The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-07-12
REVOLVING DEPRAVITY.
A Terrible State of Affairs Unearthed by an
Attempt to Poison Woman.
w ashington Special.

Washington Special
The police of this city have brought to light
arevolting case of depravity the story of which
hints at the possible commission of number of
crimes. Mrs. Mary Amarolia is the name of
colored women who has been known as "baby
farmer" She is forty, but not fair, being as
black as an Abyssinian, and weighing be-
tween two and three hundred pounds. In the
police court, to-day, she appeared with
her fourteen -year-old daughter, who is white and
good looking, to charge her two servants Mary
Jordan and Annie Wyckoff, with an attempt to
poison her. About month ago she was suffer
ing from a headache and ordered her servants
to make her a cup Of tea. When she came to
drink it Mrs. Almarolia says she detected that it
was strongly aduiterated with laudanum. She
emptied the cup and reflled it from the teapot
Then, after drinking it she left the room,
but stole back and hid herself where
she could hear what her servants
said. She suspected them Of having
put the laudanum in the cup. The first thing
she heard was the Wyekoff girl asking, did she
drink the tear ''No," responded the Jordan
girl. 'If she had" continued the first, she
would have had a dear old sleep" The com
plainants daughter testified thatth two servants
had told her that if she got her mother out of
the way the house in which they lived and all
the mothers property would be hers. 1t was
testified that the two servants had tried to
allure the daughter into the practice of i'm
morality. This was the case against the
servants, but they charged in reply that their
employer had many times murdered infants
committed to her charge, not only neglectng
them, but deliberately taking the lives of the
little ones. An instance which they stated in
circumstantial detail concerns a young woman
from Virginia, tall, we'll formed, and handsome
and doctor who is well known in police circles.
This woman, who came heavily yelled, soon gave
birth to child, and this infant, Notwithstanding
its mothers entreaties, was taken into an ad ion-
ing room and choked to death, while in order to
destroy any clew which might lead to
and consumed The mother finally left one
night, in company with the doctor, and the two
women state that they afterwards saw the latter
give the keeper of the house roll of bills. This
is but an outline of the detailed story told, and
other similar instances were given in which the
women claim to have actually witnessed infan-
ticides. Other details of their story are still
FREQ ented the horee as beicc resrectable and
fashionable in appearance. Mrs. A1marolia has
been frequently arrested by, the police,
the use Of money or through hidden
influence, has escaped conviction. The police
state that some very prominent men, both So
cially and politically, have assisted herin get
ting out of trouble, aud for time she was con
sidered by them as being OF the most inhu-
entail women in the city. These charges of the
woman led to a thorough inspection Of the prem
Uses by the police, who, with picks and shovels
dug UP the whole yard where Mrs. Almarolia
lived to discover if possible, any evidence in
support of the charges made by the servants.
Nothing, however was found. The servants
were, by order of the court. committed to await
the action Of the grand jury.