![]() (Photo credit: Chicago Sun-Times/Chicago Daily News Collection, Chicago History Museum, DN-0066823)īut it was the physical evidence of the cyanide that appears to have been decisive at trial. Orpet was accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Marion Lambert and was acquitted at trial. One of the prosecution's key witnesses, a friend of Lambert, changed her story and testified that Lambert had been depressed and discussed committing suicide if Orpet broke up with her.Įlevated view of the courtroom in Waukegan, Illinois, during the trial of William Orpet. "The State was unable to persuade any witness to come from Wisconsin, and repeatedly hinted that a sinister influence of the defense was at the bottom of it," according to the Times. The defense argued that Lambert had taken cyanide herself, either to kill herself or as an accident intended to win Orpet's affection. The prosecution's theory held that Orpet killed Lambert because of her perceived pregnancy after producing a cyanide solution at the estate. He told a series of conflicting stories about what happened and relied heavily on the response "I don't remember" during three days of cross-examination, according to the Times. Orpet headed back to Madison but was soon tracked down by reporters and police. Then a kind of fog came into my brain, and I don't remember much after that except that on reaching the road I threw away the 'medicine' and made my way on foot to Highland Park, caught a train and that evening arrived back at Madison." I noticed the moist powder in the lines of her hand. "I returned, knelt over her for maybe a minute. You will need to navigate across the creek (it is shallow, but cold) to reach this southern portion of coastline."Something made me look around - I don't know what - and I saw Marion lying in the snow," Orpet testified. If the timing is right, you will be able to see the stumps to the south of you, beyond Slab Creek, which runs through the beach towards Proposal Rock and dumps into the ocean. The properties on the dunes to the east of the Ghost Forest are all private, so the best way to get to the forest is by parking in the public lot at the Neskowin turnoff and entering onto the pristine beach directly in front of Proposal Rock. You can often wander among the beaches of Neskowin Beach State Recreation Site and stumps of the Ghost Forest alone, with only the sounds of the ocean waves, wind and sea birds to accompany you as you stroll. The quiet community of Neskowin is about 15 miles north of Lincoln City on Hwy 101, at milepost 98. The dramatic, mysterious area can be seen year round and is fairly easy to access. While the beautiful views make a trip to the top of Proposal Rock worthwhile, be very careful as there is no guardrail and make sure to keep an eye on the tides. When the tide is completely out, you can reach the island and climb a short trail to the top, where you will find a small, secluded forest, and at the westernmost point, an amazing view of the open Pacific Ocean and the Ghost Forest below. Proposal Rock is an island just at the edge of the ocean. ![]() Just north of the Ghost Forest is Proposal Rock, named for the turn of the century marriage proposal of Charles Gage to Della Page. You can sometimes see small fish or crabs in these little pools, waiting for the tide to come back in and release them back into the ocean. The center of some of the particularly large stumps have been eroded away, creating shallow pools in which sea life gets trapped when the tide is out. They are covered in barnacles, mussels, and other sea life. When the tide is out, some 100 ancient stumps can be seen rising out of the beach and incoming waves. The unearthing of the Ghost Forest results in a mysterious and beautiful sightseer’s dream. This did not happen after the big unearthing that winter. Before the big storms of 97-98, locals would sometimes witness a few of these stumps exposed during particularly harsh storms, every 20 years or so, but they would always be reburied in a few days. The sea levels were believed to be very similar back then to what they are today, which helps to explain why they have now been exposed and not reburied over the past 14 years. The Ghost Forest stumps all still rest in their original soil, deep beneath the sands.
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