Grayson County TXGenWeb

The Sunday Gazetteer
Sunday, January 26, 1896

The Calvin West Episode
On Monday evening of last week the wife of Calvin West, col., died suddenly at the West home in South Denison, and on the following day the remains were interred in Oakwood cemetery. Tuesday morning Calvin called on the deputy city secretary for a permit to buy the body and in answer to questions from the officer, in substance, said:
"My wife was probably 40 years of age, was born down in East Texas. She had been sick, complaining, up and then down, for some time and I think she died of heart or female trouble. I did not have a doctor but several people were in the house when she died." On this information the permit with privilege of digging grave was duly issued.
When Calvin and the woman were married some 2 years ago, he was a widower and she a widow and each had a set of children. During the past Christmas the wife purchased toys for her children and among them was a gun. This action of the woman raised the enmity of the other set of children, and of course, the devil was to pay in the West household.
When the woman died and after her burial, complaint was lodged before the county officers and the county attorney was called over. A coroner's inquest was decided on and an undertaker was employed to dig up the body and three doctors were called in to cup it up and examine it. The physicians gave different opinions as to the probable cause of death, but the inquest verdict was death from wounds inflicted by Calvin West. The body was reinterred and an examining trial followed the the verdict of the examining court was that Malinda West came to her death by wounds inflicted by Calvin West, and West was remanded to the Grayson county jail without bond.
Malinda, two summers ago was down with the grippe and for 3 months the doctors thought each day would be the last, but she partially recovered, but she said often that her misery was almost beyond endurance and if it was not for her own children she would far rather be dead.
The wife is in her grave, the husband is in jail without bond and the fuss over the toys and gun is at an end.