Sheriff Shanahan was next up to testify as to his involvement in the case. His testimony stated that he received an envelope containing white power, believed to be corrosive subliminate, with which the prosecution thought actually killed Mrs. Kiser. The white powder Sheriff Shanahan received came from the home of Josh Kiser, and his daughter, Edna, gave the powder to the sheriff. Sheriff Shanahan also testified that he was in charge of glass containers holding vital organs of Martha Kiser, which were obtained during the examination of the exhumed body. Sheriff Shanahan also testified that he was present when Martha Kiser’s body was exhumed. The defense again opted not to cross-examine Sheriff Shanahan.
The next witness called was Edward Tschumy, the undertaker who prepared Mrs. Kiser’s body for burial. Tschumy testified that he emptied the contents of Mrs. Kiser’s stomach in to the sewer, after which he filled the cavity with an embalming fluid. When asked if the embalming fluid contained arsenic, Tschumy claimed he was unsure if the fluid contained any poison.
After all testimony on Friday, December 29, court recessed until Tuesday, January 2, 1917 to break for the New Year holiday. However, as fate would have it, Judge Garver had to postpone further due the death of his mother. During the postponement, an unbelievable scene took place.
On January 3, like a scene straight out of a cheesy soap opera, Mrs. Boston stumbled into Fremont, after walking about two miles in the cold, barely dressed. At 4:30 in the morning the distraught woman was wailing that she had helped Josh Kiser poison his wife, and she demanded to be jailed.
Mrs. Boston was held in jail under an order that would enable the court to keep her in jail, without charges, until the end of the trial. As one might imagine, this new development involving Mrs. Boston caused quite a stir among the gossiping public. Everyone thought that this development would help the defense prove the fact that Mrs. Boston is mentally unstable. However, the prosecution could also benefit due to Mrs. Boston’s claims that she helped to poison Mrs. Kiser. Everyone following the case had their opinion as to which side would benefit the most from this most extraordinary set of circumstances.
From here, the state attempted to hang their hat mostly on testimony from the medical experts. Their claim was arsenic and corrosive sublimate had caused the death of Martha Kiser. Louise Boston’s testimony was now highly questionable due to her recent escapade.
After nearly four more weeks of testimony, the state, and the defense, prepared their closing statements.
Attorney Frank O’Farrell, assistant to J.B. Stahl, began the closing statements for the defense on Wednesday, February 21. On Friday the 23rd at 10:10 a.m. he finished his remarks. Kiser’s attorneys had put together a good defense. O'Farrell's statements consumed two and one-fourth days of court time. If nothing else, it certainly must was a thorough defense. The highlight of the defense’s closing statement begged the question - was there a crime committed? The Fremont Daily News quoted O’Farrell: “Let us stick to the text in the case. Let’s not get the cart before the horse. Before a conviction can be returned the court will charge you that a crime must be shown. Then if a crime is shown you must look for a motive. If no crime has been shown then it makes no difference if Louise Boston had been in Kiser’s arms every day for two years. Joshua isn’t charged with improper conduct. He isn’t charged with being a gay old sport. He is charged with murder and you first must find that Mrs. Kiser was poisoned. The rest is trash.” The defense put a great deal of emphasis on the fact that the state could not, and did not, prove that Martha Kiser had been poisoned. If the prosecution could not prove she was poisoned, they had no case against Josh Kiser.
