The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-05-26
Arsenic in Large Quantities Discovered
in the Stomach of One of the Dead.
Druggist Borst Says the Girl Bought Poison
81 His Store. and the Police Found the
Stuff in Fer Possession.
WHOLESALE POISONING.

Numerous Deaths in the Koestars Family
Laid at the Door of Annie Wagner.
Since the 18th day of last October FIVE
persons have been buried from o South
Meridian-street residence. All of the
deaths have been more or less mysterious,
and four of them have been surrounded
with circumstances that point toward the
successful contamination of series of sw-
full crimes.
In q cell at the station house is confined
. prepossessing young German woman.
charged with murder. and securely looked
In the deep recesses of the coroner's safe 10
. box of poison, the damning evidence of
guilt In she possession of police and de-
tectives there are clews that. when linked
together, can but form q chain of truth
that must surely drag to the surface the
history of deeds as devilish as they
were perfectly planned and systemst-
iosIly put into operation. That . human
being, . delicate woman, possessed of q
womsn's refined nature and q womsnly
heart, could alternately set about to CON-
NIT the horrors which are ascribed to Annie
Wagner. it is difficult for even those
schooled In the history of the most revolt
ing of crimes to believe, yet the evidence
shat has been gathered within she past few
hours seems to point unerringly toward
guilt
fhe scene of the work OF what will per-
hsps result in the convection of q modern
Lucretia Borgia. Is at No. 456 South Nerd
ian street. the once happy home Of Charles
koesters. German furniture dealer.
BOOSTERS has living rooms over bis
store. and Elk months ago they were
fad nv ia
sistlDg Of his wife, three boys. = daughter,
has aged father and mother. and Annie
Wagner, . domestic, aged twenty-five
years. Until Oct Is last the Koesters fam
lily had remained unbroken by death, but
on that day Mary NJ, wife OF Charles koes-
tors. died, after brief illness in which che
gave birth to child. Her illness was char
acterized by peculiar symptoms. but she
Was buried by the grief-stricken husband
without thought or suspicion that other
shan n atural causes had obbed his home
and children of . mother. The wailing in
FAINT was n sickly child. and was taken by
the deceased woman's brother into bis fam
lily. few doors away. to nurse through its
baby hood. On Jan. the child. without
apparent disease. passed. away. and was
buried beside its mother. while the father
consoled himself that he was yet spared his
larger sons, and daughter, and his parents.
A month passed. and his father, Frank l..
boosters. aged seventy tive years, sickened.
and the day before the close of January the
aged man died.
As In the preceding deaths DR.. Reyer, of
South Meridian street. was called in. but
In the latter case was struck with the
strange sym ptoms of the patient. Violent
purginR and vomiting marked the disease
which carried OF the elder Koesters. and
was also significantly present in the deaths
which followed.
Two months after the burial of his father,
Charels Koesters witnessed the death of his
daughter Mary, aged eight years. Then
with his mother, his three sons and the do
mestio. Annie Wagner. he took up lite
again. hoping that he might be permitted
TO keep his remaining dear ones. At the
time of the sudden death of his infant child
Koesters had no intimation that there Was
human agency at work and instrumental
In destrying the lives of his family,
but on the advice of his relatives he sum
moned Coroner Beck. who viewed the body.
It was decided that death was due to
natural causes and no autopsy was made.
Last Monday the fifth death in the Koes-
tiers household occurred. On the morning
of that date Mr.. Koesters. two of his chill
dren and his mother. Mrs Clara Koesters.
went out to the woods for q day, leaving
the servant girl in charge OF the house.
The family returned In the evening. and
Mrs koesters was IN her usual health. but
late in the evening was taken IL. Her
symptoms were marked by vomiting and
DIR. Storch was called in. The patient
grew rapidly worse until o'clock Tuesday
night. when she died. After the death of
60 the drug store of George Borst.
corner of Russell avenue and Me-
ridian street. and there was told q story
which he received with horror and was
loatb to credit. The proprietor informed
him that his servant girl. Annie Wagner.
had on Monday entered the store and
bought bex of Rough on Rats, q 15-cent
package, 'ich she stated she desired go
use in exte .ninating the rats about the
place. Her employer knew that the house
was free from rodents save q few small
mice. and the statement made by the drug
gist came as an astounding and suspicious
piece of news. which he carefully kept
from the remaining mem bers of his family
until be could consult the proper officials.
Yesterday morning he sought Coroner
Beck. to whom he made known the facts
recently learned. The coroner cautioned
him to secrecy, and set about at once to 40
compiish something that would get the
dark suspicious and rumors into tangible
form.
The body of Mrs Clara Koesters was yet
unburIsd. and ut ! o'clock yesterday
morning Coroner Book, with his
assistant, DR.. Cary. and underrl
taker Greinsteiner visited the stricken
home and secretly removed the dead worn-
ans stomach Before daylight they placed
who immediately began a chemical analy-
sis of its contents. All the tests knowh to
the experienced chemists as being infallibie
were made In the case. and q few minutes
after o'clock. yesterday. Dr. Elsenbeis
reported TO Coroner Beck that the stomach
OF Mrs. kossters contained arsenic In large
quantities. The Coroner's next step was
to consult with POhce Superintendent Col