Evening journal., 1891-03-21
HELEN WAS HARRIS WIFE
New Developments in the Potts
Poisoning Case.
THERE WAS A SECRET MARRIAGE.

the Grand Jury-The Girls Mother
Hair Uttered Suspicious.
New YORK, March 2i.-The World pub
fishes sensational story about the strang,
death Of Miss Helen Nelson Potts, o
Ocean Grove, NJ j., who died at the Com
stock Finishing School for Young Ladies'
in this city, on Feb l. 1t has been learned
that Carlyle w Harris, the young man
who gave Helen the pills that caused hel
death, was the girls husband The young
couple had been secretly married in thi,
city on Feb. S, 1890, under the names ot
Charles Harris and Helen Nelson. Their,
seems to be well defined suspicion that
the matter viii bear further investigation
for the reason that it now transpires that
a criminal operation had been performed
upon the girl
The Verdict OF the Physicians.
Il was known that She had taken Ger
tain morphine pills prescribed BY Harris
| who was medical student A coroner's
| Jury made up Of an equal number Of ply
sicians and licensed druggists met nearly
| four weeks later-on Feb. 27-and found
the following verdict.
I'VE, the jnry (etc), find that Helen
| Potts met her death from opium poisoning.
| we also find that the amount Of NOR
| phlne known to have been in her posses.
| sion was not sufficient 10 cause death ?
| Elhere seems never to have been any
| really serious effort TO discover whether 4
larger amount Of opium than was called
for in any one-or, indeed in all six-of
the pills prescribed had been administered
to the hapless girl by accident or other
wise.
A Curious Coincidence.
Il was known and admitted that the pre-
scription had been filled at the drug store
Of Even Mcintyre & Sons, Fifty-sixtb
street and Sixth avenue; that the initials
to the prescription were those OF CARLYLE
w. Harris; that he had had it filed in per
son, had taken the six pills away with
MN, had given four Of them to Miss Potts,
with whom he had been well acquainted.
and that he kept two Of them in his pos
session, which he exhibited after her death
as proof that he had made no mistake I'M
the prescription.
This was commented upon at the time
as somewhat curious but, as said. neither
OF The parents Of the dead girl, the munic-
ipal authorities nor any one otherwise
concerned appear to have desired or sought
careful investigation of any of the facts
lie Thought Her still Alive.
The father of the girl is Mr.. George Potts
well-to-do resident of Ocean Grove. N. /.
with an Office at 40 Wall street. this CITY.
AS the facts were given out at the time,
she had known Harris very we'll at her
home in New Jersey, and with the consent
OF her parents he had frequently called
upon her at the school
Mr.. Potts was in PHILADELPHIA when he
received intimation of his bereavement.
lie fastened home and was surprised to
find flush on the cheeks of his dead
daughter. He became so worked up over
the strange look on the girls face that be
Thought he perceived signs Of life Acting
on this belief, Mr. Potts ordered the coffin
placed in the receiving vault, although the
grave had been prepared He also ordered
the undertaken not to fasten the lid Of the
coffin, and to leave the glass plate cover
ing the face open about two inches SO that
in case his daughter was living, death by
suilocation might be avoided.
IL was not until Feb that convinced
there was no longer hope, the father con
sented to the interment
The Parents Change Front
That was six weeks ago. No intimation |
had ever been given to the public that
there had been any relations between the |
young girl and the man who may have /
been thought in any measure responsible /
for her death, further than the apparently |
ingenious and straightforward statements
of Harris and the quotations at second /
hand from what the parents Of the girl /
had said
But with later consideration these par
ents have not deemed il best to conceal /
further facts which may be regarded by |
the authorities as having a serious bearing |
upon motives and circumstances prior and |
possibly leading to the death Of this young
girl
what the Mother SAYS.
The mother has made long affidavit in 1
which she tells Of the secret marriage. She
did not know Of it until her daughter was |
taken very i'll. Then the girl confessed
and told her Harris had performed a Grim
inal operation upon her The mother saws
she saw Harris, who promised to publicly /
marry Helen as soon as certain club scan.
dals he was mixed up in at Asbury Park
had blown over He did not do so. The
mother adds:
when he met me, and we were on our
way TO my dead child, he assured me that
it was the druggists awful mistake. but
when they were taking his statement and
] saw him take the capsules from his
pocket, as if he had known it must be used
as evidence, heard him say he had the pre-
scrlption filled, and pointed to the care.
tully marked students prescription, was
so filed with horror / dare not look NJ
and have not been able to pIS the Thought 1
from me that if the right capsule had been
used first and four girls had gone TO sleep
at the same time three vpuld bava a,,-alS
ened, and the two pills he had would
agree with those remaining in the box
When he came on Wednesday before
the inquest TO demand his marriage papers
he again assured me I would find when
the analysis was made that it was the
druggists mistake, and the Jury would
exonerate him. They did not, but left her
under shadow where his cowardice had
placed her, and my husbands hatred that
the world should know Of the marriage
keeps her.
Dr. 9. W. Treverton, Of Scranton, the
uncle of the girl, also makes an affidavit
lie swears that his niece came to him in
July, 1880; that he learned her conditions.
that she declared that three separate. but
unsuccessful operations had been per
formed; that he discovered a fourth was
necessary to preserve her life. and that he
had clear evidence of the criminal nature
of the previous efforts
He swears that she told him that two
OF these efforts had been made by her hus-
band
The Grand Jury VIII Investigate.
The various afidavits and the written
statement OF the heartbroken mother have
been submitted to the district attorney for
action. The father of young Harris is said
70 De a clerk IN Brooklyn establishment