Nell Cropsey #14

  W.O. Saunders wanted to write a book about the case with Jim, and when he finally said yes, he changed his mind and did not go to meet Saunders.  After Jim said everyone was waiting for him to say he killed Nell, and he was not going to say that, Saunders left him alone.  The day of the trial, “…the court room was filled to suffocation.”  (pg. 139; Simpson)  Doctor Ike was the first witness, and Jim’s lawyer, Aydlett, objected to almost everything Ike said.  Later, Aydlett questioned Ike and proved against a lot of what Ike had said.  Aydlett attempted to confuse Ike, who had at first said she had drowned, then said she had not, and now Aydlett proved that should not be totally ruled out.  He also said no other coroner would think of making a conclusion about a body that had been in the water as long as Nell’s, trying to discredit his findings.  Saunders said, “About that blow to the temple.  While most of the blood in a dead body decomposes, some blood will always settle in the lowest, most dependent point of the body.  If Nell Cropsey had been lying on the river bottom with her left temple at the lowest point, she would have ended up with a bruise there, exactly like the one she had.”  (pg. 144; Simpson)  They have also said it could be too late to be able to tell if she had drowned or not.  This makes the real cause of death uncertain.