LATE EDITION
CONCLUSION OF THE CORONER’S INQUEST INTO JANINE CAMPBELL’S DEATH
VERDICT OF THE JURY
The jury impaneled to investigate the death of Mrs. Janine Campbell of 19 Charles Street on Thursday, May 24, met this evening at 5 o’clock pursuant to adjournment, in Judge Benedict’s courtroom at the Tombs.
Coroner Hawthorn informed the jurors that Archer Campbell, husband of the deceased, was the final witness to be called. He instructed the jury to give the matter careful consideration and to render a verdict regardless of consequences or public opinion. The jury retired and two hours later rendered the following
Verdict
We, the jury, duly sworn and charged to inquire on behalf of the State and City of New York how and in what manner Janine Campbell came to her death, do upon their oaths and affirmations, say that the said Janine Campbell came to her death by septic peritonitis and blood loss due to an illegal and incompetent abortion performed late on Tuesday, May 22nd or early Wednesday, May 23rd. On the basis of the available evidence and sworn testimonies we are unable to reach a conclusion on the deceased’s state of mind or sanity at the time of the operation.
Further, we entirely exculpate Dr. Sophie Savard Verhoeven and Dr. Anna Savard, who attended her, from all blame and responsibility.
After close scrutiny of the evidence, we find that the abortion that led to Mrs. Campbell’s death may have been performed by the deceased herself, and otherwise was the work of person or persons unknown. We refer this matter to the police department for further investigation.
Dr. Morgan Hancock, Women’s Hospital
Dr. Manuel Thalberg, German Dispensary
Dr. Nicholas Lambert, Bellevue
Dr. Abraham Jacobi, Children’s Hospital
Dr. Josiah Stanton, Women’s Hospital
Dr. Benjamin Quinn, Bellevue and the Woman’s Medical School
Mr. Anthony Comstock, New York Society for the Suppression of Vice
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NEW YORK TRIBUNE
Thursday, May 31, 1883
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Sirs: Yesterday the inquest into the matter of the death of Mrs. Janine Campbell came to a close, but not before observers and reporters were treated to the questioning and testimony of the deceased’s husband, Archer Campbell, in the most disturbing and unnecessarily crass manner.
Mr. Campbell, having lost his wife to an illegal operation, has also lost his four young sons to an uncertain fate. Rather than plead prostration he has been searching for them day and night and only paused in his efforts in order to appear yesterday before the coroner’s jury to give testimony. For almost two hours Mr. Campbell suffered bullying and browbeating, and to what end? He was never a suspect. It was not he who performed the operation that ended his wife’s life; nor did he take his boys away from home and leave them somewhere without parental care and protection.
He gave honest answers to often impertinent questions posed, it seemed, for the titillation of the jury and gallery both. Mr. Archer is a man of upright character and Christian morals, a man who took his responsibilities to his wife and children with all seriousness and provided an excellent home for them. A loving father, if a strict one, and yet Coroner Hawthorn and the jurors seemed determined to paint him a cruel and uncaring husband, a man of narrow sensibilities, as if that were enough to excuse the terrible crimes visited upon himself and his sons, by a wife who was not worthy of his trust, a wife who deceived him and must, as he put so honestly, suffer the fires of hell for her sins.
We may never know the details of the operation that led to Mrs. Campbell’s death, but it is certain that she sought out and submitted to a vile procedure that violates the laws of God and man. She alone was culpable, and she has paid the price and will continue to pay it through all eternity. Mr. Campbell is free of blame; indeed, Coroner Hawthorn and the jurors are more worthy of disdain and correction than this good man who has suffered so much.
Dr. James McGrath Cameron
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NEW YORK TRIBUNE
Thursday, May 31, 1883
SEARCH FOR THE MISSING CAMPBELL SONS WILL CONTINUE
While there is no news to report on the fate of the four young sons of Archer Campbell, police departments from Philadelphia to Boston have stated their firm intention to carry on with the investigation and search. The Campbell family is offering a substantial reward for any information leading to the boys’ recovery.
In related news, Mrs. Janine Campbell will be laid to rest tomorrow in a private ceremony at an undisclosed location.
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