Morning journal and courier., 1882-05-01
Monday Morning, May 1, 1882.
ARSENIC FOR CORNs.


 peculiar case has been on trial in the Court of Common Pleas at Providence, Rhode Island. Edna Dora Avery, the de- fendant, was housekeeper in house of i'll repute. She had had some difficulty with some of the inmates of the house. One morning. after drinking coffee number of those who lived in the house became very sick, and it was soon discovered that they were poisoned by arsenic. Suspicion fell up- on Edna Dora, and she was arrested and charged with "unlawfully, wlllfully and ma- liciously" putting an ounce of arsenic into the coffee for the purpose of killing those who drank of it.
 h the course of the trial it appeared that the woman bought an ounce of white arsenic the night before the inmates of the house were taken sick, and the druggist at whose store she bought it swore that she said it was wanted by the woman for whom she worked for the purpose of killing rats. When she found that those who were made sick sus- pected her, she jumped out of window, the doors of the house having been locked and went to New York, where she was arrested.
 The facts that she had had trouble with some of those who lived in the house, that she had bought arsenic, and that she had fled when she discovered that suspicion was di- rected against her made the case look dark for her. but she told well arranged story when she was put upon the stand. She claimed that she had had no serious difficulty with any of those who were poisoned. She admitted that she bought arsenic, but said that it was to use upon some soft corns with which she was troubled. She had been told by her sister, she said, that it would dry up and cure the corns Her sister had since told her that she was only joking. She took the arsenic home and laid it on her dressing ing. The next morning she got up about 8 o'clock, went down stairs conversed with the market man, attended to the fire, swept the music room, and then went down to the kitchen and asked permission of the cook to iron some skirts. Before she began to iron she went up stairs and got the arsenic. She went and got dish like a stew-pan cut of the sink. She put water in the pan and also pinch of arsenic, ''more or less." She did not remember what she did with the rest of the arsenic and where it went to has always been puzzle to her. She set the pan on the stove between the coffee pot and the stove pipe, back of the teakettle. About that time she poured out cup of coffee for herself. She filled the cup again about fifteen minutes before breakfast. There was no cup at her plate when she went in to breakfast She never saw the solution in the pan until some time after the sickness had manifested itself, and then she emptied what remained in the pan. She did not empty the coffee.
 Her flight was also carefully explained by her. She got frightened, went up stairs, put on her dress, and jumped out of window into the Sans Souci garden. She was helped out of the garden by two men, and started to go to her sister, who lives near Danielson- ville in this State. When she got to Plain field, however, she decided to go to Hartford. When she reached Hartford she had con- Versation with a lawyer named Jones, who advised her to return to Providence. She went to the depot, waited until o'clock in the morning and then started with ticket for New Haven. She would have changed cars for Providence when the train reached this city, but was asleep when the train stopped here. When she woke up she found that she was in New York, and when she got nearly to New York; she paid her fare from New Haven.
 Her counsel did his duty by her In his address to the jury he called attention to the fact that his client was penniless, friendless and unfortunate, while sh5 had arrayed against her the State of Rhode Island with its twenty five witnesses, and all the detectives and legal paraphernalia that money cond se- cure. He contended that there was no mo- tive for the defendant to commit the crime with which she was charged. The jury took the same view of the case and returned verdict of not guilty. The defendant on hearing the verdict fell across the arm of her chair and sobbed hysterically. The audience applauded and as the jurymen left their seats they walked up to her and shook her hand. She is described as very interesting young woman with a beIltchinp smile