St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-05-24
STRYCHNINE IN TODDY.
A Young Virginian Gives His Wife q
Deadly Potion, and Must Hang
for Doing 1t.
Sensational Story of the Causes Which Led
Him to Commit the Terri
BILE Deed.
Have Confessed Their Compile
tty in Consequence.
Parsons Believed to be in F1orida--A
Postoffice Robber Suspected
of Murder.
Poisoned His Wife.
Special to the Globe.

Poisoned His Wife,
Special to the Globe.
PETERSBURG, Va, May 23.-The argu-
ment in the case of Holmes r. Puryear.
who for the past eighteen days has been on
trial before Judge B. A. Hancock in the
circuit court of Prince George county for
the brutal murder of his wife, Emma q.
Puryear, several months ago, was concluded
yesterday. The jury, after being out one
hour, brought in a verdict of murder in the
first degree. Counsel for the defense asked
that sentence be deferred, as they wished
to move for a new trial OH next Monday.
The jury was then discharged. and
the court adjourned until Monday
morning. The ground upon which q new
trial is to be asked is that the verdict is
contrary to the law and to the evidence.
The prisoner, ON hearing the verdict, ex-
hibited the same Indifference that has
marked his course during the entire trial.
The verdict was a complete surprise to
Puryear and his counsel. Matthew Pur-
year, the father of the prisoner, has made
threat that if his son is hanged he will kill
the judge of the court and the sheriff who
conducts the execution. He has also threat
ened to kill the lawyers who prosecuted his
son. This IS the most celebrated murder
trial that has taken place in Virginia for
years. There were sixty witnesses. The
antecedent circumstances of the murder APP
proach the sensational, and Served to fur
niSh the clue to the
MOTIVE FOR THE HOMICIDE.
About the latter part of last February
Holmes Puryear, resident of Dinwiddie
county, this state. came to this city with
his newly acquired wife, Emma. They
took up theirresdence at boarding house,
and the manner of the young wife. as well
as the conversation of the couple, made it
apparent to every one that they had not
long been married. Shortly after their ar
rival young Mrs. Puryear gave birth to a
child, greatly to the surprise of the board
ers and the dodgers of the house, and ap-
parently much to the indignation of the
husband. who claimed that their marriage
relations had not been of sufficient duration
to warrant such an occurrence. Although
his wife insisted that he was the father OF
the child. he denied it and then and there
left her helpless, penniless and destitute.
The ladies in charge of the clearinghouse
where the unfortunate woman was domi-
ciled, deeming their place compromised, in
sisted that Mrs. Puryear should immedi-
ately vacate the premises, and on the day
following her confinement the mother and
child were placed in common country
wagon, and on a cold, bleak winter day, in
stormy weather. sleet and rain mngllng
together, and with barely sufficient, cloth
ing to protect them from the inclemency OF
the weather, started on the return journey
to Central Star, Puryear's home, in Din
Widdie county.
PURYEAR HAD BEEN ARRESTED
meanwhile and was compelled to accom-
pany his wife home, policeman acting as
escort to prevent him Offering violence to
the unhappy woman. Puryear had only
consented to return to his wife upon cOndi-
ton that she would dispose of the infant,
and so infatuated was the young wife with
her husband that she consented to part with
her offspring, whom she delivered to
negro woman of this city named Emily
Blackwell. No happiness marked the
course of the couples lives in their
country home, and after awhile Pur-
year left home and instituted pro-
ceedings for a divorce. His application
was refused by the court on the ground
that the reasons therein set forth We're in
sufficient to warrant the granting of de-
cree. Acting upon the advice of a mutual
friend, Puryear and his wife went to live
ward Purvear came to Petersburg and
drank heavily, and made remarks that i'm
piled threats against his wife. On the day
that he is charged with having murdered
his wife he returned to Dinwiddie county
and Immediately repaired to his wife's
place of residence. Pretending to be very
friendly and to have taken leave of
EVERY FEELING OE RESENTMENT
tho ,,oct 6iffior1ltioc iuhf |, vo aroucad
within him, he proposed to her to take
social drink with him. Not suspecting any
evil intent she consented. Puryear mixed
two whiskey toddies. gave one to his wife
and himself drank the other. Soon after
this he left and in very little while Mrs.
Puryear was attacked with violent pains.
She at once charged her husband with hav-
ing administered poison to her. Her Suf-
feringS were so terrible that she bit herself
on the arm several times. Two hours after
she had taken the fatal draught death re-
leased her from her torment. The
physician who had been summoned saw the
patient in time to pronounce her condition
as resulting from poisoning by strychnine,
of which terrible drug small sediment was
found in the glass from which Mrs. Pur
year drank the deadly potion. The phys-
clan employed all known remedies to arrest
the work of the poison, but they were all
in vain. Meanwhile Puryear had gone out
and drank heavily of Virginia bitters. and
soon pretended to be poisoned. An emetic
soon set him right. Puryear was at once
arrested and committed to the county jail
A coRoNER's INQUEST
was held and the verdict of the jury was
that Emma c. Puryear came to her death
by poison administered in a glass of toddy
by II. c. Puryear. The stomach of the
deceased was taken to Richmond for
analysis by the state chemist. who found
in it, and so testified at the
trial. The feeling against the murderer
was so strong that arrangements had been
made to lynch him, and mob violence was
only prevented by bringing the prisoner
to the Jail at Petersburg where he has
been securely confined until the 4th of this
month, when he was taken to Prince George
county for trial. The murder, as before
stated was committed in Dnwiddie county,
but the prisoner, claiming that he could not
be fairly tried in that county, change of
venue was granted to the Prince George
circuit court Mrs. Puryears name before
marriage was Webb, she being a daughter
of Dnrken Webb, at one time the wealthieSt
planters in Dunwiddie county, and at the
time of her death was about % years of
age. Holmes Puryear is the son of
Matthew Puryear, and his age is about 25.
Shortly before he committed the murder of
his wife, he was postmaster in Dunwiddie
county.
SUSPECTED DE MURDER.