The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-09-11
THE FRENCH FEMALE POIsONER.
HOw She Contradi ted the Judge and
Was Seut to Prison For Life.

HOw She Contradi ted the Judge and
Was Sent TO Prison Fer Life.
Paris Correspondence.l
One of the most remarkable cases OF
wholesale poisoning since the days OF
Brinvilliers and Palmer concluded to-day
before the Assizes of the Bouches-d du-
Rhone. The court sat at AK, where the
affair has created the greatest sensation.
The prisoner is a middle-aged woman
named Baptistine Philip, and she is ac-
cused of having poisoned her mistress,
uncle, and then her husband. The first
alleged crime dates as far back as 1871.
AT that period she was in the service OF
an old widow lady named Martin, who
was known to possess round sum OF
money. The prisoner had not been there
more than a month before the aged lady
was taken ill and died in conyulsons.
The house was searched by her relatives,
but nothing save a few stray francs were
found In spite of these suspicious cir
cumstances, no proceedings were taken
against the servant
The prisoner then returned to the house
of her husband, who lived with his uncle,
an elderly widower in possession OF a
small fortune. In short time the prls
Oner, according to the Indictment, be-
came the uncles mistress, and ultimately
induced him to make will in favor OF
his nephew, that is to say, her husband.
A few weeks after this, in June, 1876, the
uncle died suddenly, and although the
neighbors suspected foul play, still moth
ing was said to the police. The prisoner
now got her husband to make will in
her favor. She then formed the acquaint-
ance of young man in the neighborhood,
clerk to the Mayor of Lambesc, and
was afterward heard to express her regret
that she was not widow so that she
might get married to him. Eventually,
on the 3lst of November, 1878, her hus
band was taken i'll and died suddenly in
terrible agony. The neighbors were at
last aroused to action. The police were
informed of the prevailing suspicious,
and the prisoner was arrested. The body
of her husband was examined, and the
doctors found quantity of arsenic in it.
This led to the exhuming of the bodies
of the old widow lady and the uncle, and
the same poison was discovered in both
The trial has occupied several days.
On the first day the Judge questioned
the prisoner, and found he had met his
match in the peasant Baptistine Philip
The Judge began thus: "You knew
where to look when your designs neces-
Stated the use of the substances of which
you have made such a criminal usew
The prisoner replied: 81 never even
knew where those substances were to be
found, and even if l had known" The
Judge interrupted her, and went on to
state that she had poisoned the widow
Martin. To this the prisoner retorted
that the village doctor had deposed that
she died of choleraic diarrhea, where
upon the Judge said he had since re-
tracted that statement. Coming to the
second case of alleged poisoning, the
Judge having stated that a doctor was
called in to see the victim and stopped
the vomiting, the prisoner quickly inter
rupted and said: "Then it was not poi
son" So the unequal struggle went on,
till, at the end Of the interrogatoire, the
Judge having made the usual observa-
. ton to the prisoner, "That is your sys
TEN of defence" the prisoner exclaimed
"Ah! God in Heaven! you do not need a
system when you have done nothing"
The he ring of the witnesses then began.
Several exciting incidents took place
during the examination with regard to
the death of the old lady, Martin. The
! prisoner, on being asked what had be.
come of the money the deceased was
known 20 have Oh the premises, replied
that her mistress few days before hel
death paid large sum to the washer
, woman. This person was forthwith
called, and she denied the statement, or
which the accused called her all sorts Of
ugly names, and the Judge had to repri
mand her. Respecting the death of hel
, uncle she also stoutly denied the evidence
, of witness to the effect that she had be-
come his mistress and was jealous wher
? he talked of getting married. The evi
, dence concerning the prisoners HUSBAND
, showed him to have been a weak-mindeC
man, passionatelv fond of his wife. Here
a the accused exclaimed, II was the hap
piest of women; why should I have de
j, stroyed that happiness by killing him, a.
:, you pretend~
| NJ. Isidore Blanc, Secretary to tht
: Mayor of Lambesc, said he made the ac
, quaintance of the prisoner shortly afte
+ her husbands death. The accused deniet
it, and ridiculed the idea Of her falling il
+ love with man old enough to be he
e father. Another important witness wa
q chemist named Girard, in whose service
the prisoner had been before she becam
O the servant of the old widow lady, Mar
+ tin. He said the key of her trunk opened
;. the cupboard where he kept his poisons
- A woman named Honorat declared tina
the prisoner when her husband was takel
i'll said she would go to the chemist an
. - prepare the medicine herself, it the chem
ist was not at home.
10 The medical evidence was then taken
Both the doctors who attended the thre
deceased persons, and the experts, de
q clared that they had never come acros
. - such conclusive proofs of poisoning a
ID those they had discovered in their post
NJ. 4. i