Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1893-02-05
WOMEN MURDERERS.
THEIR FAvORITE METHOD
Is ALWAYS BY POISON.
Beauty Not Always SAVING
The Crimes of the Marchio-
ness of Brinvilliers.
tPhiladelphis Press

One woman accused OF murder ana
one convicted of it are now prominently
before the public eye-Lizzie Borden
and Mira Maybrick. The latter's crime
was done with poison. Most instances
in which women are the criminals ana
where the crime is premeditated are
such. and that makes the change IN the
Borden case, where a brutal man wea-
pon-an axe or batchet-was used'
strangely inconsistent.
Baltimore's cause celebrc was the trlal
of Mrs Wharton, the widow OF an army
officer. who in 1871 was accused OF the
murder of General ". s. ketchum. OF
tbo { nited States Army. Mrs. Wharton
was heavily in his debt The General
came from Washington to collect the
money due him. be was taken Ill after
leaving the house and died June 18th.
His waistcOat containing the widow
note for the money due was missing.
Mr.. Van Ness, man July co8nl-
zant of the widows financial NJ
fairs. was also taken Ill at the
same time and narrowly escaped death.
IL was proven that the General had diei
by poisoning. Mrs. Wharton was ac-
united OF the charge OF poisoning Gen
eral Ketchum and toe charge of attempt
ing to kill Mr.. Van Ness was never
pushed. The defence claimed in the
face of the experts examination that
death was due to cerebro- spinal menin-
gifts.
LACRA FAIRS CRIME.
Laura d. Fairs great crime was the
fruit of her awful temper Her victim
was A. =. Crittenden. Mrs. Fair was
infatuated with Crittenden. She IN
sisted that ne should secure a divorce
from his wife aud marry her. tie re-
fused and sent for his wife, who was
East. lie met her on the ferrybOat ii
Captain in the Bay Of San Francisco
November 3, 1870. Hiding near at
hand was Mrs. Fair. As Crittenden
pressed his arms around his wife 5 form.
touching her lips in welcome. the SHOT
that ended his life rang ont It's death
knell, and he fell a corpse between the
two women who had claimed him. Mrs
Fairs defence was insanity, but at the
first trial she was found guilty OF muir,
der in the first degree. a second trla
ended with acquittal.
The most sensational judicial murder
Of this cent Try was the execution o.
| Eliza Tanning, in her time one OF the
most beautiful women of London. she
was scarcely Is when charged witt
poisoning the family IN which she was
governess. 1t was proven concluslvely
that she herself had become Ill IRON
eating the poisoned food. Her limo
tence was established at the trial, bu
the Recorder passed only upon the eyl
dence against her. She was executed
and as she stood on the scaffold she crleC
out Before the just and Almighty
God. and by the faith of the Holy Sacra
ment have received, l am innocent o
the offence of which am charged.
BYA MANIAC.
Before the funeral it was discovered
that the poison was in all likelihood al
ministered 10y maniac who had beer
| sheltered IN tne mousse NV ino Viui0 OA Wv
poisoning. Ten thousand persons at
tackled the house of the prosecuting
LAWYER, and only large military force
prevented death and destruction by tina
Infatuated mob.
There is perhaps no parallel IN TIN
century to the awful case OF the Mar
chioness of Brinvilliers. Having through
lover discovered the art of compound
ing the most subtle and mortal polsons
the two began their fearful career
Father, mother, sister, brothers, chll
dren-all met fearful deaths.
Then began series OF poison con
spiracies which have no parallel IN tn
worlds history. Deaths of heirs OF no
bic families throughout France grew o
alarming frequency, st. Croix, tn
lover, finally died from OH accidental in
halation of a noxious vapor. The
came the fearful discovery. The womal
was arrested, put to tho torture b.
swallowing water, then beheaded. ant
her body publicly burned. The trial Q
the case was stopped suddenly as mat
ter of policy, for each day new dc
velopments pointed to the most nobl
of the French aristocracy as cocoon
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