The Swope Murders in Missouri 1909

Thomas Swope

In reading about Bess Truman, I ran across and interesting story about events in her home town in 1909. One of Bess’s friends was Margaret Swope. The Swope family was very influential in Kansas City. Tom Swope, best remembered today for his donation of approximately 1300 acres for Swope Park in Kansas City, invested in real estate and made a fortune. He never married and when his brother died, Tom took in his sister-in-law, Maggie Swope, and her children. A cousin, Moss Hunton, also depended on Tom’s largesse and lived in the mansion. Evidently, Tom was always a little embarrassed by his money, feeling that he hadn’t worked for it, so he was very generous. Anything they wanted they could have, including elaborate ball gowns and social events.

One of the daughters, Frances, married Dr. Bennett Clark Hyde against the wishes of her mother and her Uncle Tom. About a year after they eloped, the couple reconciled with the family. Then one night during dinner Moss Hunton, was proposing a toast when he collapsed. Tom Swope, upset about Hunton’s condition, took to his bed. Both were treated by Dr. Hyde, and both were dead within 3 days.

Soon after the deaths, four of the younger members of the family became ill and Dr. Hyde diagnosed typhoid; he and Frances began drinking only bottled water. They were all under the care of Dr. Hyde, when Chrisman was given a medicinal capsule and within an hour died having terrible convulsions. A few days later, Margaret was given a capsule and had similar convulsions, but survived. Dr. Hyde was well respected around town and the recently elected president of the Jackson County Medical Association. Nevertheless, the nurses began to suspect something and went to Dr. Elmer Twyman.

Dr. Bennett Clark Hyde and his wife Frances.

 In the meantime, Lucie Lee Swope had rushed back from Europe because of the terrible news about her family. On the train from New York to Missouri, she became ill. Can you guess who met her in New York? Yep – Dr. Hyde. But while he was gone, the authorities had exhumed the bodies of Tom Swope and Moss Hunton and found cyanide in both of their bodies, and strychnine in Tom. Dr. Hyde was arrested when he arrived home and charged with the murders.

During the trial it came out that Dr. Hyde had purchased cyanide potassium in capsule form, as well as typhoid fever cultures. The motive attributed to him was a desire to increase his share of the family fortune. (Moss Hunton was the executor of Tom’s estimated $3.5 million estate.)

On May 16, 1910, Dr. Hyde was convicted on two counts of murder for Tom Swope and Moss Hunton, and one of manslaughter for Chrisman. But that isn’t the end of the story. The Missouri Supreme Court reversed the verdict and demanded a new trial, giving no reason for the reversal. There were two more trials, one mistrial, and in the third trial Dr. Hyde was acquitted based on the fact that the evidence was primarily circumstantial. After 7 years of appeals, with Maggie Swope spending money to prosecute her son-in-law, and Frances spending it to defend him, it was over.

The publicity was of course excruciating for the family and had destroyed Hyde’s reputation and career. The family scattered to various parts of the country, Hyde and Frances divorced, and in 1934 Bennett Hyde died. If he did murder them, he took the secret to his grave. No one knew why the Missouri Supreme Court reversed the verdict, and the people of Kansas City were left wondering what really happened in 1909.

The Swope Mansion was demolished in 1960.

Resources
I read this story in Bess W. Truman by Margaret Wallace, but the Kansas City Public Library has a short article “Dr. Hyde and Mr. Swope” with an excellent list of resources at the end of the article if you want to read more.