Feb. 28 was a mild day on the islands, a perfect day for a long picnic overlooking the ocean. Jane’s private secretary, Bertha Berner, whose accounts would prove to be untrustworthy at best and sinister at worst,that day, singing in the back of the buggy and talking about her plans for the rest of their trip. When Jane returned to the hotel, she took a short rest, chatted with hotel guests, partook of a light snack in lieu of dinner, and then settled into bed a little after 8 p.
But at the beginning of the 21st century, that all began to change. In a reversal of the typical murder investigation storyline, the facts of the case have become even more clear 100 years after Jane’s death due to the renewed interest and work of several historians and scholars. While the case officially remains unsolved, today it is more certain than ever that Jane Stanford was most likely murdered and that the culprit was someone very near and not so dear to her.
David Starr Jordan and Jane had worked together during six long and arduous years to keep Stanford afloat after Leland’s death when his. Jane filled in the gaps with her own money where she could, even going so far as trying to sell some of her jewelry, and she was intimately involved in the running and daily management of the university.But after the emergency faded away and the estate was resolved in Jane’s favor, the philosophical cracks between the two strong-willed leaders began to emerge.
“I am startled and even horrified that any human beings feel that they have been injured to such an extent as to desire to revenge themselves,” Jane wrote to a friend. As for why other servants who witnessed Jane’s grisly death were backing the poisoning verdict, Jordan claimed they were involved in an effort to discredit one of their own—Jane’s private secretary, Berner—who had worked for their boss for over two decades and was set to receive a small but life-changing inheritance.