Loren Doxey (October 20, 1858 – June 19, 1912) and Dora Doxey (March 17, 1879 – 1921) were a husband and wife who were charged with murder in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1909, accused of killing a man whom Dora had married in a bigamous relationship. Dora was found not guilty, and the case against Loren was dismissed. Dora was later convicted of bigamy. Dora_Doxey_in_wheelchair_and_Loren_Doxey_in_foreground

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Loren Doxey

Loren Doxey was born on October 20, 1858, in Waterloo, Iowa, the son of Thomas Biscoe Doxey and Margaret Henry Doxey. He was graduated with a medical degree from Rush College in 1894, and set up a medical practice in

Joy, Illinois Joy is a village in Mercer County, Illinois, United States. The population was 372 as of the 2020 census. The village was founded in 1869 and named after the president of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, J. F. Joy. Geography Joy is ...

, with the aid of Mary Bridgeford, the principal of Joy High School, whom he married in May 1897. Mary died of tuberculosis in 1898. Doxey drowned in the Tennessee River in

Clifton, Tennessee Clifton is a city in Wayne County, Tennessee, Wayne County, Tennessee, on the state's south central border with Alabama. It developed as a river port along the Tennessee River in the 19th century. Its historic districts listed on the National Regis ...

on June 19, 1912. A coroner's jury ruled the death as accidental.

Dora Doxey

Dora Doxey was born on March 17, 1879, in

Millersburg, Illinois Millersburg is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Millersburg Township, Mercer County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 54. Millersburg is northwest of Aledo Aledo may refer to: * ...

, as Dora Fuller, the daughter of Jefferson Fuller, a farmer and land owner in Mercer County, Illinois, and Josephine Himman Awbrey. Dora had two sisters, Mary, older than she, and Grace, younger.Ancestry.com
/ref>"Mrs. Doxey Writes Story of Her Life and How She Was Enslaved by Drugs," ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch,'' May 20, 1910, page 1
/ref> In December 1895, at the age of 16, Dora married Robert L. Downing, one of her teachers at Joy High School. They had four children, all of whom died young. The couple separated in September 1903 and divorced in 1905. Dora was married to Frank J. Le Gear in Devil's Lake, Wisconsin, in 1905, then to Loren Doxey in 1906 in

Burlington, Iowa Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of, Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,982 in the 2020 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in 2000. Burlington is the center of a micropolitan area, which includes ...

. She married William J. Erder in

Clayton, Missouri Clayton is a city in and the seat of St. Louis County, Missouri. It borders the independent city of St. Louis. The population was 17,355 at the 2020 census. Organized in 1877, the city was named after Ralph Clayton, who donated the land for the ...

, on April 26, 1909, and he died on July 10 of that year. Dora Doxey married Fred Whitney in 1912 in Orofino, Idaho, and George Thomas in 1919, supposedly in the same city. She died in 1921 in San Francisco.

Doxey marriage

Loren and Dora Doxey began a sexual relationship while she was a patient of his and she was still married to Robert Downing. They were married on August 29, 1906, in

. During their marriage, Dora became addicted to morphine, which Loren prescribed and administered. At first they lived in Columbus, Nebraska, and later in Savannah, Tennessee, where Loren Doxey found it difficult to earn a living. They were on their way to a new life in Idaho when Loren drowned.

Murder trial

In December 1909, the authorities in St. Louis found traces of arsenic in the body of William J. Erder, and murder

indictments An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...

were issued by a

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

against the two Doxeys, both of them having been arrested on suspicion."Woman Held for Bigamy and Murder, Her Accuser, and Man Who Died of Poison," ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch,'' December 2, 1909, page 1
/ref>"Doxey And Wife Indicted for First-Degree Murder," ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch,'' December 18, 1909
/ref> Former Lieutenant Governor

Charles P. Johnson Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

was engaged as the attorney for both The murder charges were separated, and Dora Doxey was put on trial in May and June 1910. She was found not guilty on June 3, and Loren was set free on June 7, the charges against him being dismissed."Doxey's Letter Reaches Attorney Here As He Dies," ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch,'' June 20, 1912, page 1
/ref>

Bigamy trial

Dora Doxey was charged in

St. Louis County, Missouri St. Louis County is located in the eastern-central portion of Missouri. It is bounded by the City of St. Louis and the Mississippi River to the east, the Missouri River to the north, and the Meramec River to the south. At the 2020 census, th ...

, in December 1909 on a charge of committing bigamy with William J. Erder, and after many continuances, she pleaded guilty and was sentenced to jail on December 1, 1913. While serving time in the county jail in

, she carried on a flirtation via a series of letters and whispered conversations with another inmate, Earl Wheeler. She was released on February 24, 1914, and went to Idaho with Fred Whitney."Mrs. Doxey Out of Jail; Husband Takes Her Home," ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch,'' March 1, 1914, page 1 (screen 6)
/ref>