The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-09-24
THE HUSBAND PRISONERS
Details Of the Remarkable
Crimes Perpetrated in
Hungary.


ary trial in Hungary. He states TIA
Thekls Poppy, tie peasant woman
who is being tried on a Charge OF aid
ing and abelting upward of 10l
women IN poisoning their husbands
Is very remarkable oharacter-des-
tined to occupy a position at once
unique and picturesque 10 the aauals
Of crime. She Is Gypsy. and Il
now some 20 yssra OF age Spe lved
10 little village named III .lencz
and 10 NAV almost be said that Olur-
der was her trade People sap she
had her agents AID emis.aries, whose
business It was to keep up her con
nection," and it must havs been q
horrId and grnesome spectacle to see
the grizzly bag seated In beT arm
chair every day receiving her Gus j..
tomers during business hours and Civ
ing them the diabol'cal advice and
aid they sought. They were nearly
all married women from the neigh
boring country side, eager for some
reason or another, to get lid OF hus-
bands who obstinstely refused to die
IN the ordinary course of nature, but
who, by Thekla's friendly offices,
might be made smensble 70 the re-
sources of art. These Wretches paid
the old Gypsy fee OF from 80 TO 100
horins for each bottle of poison they
bought, and wee duly instructed ty
her in the safest methods of It's ''ex-
hibition." Tnekla Popoy's clients
were howaver, not always married
women. Sometimes she bad dealings
with young girls who quarreled wltD
their swee.healts, and who from ia
Lousy or rage had determined to XII
them. The woman's terrible trade
prospered amazingly for two years.
excited no suspicion, because the
drugs she administered acted slowly,
though surely, and their effects simu-
lated the symptom. Of disease. Even
now that the bodies of some OF her
victims have been exhumed 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 J0tZa Kukin. q
rich peas4Lt. who died at MeleL eZe
TWO months ago. Ugly rumors ahont
his death were spread, aud the gUssI, g
whispered mysterious hints or ioUI
play. There vas Ia consequence an
inquest, but the most careful post
norton examination failed to reveal
any traces o! poisoning IN his case.
The whO.e story Was slipping UaL the
the memories u the Villagers waen
suddenly dreadful revAlaLI0u was
made. A Gypsy girl, the daukhter
OF cd fhekla PepOy, came before tls
court a; Gross Bedskertk and no II
fec il by The ,sl, she had - eli
Soc coLiesseu thas che had CIV the
wife of jOczs KuEIn oJItIe az come
soIne red liqu d poison pre-. ar7d by
her mother. She bad done this py
her moIner's instructions. HSvn9
had d quarrel with her respected
parent over some property she de-
termIned TO betrsy her Tnekla
PopOy's laughter further declared
bat che lad actually seen Kukin'e
vile pour this poison into bis coffee,
and that she told her mother what
she mad seen. To this the olo Gypsy
replied: Zone day 1 will poison you
also unless you hold your tongue"
Or cou-se tnis statement caused old
rhekIa Poppy and the widow OF
Kukin to be arrested. They, how
ever, denied the charge brought
against them. ODDLY enough, the
Judge, by a clever r1se not quite in
keeping Witt Engl s- notions OF fair
play to accused pr. oBers, managed II
Overhear the two women talking the
affair over In Jail. Among other
things ne overheard was Kukin' g
widow saying 10 her aocomplice:
well. | am young and pretty. He
was old and ugly. Why should he
not die?' The judge. after that, had
little doubt that the prisoners we're
guilty. They were, therefore, put on
trial, and the clew thus unexpectedly
placed ia the hands of the authori-
ties was actively followed up. Strange
discoveries were soon made. showing
that from the woman Thekla Poppy
as a center a vast and complex rami-
6cation of crime extended far and
wide throughout the community.
The trial hes been deferred Tor several
weeks so that the bodies of men sup
pased to have been murdered by their
wives may be exhumed and suhieC ted
TO post norton examination.