be allowed to give concerning conversations she'd had with Mabel prior to her death regarding Laube having perpetrated the fatal abortion.
As the closing arguments were made, Laube sat beside her husband, expressionless. Mabel's father, Charles Seydel, sat weeping with his face in his hands. Laube's attorney closed his statement by saying, "Convict [Laube] and you accuse Mabel Brock of having abortion committed upon her, a charge that you would not make against one that is dead."
After 24 hours of deliberation the jury was deadlocked 6 to 6. Mabel's father pushed for a new trial.
Distraught over his wife's death and not wanting to face another trial, Mabel's widower, Frank, shot himself to death on her grave on March 26, 1908. I've been unable to determine if the second trial was pursued.
Sources:
- "Mrs. Laube is Indicted," Lake County Times, September 27, 1907
- "Laube Case Now On," Lake County Times, October 16, 1907
- "Both Sides Fight Hard in Laube Case," Lake County Times, October 17, 1907
- "Laube Trial Nears Close," Lake County Times, October 23, 1907
- "Laube Case Now Rests With Jury," Lake County Times, October 24, 1907
- "Disagreement in Laube Case," Lake County Times, October 25, 1907
- "Laube Case to be Reopened," Lake County Times, October 31, 1907
- "Tries Suicide Over Young Wife's Grave," The Star Press, March 27, 1908
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