New-York tribune., 1886-08-22
THE SOMERVILLE POISONING CASE.


The case of Mrs. Sarah J. Robinson, charged
with poisoning her son a"d suspected of having
caused the deaths of seven persons in the
same way, seems to involve rot alone shock
inc facts but disouieting considerations. The
Developments already made point strongly TO
the conclusion that the accused woman has
been a poisoncr for years; that she has pur-
su,cd her deadly work with calm dclibclatio1
that no ties of blood or kinship have restrained
her: that her husband her daughter, her son,
have been in tuln murdered in cold blood by
her. that in every case her motive was the
ACQUISITION of money, usually through life in
srlrance aid that though she appears to have
ALWAYS employed one of the crudcst and most
easily detected of toxic agents, none OF the
may physicians called to attend her former
victims entertained any suspicion of the crimes
in coursc of pelpctration before their faces.
There are two main features i'll the case,
so far as it is at present unfolded. The first
is the apparent incompatibiity between the
bidcous career the woman is now suspected
of having led, and the character she is given
by her surviving son. According to the lat
ter she was an affectionate mother, loved and
respected by her fam ly They thought the
lived in harmony and content. Yet if the
truth has been reached, this fond mother must
have been plotting the cruel mulder of her
ows sons and daughters, of her husband, and
of all in fact, who caGnc within her reach and
from whose death she could possibly gain any
thing. The most recent story, that of the
death of Sleeper, to whom she owed rent,
and whose estate melted away in her hands,
casts, if the statements are corrobofa'ed,
new light upon the case, for there she appears
not only a. poisOncr, but as forScr and
general swindlcr
That such poisoncr should really be good
wife and mother is impossible. The most
natural explanation would be that She was
sklful dissimulator But what kind of hui
manty can that be which is capable of hypoc-
risy so profound united with so horrible a
pcrvcsion of the moral scnscl Such woman
must bc altogether destitute Of maternal feel
ing, and as absolutely without the inborn re-
straining influence which, as a rule, makes
murder rcpugnant TO the crudcst natures.
She seems to have gone about her homicdal
work as cooly as her housekeeping. She
evidently took her precautions beforehand in
every case, though long immunity probably
so SUSPICION was reused. There is certainly
no indication Of insanity III her case. Sup
posing the facts alleged can bc proved, 40
theory short Of phenomenal dcpravity will
meet the case Mrs. Robinson seems to be
an American Blinvicrs, rather than to be-
long to the common and low type of the de-
graded Englishwomen who some years ago
poisoned their children TO obtain the benefits
of burial fund associations What is said Of
her describes a thoroughly wicked woman, of
full average intelligence, and not a merely
stupid, ignorant or brutalizcd creature.
But what is to be said of the impunity with
which, if the allegations bc true, this long
series of murders was committed 1t is sud
that she was careful to change her doctors in
every case, but how is it that none of the
physicians employed suspected the presence OF
poison, and of such poison as crude arsenic
The presumption in all these cases is ncccs-
sanly very damaging to the skin or the con-
scientiousncss of the medical men, and the
failure to diagnose the cause Of death cor
Gccly in SO many cases must causc the public
to entertain serious doubt as to the nature
of the security afforded 10y the attendance OF
| the average country practitioner against the
most insidious, horrilying and dangerous fon
| of crime. The arrest OF Dr. Beers on the
charge of completely in the poisoning of the
last victim adds new element of horror to the
situation. 1t is fortunate that poisoning has
never been favOrite crime in this country
for if it were such cases as this are calculated
TO make it questionable whether the practice
might not lie rendered, by the exercise of
ordinary caution, safer than burglary.