The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1868-08-20
Crime.
NH sPICER
Singular Case OF Poisoning.
Iron the New York Sun. Aug. IL

tFrom the New York Sun, Aug. IL
Since the murder Of DR.. Burdell, eleven
years or more ago, no death has occurred in
this city so profoundly wrapped in mystery
as the recent one Of Mr.. John Spicer, in
Eleventh street. From the testimony taken
on the Coroner's inquest, which has been
printed in full in the Sun, IL appears that
on Sunday, the 10th of last month, the de-
ceased was complaining throughout The day
of not feeling very well. In the afternoon,
at his request, as she says, his wife sent q
colored servant to a drug store for a seid-
litz powder; the powder was taken from a
drawer full of other seidlitz powders, which
have since been exemineo and found to
contain none but the usual ingredients; it
was handed to the colored man, and by him
handed TO Mrs. Spicer, as she testifes, ap.
parently without having been opened, and
by her placed within her husbands reach;
a little before four o'clock he took the pow
der. and in a few minutes died in horrible
commissions, which the physician, hastily
summoned at the first alarm, declared TO
be produced by s%trychnine. His opinion
has been since shown to be correct by a
chemical analysis Of the contents of the
deceased mans stopach Probably not
less than twenty grains Of the substance
were swallowed, and its effects fully iusti-
fed its popular reputation as one Of the
deadliest poisons known.
On this state of facts the Coroner's Jury
found q verdict TO the effect that the de-
ceased wns killed by taking strychnine but
while they carefully say that it was not
self-ndministerod that II was not negli-
gently placed in the seidlitz powder by the
apothecary, nor was even in the powder NJ
all when il left the shop, they s%crupulous.
ly refrain from indicating who in their
opinion was the guilty party If their con-
illusions are correct, then the poison must
have been introduced either by the colored
man or by Mrs. Spicer' and as Mrs. Spicer,
by her own statement TO the attending
physician, declares that when she received
the envelope il was "unbroken and perfect
ly sealed" the burden Of guilt would seem
to rest upon her.
The acts corrOborating this conclusion,
as they appear in the evidence, deserve Sc
rious consideration. In the first place, no
reason has been adduced for suspecting
suicide, and the alarm shown and the eff
fort made by the deceased 60 be saved from
death are quite inconsistent with tho idea
that he took his own life. Then the sclcc-
ton of the guilty party being narrowed
down to two persons, Mrs. Spicer and
the colorcd servant, we find no ground
whatever for accusing the latter,
while, unfortunately, wives have only too
often reasons for wishing to get rid Of their
husbands. Next, the testimony showed
that Mrs. Spicer, and not the physician,
was the first to suggest poisoning when the
commissions came on. Il told the doctor, -
she says, that I thought he tAlr. Spicer)
was poisoned" She adds, too, that when
she was carrying the seidlitz powder up
nA.s.- ar Ia * v444mnfF ~ NHfals..- 49,
my destruction and his death depended
upon IL, We'll, they can't make much out
Of that at five cents Why should she be
50 ready to think of poison, and how was
the powder likely to be her destruction rs
well MS his death, if she were entirely in
nocent Of all participation in the crime
It is TO be remarked, also, that he, atleast,
had little or no affection for her. That
very day he had spoken roughly to her,
repealed her advances when she asked him,
Have ! offended your and ordered her TO
20 away more than once. These may or
may not be indications Of q domestic quar-
rel likely TO lead to murder, but, taken in
connection with the apparent impossibility
of the poison having been substituted for
one of the ingredients of the powder by
any one else, they arc very damaging in
their effect.
On the other hand, nothing has yet been
brought TO light TO afford any direct evi.
dence of guilt on the part Of Mrs. Spicer,
Even If she we're tired of her husband, she
would not be likely to compass his death
except for the sake Of gaining either money
or a new husband. BY her own account,
she becomes q beggar by his death, and no
breath is uttered against her fidelity as a
wife. Besides, she must have purchased
the %stIychnine somewhere, and the person
who sold it could have been found ii prop
er pains had been taken, and we suppose
they were, Until, therefore, it can DO
shown that Mrs. Spicer either would profit
peculiarly by her husbands death, or that
sho had a lover, 80 that his continuance in
life was an obstacle to be removed, or uu-
til the purchase Of the poison is traced to
her, she must be presumed to be innocent.
Only, in that case, the mystery remains un-
solved as 70 where the s~trychnine really
came from, and at the true solution of that
mystery w can give no guess whatever.