100 years ago in Spokane: Doctors say trauma caused girl’s fainting spells on the witness stand

From our archives, 100 years ago

The numerous fainting spells of Anna Winkler, nee Anna Weber, were caused by the trauma of having seen the dead body of her murdered sister, Elizabeth Weber, several years earlier.

That’s what two doctors said in court. This was significant, because she was suing Spokane police for unlawfully detaining her and questioning her shortly after the murder. She was asking for $10,000 in damages.

The doctors said her detention was not the root cause of her subsequent “hysteria” and fainting spells. The sight of her sister’s mangled body “made such an impression that she is now overcome when phases of the murder are discussed.”

“She is of a nervous disposition …,” said a doctor. “She magnifies the horror of it. That brings on a train of impressions.”

One doctor said that Anna didn’t actually faint but only “appears to faint.” She appeared to faint several times while giving testimony in the trial, which is what prompted the judge to have her examined.

The matrons in the juvenile jail testified that they treated the girl kindly while she was behind bars. One doctor said that “it was not much worse for the girl to have been in the detention rooms than to have had someone consoling her.”

Weber’s attorney scoffed at this remark and pointed out that condolences are supposed to be soothing.