Iron County register., 1882-09-21
Poisoning Husbands.

| Thekla Popov, the peasant woman who Is
/ being tried on a charge of aiding and abettinp
| upward of Il hundred women in poisoning
their husbands, is a very remarkable character
destined to occupy position at once unique
and picturesque in the annals of crime. She
! is a gypsy, and is now some seventy years of
| age. She lived in little village named Me.
/ lencze, and it may almost be said that murder
was her trade. People say she had her agents
| and emIsSarieS, whose business it was to keeU
up her connection and it must have been
| horrid and gruesome spectacle to see the
grizzly hag seated in her arm-c chair every day,
receiving her customers during business
| hours, and giving them the oiabolical advice
and aid they sought. .-.D.
They all married women from the
| neighboring country side, eager, for some
reason or another, to get rid of husbands who
obstinately refused to die in the ordinary
course of nature, but who, by Theklas friend
ly offices, might be made amenable to the re-
sources of art. These wretches paid the old
gypsy fee Of from fifty to one hundred
forins for each bottle of poison, and were
duly instructed by her in the safest methods
of its exhibition"
Thekla Popov's clients were however, not al
ways married women. Sometimes she had
dealings with young girls who quarrelled with
their sweethearts, and who, from jealousy or
rage, had determined to kill them. This wo.
two years. She excited no suspicion, because
the drugs she admin stored acted slowly
though surely, and in their effects simulated
symptoms OF disease. Even now that the
bodies of some ef her victims have been ex-
humed they show no signs OF poisoning
though the stomachs are eaten away
The first case that set people on the alert was
that OF one Jocza kuk n, rich peasant, who
dled at MeencZe two months ago. Ugly rli-
morS about his death were spread and the
gosSlps whispered mysterious hints of foul
play. There was in consequence an inquest;
but the most careful postmortem examination
failed to reveal any traces of poisoning in his
case The whole story was slipping out of
the memories of the villagers when
suddenly dreadful revelation was
made. gypsy girl, the daughter of old
Thekla Popov. came before the court at
Gross Bedskerek, and Mortified it by the tale
she had to tell. She confessed that she gave
the wife of Jocza Kukin q bottfe OF some red
liquid poison prepared by her mother. She
did this by her mothers instructions. Having
had quarrel with her pectel parent over
some property. she determined to betray her
Thekla Popovs daughter further declared
that she actually saw Kukins wife pour this
poison into his coffee, and that she told her
mother what she knew and had seen. The
gypsy replied: ''One day VIII poison you un-
less you hold your tongue
vi course LnlS. statement caused Theklu
Popov and the widow of Kukin to be arrested
They, however, denied the charge brought
against them. Oddly enough the Judge, by a
clever ruse not quite in keeping with English
notions of fair play to accused prisoners, man.
aged to overhear the two women talking the
affair over in Jail. Among other things he
overheard was kukin's widow saying to her
accomplice: "Well, 1 am young and pretty.
he was old and ugly. Why should he not
dle! The Judge after that had little doubt
that the prisoners were guilty They were
therefore put on their trial, and the clew thus
unexpectedly placed in the hands of the au-
thorities was actively followed up.
Strange discoveries were soon made show
ing that, from the woman Thekla Popov as a
center, vast and complex ramification Of
crime extended far and wide throughout the
community. The trial has been deferred for
several weeks, so that the bodies of men sup
posed to have been murdered by their wives
may be exhumed and examined.-Viennn
(Aug,st 2D Cor. London Standard.