Rena Nelson was writhing in pain. Earlier that day, she had been feeling fine. Now, she had the worst stomach ache of her life and was vomiting blood. As the night wore on, she was feeling worse and worse.
In a letter to her aunt, she said, “When I went to the post office this afternoon, I got a box of bonbons in the mail and also a letter.” She went on to say that the letter was from “that woman at Boone” who had previously written to her.
She said if she had read the letter right away, she wouldn’t have eaten the candy. Because “for somehow I am afraid that candy was poisoned.” She went on to explain that the woman claimed to be the wife of a man she had been seeing. (1)
It all started four years earlier when Rena moved to Boone, Iowa, from South Dakota. There, she met Sherman Dye. He was everything Rena was looking for in a man. Before she knew it, she was in love. And it seemed like he was, too. The two were engaged.
The only problem was that Sherman was divorced. And as Sherman told it, his marriage had been awful. His now ex-wife, Belle, was habitually unfaithful. He had caught her on many occasions with other men. And it was even worse. Their daughter, Olive, wasn’t his. (2)
That’s what he told Rena anyway. But that wasn’t exactly the truth. In fact, it was a downright lie.
Young Lovers
One night in 1885, when Belle was 16 years old, she dressed up in her favorite black calico gown, braided her hair into two long braids, and snuck out of her house. Her friend was throwing a party, and she didn’t want to miss it.
At the party, she was chatting with a couple of girlfriends when she spotted Sherman Dye. She’d never seen him before and was immediately taken by how handsome he was. He was like a magnet that drew her eyes to him. No matter how hard she tried to stop it, her eyes followed his every movement.
Then he came up to her and asked for a dance. Neither of them danced with another person that night.
Six years later, they were married. To Belle, they had the perfect marriage. He was the best man in the world. He was kind, he was faithful and she had never wanted for anything.
The couple lived in married bliss for eight years. It was the best time of Belle’s life. (2)
Things Changed
Everything changed when they moved to Boone, Iowa, where Belle fell ill and had a “serious operation.” As she was recovering, she started to hear rumors from her neighbors that Sherman was seeing other women. One of those other women was Rena.
Belle was naturally upset, but she never could stay angry at him. She figured things between him and Rena wouldn’t last. But it seemed like things weren’t ending. So, she started writing letters to Rena. She informed her Sherman was a married man and her relationship with him was causing her and her family problems. She figured if she explained these things to her, Rena would do the decent thing and leave Sherman. (2)
Instead, Rena was back in South Dakota in unimaginable pain, accusing Belle of poisoning her.
Not Looking Good
Rena wasn’t getting better. Doctors confirmed what she had suspected. She had consumed a large amount of corrosive sublimate, a dangerous poison often used as a rat poison, wood preservative and insecticide. There was very little chance of her survival. (1)
She told them she had gone to the post office to pick up a package and a letter. She was delighted to find that she had been sent a box of chocolate from Boone, Iowa. She began eating the chocolate immediately.
Investigators were called. As she lay dying, Rena recounted everything that had happened over the last few days. She told them she had gone to the post office to pick up a package and a letter. She was delighted to find that she had been sent a box of chocolate from Boone, Iowa. She began eating the chocolate immediately.
Then she opened the letter she had received. It was from Belle. She told investigators about the problems she had with her in the past. (3)
Rena was unable to recover from the poison and late in the night of March 7, 1904, she died. (4)
Belle was swiftly arrested in Boone while the Pierre, South Dakota, investigators made their trip down to bring her to South Dakota to charge her.
Belle couldn’t believe what was happening to her and told anyone who would listen that she had nothing to do with Rena’s death. (5)
But it seemed everyone from Boone, Iowa, to Pierre, South Dakota, believed it. Newspaper headlines proclaimed, “Jealous Woman Sends Poisoned Candy to Girl Who Was Writing Letters to Husband.” (6)
Now, she was sitting in her jail cell, wondering how her life got to be this way. And to everyone’s surprise, her husband, Sherman, was by her side. He told local reporters that he in no way believed his wife had anything to do with Rena’s death. (5)
After spending two days in jail, authorities had no choice but to let Belle go.
According to Iowa and South Dakota laws, “a criminal act is committed in the place it becomes effective.” Which means that, in this case, since Rena died in South Dakota, that’s where the alleged murder took place, even though the poison was sent from Iowa. The Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution says, “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed.” In this case, South Dakota. Extradition can be requested, but only if the accused is a fugitive. But since Belle had never been to South Dakota, she wasn’t considered a fugitive. (1)
Iowa’s Attorney General Charles Mullan thought this was a huge miscarriage of justice and introduced a bill allowing the government to extradite Belle. (7)
Not Adding Up
As they awaited the passage of the new bill, Hughes County Attorney C.M. Goodner and Pierre Sheriff J.W. Laughlin continued their investigation. Though they had Rena’s side of the story, they still needed a few things explained, like how witnesses saw her shopping for empty candy boxes. Or how the specific candies she received were made by a company in Mankato, Minnesota and weren’t sold anywhere in Boone. They were, however, sold in Pierre.
There were other things that didn’t add up. For instance, the return address appeared to have been cut off from an envelope and glued to the box of chocolates. And there were postmark indentations that were only used on envelopes, not boxes.
But what really didn’t add up was her timeline. She claimed to have eaten the poisoned candies in the afternoon and started feeling sick around midnight. But the amount of corrosive sublimate she had in her system would have caused her to be sick within an hour of ingesting it. (8)
Wanted to Be His Wife
It turned out that a few months before, Sherman had broken things off with Rena. He was going to dedicate himself back to his wife and daughter. Rena couldn’t have that. She wanted nothing more than to marry him. So she concocted a scheme. She’d poison herself just enough to make her sick. Then she’d frame Belle for attempted murder. That way, Belle would be sent to prison and Rena and Sherman could get married just like he had always promised.
But she overestimated how much corrosive sublimate she needed to take and ended up taking a lethal dose. When she realized this, she doubled down on her story. Authorities figured she felt that if she couldn’t have Sherman, Belle shouldn’t either. So, she continued to tell her lies, hoping Belle would be charged and convicted of her murder and spend the rest of her life in prison.
Belle was officially cleared of all charges.
The investigators blamed one person. Sherman. They said his lies about his and Belle’s marriage were what motivated Rena to do what she did. Though he couldn’t be charged with a crime, each man gave him a stern talking to. (9)
What Happened to the Dyes?
About a year and a half after Rena’s death, Belle filed a restraining order against Sherman. She told the court that Sherman had been dating other women, was a heavy drinker and he’d been cruel and often hit her in front of their daughter. The restraining order was granted. Belle did not ask for a divorce. (10)
Another six months passed and Belle was supporting herself and her young daughter with various domestic jobs. Sherman, meanwhile, had moved to Colorado, where he had found a decent railroad job. The couple decided to give their marriage one more chance, so Belle and the couple’s daughter, Olive, moved to Colorado. (11)
Belle and Sherman remained married the rest of their lives, living in Wolf Creek, Colorado. (12)
TL;DR
A woman’s plan to keep her married boyfriend backfires when she accidentally kills herself.
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