A Woman and Her Dog: Murder of Maude Lambert 1902

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By Nancy Bowers
Written May 2011

On Saturday, June 28, 1902, 22-year-old Maude Stubbs Lambert was found in her Marshalltown residence lying dead on a bed. Alongside lay her small dog, also dead.

State Chemist of Iowa Floyd Davis, examined Maud Lambert’s stomach contents and stated there were “unmistakable evidences of poisoning.” Her dog was also poisoned.

A coroner’s jury in mid-July returned a verdict of death by poison, but concluded it would never be known if Maude Lambert was murdered or committed suicide.

Maude Lambert was born in September 1878 in Marshalltown to Rebecca Deeter and Joseph Stubbs, a Maryland-born carpenter. She had two older brothers, William W. Stubbs and Adelbert Stubbs, and one sister, Ida B. Stubbs Franklin.

Newspaper accounts referred to the victim as “Mrs. Lambert.” This may have been a courtesy title, as there is no mention of a surviving husband.

Maude Lambert is buried in Marshalltown’s Riverside Cemetery.
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Please note: Use of information in this article should credit Nancy Bowers as the author and Iowa Unsolved Murders: Historic Cases as the source.

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References

• ☛ “Evidence of Foul Play,” Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, July 14, 1902.
• ☛ “Experts Say The Dog Died Of Poison,” Des Moines Daily Capital, July 9, 1902.
• ☛ “A Marshalltown Murder Mystery: Suspicious Death of a Young Married Woman — Indications Point to Case of Poisoning,” Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, June 28, 1902
• ☛ “Mysterious Murder Occurs,” Des Moines Daily News, June 28, 1902.
• ☛ “The Mystery Unsolved,” Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, July 18, 1902.
• ☛ “Neighborhood News,” Monticello Express, July 24, 1902.
• ☛ U.S. Census.