Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1882-08-31
EXECUTION AT AIKEN.

Robert Parker, white, convicted Of poison
ing his wife on the 23rd of last December, was
hanged at Aiken last Friday. The circum-
tances of the crime are detailed as follows:
Parker cultivated small tract of land in
Aiken county, which he rented from Mrs.
Harriet H. Bates, a widow about thirty-ive
years of age. When seventeen years old he
was married to woman of thirty-seven or
eight, but they lived happily together until
his attentions to Mrs Bates provoked the jeal-
ousy of his wife. Early in December last
Parker purchased from Russ e Stothard, of
Graniteville, four grains Of strychnine which
he said he wanted to Foison dogs. On the
22d of December, some time during the af-
ternoOn, Mrs. Parker was found lying in the
road between her own house and that Of her
brother-in-law, Townsend Parker, who lived
only short distance off. She was carried to
Townsend Parker's house and died shortly
after twelve o'clock. At the inquest held on
the oath, by Trial Justice Agnew, Mrs. Sarah
Parker, wife of Townsend Parker, reluctantly
testified, after repeated questioning, that her
sister-in-law said when she was brought into
the house 'sI am poisoned" "Who did it ?''
said Mrs. Townsend Parker. "RObert did it,
he gave it to me in some whisky and sugar" "
On the main trial, however Mrs. Townsend
Parker's evidence on this point was somewhat
different, and all Of it in reference to the dying
declarations, was ruled out. The jury at the
inquest returned the following verdict: We
the jury find that the deceased came to her
death from natural causes, but we recommend
that the contents of the stomach be taken to
Aiken to be analyzed by DR.. Croft" In ac-
cordance with the recommendation the con-
tents of the stomach were actually carried to
Aiken and then sent to professor White, OF
the State University to be analyzed.
On the evening that his wife died Robert
Parker was at dance in the neighborhood
and an empty bottle labelled strychnine, which
had dropped from his pocket, was found on
the floor where he had been dancing. He was
arrested while riding along the road, by Dep
uty Sheriff Luther Holley. Mrs. Bates was
also arrested, but on the preliminary investi-
cation which took place short time after
wards, she was released as there was no testi-
mony which authorized her commitment. She
is said to be a very unprepossessing woman,
apparently much older than her actual age
thirty-fve or six. Parker was committed and
his trial took place in June last, before Judge
Frazier. He was represented and ably defend
ed by Croft & Dunlap and 0. G. Jordan, Esq,
and the State by Solicitor-General F. H. Can't
and Henderson Bros.
The prisoner declared on the trial that he
had purchased The strychnine for Mrs Bates,
who told him she wished it to kill rats and
dogs with. He claimed that his wife had
been poisoned by Mrs. Bates, and that he
had nothing to do with it. He also stated,
from the witness stand that he and Mrs Bates
had had improper relations with each other,
and that Mrs. Bates was jealous of his wife.
The great sensation on the trial was the testi-
mony of Prof. White. Prof. White testified
that he had found three-quarters of grain
of srtychnine in the contents of Mrs. Parker's
stomach and that there had been time be-
tween the taking of the poison and the death
of the woman for the remainder of the dose to