People v. Ascher

The respondent was convicted of murder in the first degree. The facts upon which the prosecution was based, as claimed by the prosecution, were as follows: Valmore C. Nichols was a farmer, aged 49 years, residing on a farm near Ypsilanti, in Washtenaw county, this State. At the time of his murder his family there consisted of his wife and grown-up daughter. He became interested in the subject of spiritualism, and in 1898 undertook to make an investigation into its teachings. To that end, in the month of February he came to Detroit to talk with an alleged medium named Donovan, located at 124…