Iowa
Old Press
Evening-Times Republican
Marshalltown, Iowa
May 24, 1902
EVA BLISS ACQUITTED
Jury in the Houdyshell Murder Case Returns Verdict of Not Guilty.
Special to Times-Republican.
Ottumwa, May 14.—The jury in the case of the state of Iowa vs. Eva Bliss, in which the defendant was charged with the murder of Rolla Houdyshell, returned a verdict of not guilty and the defendant who had been confined in the Wapello county jail for nearly three months was released from custody and allowed to return to her home. The verdict was a surprise to some but was expected by many others of those who paid considerable attention to the progress of the case. Very little speculation regarding the probable verdict was indulged in viewing to the fact that the evidence was altogether circumstantial, the defendant having been the only witness to the firing of the shot which ended the life of Rolla Houdyshell.
[transcribed by LZ, Dec 2019]