The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-07-11 00:00:00

REMARKABLE TRIAL for POISONING.

One of those rouses eiAbres has just been tried at
Posen which would almost justify the belief that men
are occasionally born into the world as entirely
destitute of all principle of conscience as others are of
sight or hearing. The trial its.elf presented no par-
ticular points of interest beyond that of clearly esta-
blishing the guilt of the prisoner, who e crimes almost
eclipse those of the notorious Palmer, of detestable
memory. The facts are shortly as follows :
• • •

A master bookbinder, Wittmann, was accused of having
poisoned six person, ill six years, namely—his four wives and
two children. Wittman hail worked as journeyman for a
bookbinder named Pirsch, of Wollin, where he made the
acquaintance of Marie Gehm, Pirsch's housekeeper. Wittmann
was on a visit at Wollio at the cod of 1836 and beginning of
1056, on January 1, in which year Pirsch died very budileilly,
and Marie Gehm, according to a previous arrangement,
came into the possession of all his property. Soon after this
wittmann commenced business in %Yellin, and in February,
1860, niarried Marisaliehm, who, in addition to Pinch's pro-
perty, had also inlMted some money through the sudden
death of an aunt. Two sous, John and Paul, were the result
of this marriage. Mrs. Wittmann died very suddenly in
1062, leaving all her property to her husband anal two
children, of whom the eldest died in the same mysterious
manner three months later. In June, 1063, Wittmann
married his second wife, Charlotte Ilohn, who pos-
sessed some fortune. The latter made her will In the
following Dgcember, leaving everything to her husband.
and died a aback afterwards. In April, 1064, Wittmann mar-
ried Ins third wife, Augusta Kornotzky, who was richer than
bee predecessor, tier fate May be deeeribid in almost the
same words. She died in August, 1865, leaving her property
between her husband and her mother. Only two months
after her sleuth Wittmaiin married lea fourth, and by tar the
richest, wile, the widow Dose, who hail oar child by her first
marriage. li's child sickened immediately alter its mother's
wedding, and died in a day Or two, by which the fourth Mrs.
Wittwann inherited At property Wittman]) then removed
tram Wallin to NOM It In hardly noweaaty to add that

the fourth Mrs. Wittman's life was not of very long Aura-
tion, as she died In September, 1066, having made a will in
favour of her husband a month or two before. Under the
pretext that she had died of cholera, Wittruann had made
arrangements for burying her the day after her death. But
the extraordinary mortality in the Wittmann family had
already excited attention. The police here took the matter
up, and their first suspicions were strengthened when they
found that Wittnnum had called in no medical advice. Witt-
man was arrested just as the funeral procession was about
to start, and burial of the body was prohibited. On search-
ing the house a large lump of arsenic, sufficient to poison a
hundred persons, was found locked up in a chest. AU the
bodies of Wittmann's farmer wive!, as also thom of his two
children, were then exhumed, and submitted to a chemical
investigation. The result was the same in all six cases ; a
large quantity of arsenic was detected, and there could not
be the shadow of a doubt that Witmann had poisoned his
four wives and two children.

He has Lem found guilty and sentenced to death.
If we consider that the motive for these crimes was no
higher passion than avarice, and then remember the
relation in which he stood to his victims, and the
deliberate perfidy with which he entered upon those
relations, it is doubtful if the whole record of crime
can show a blacker case. Indeed, it is not improbable
that he committed eight murders, as the very sudden
death of Pirsch during Witmann's visit, and also of
his first wife's aunt, are extremely suspicious coin.
cidences under the above circumstances.