The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-01-24
FOB CHILD MURDER.
Trial of Hildegard Rundberg
Begun Before Judge Humes.
THE STORY OF THE POISONING.
The Dead ChIld's Father and Mother
Testify-some Discrepanciss-The
Condemn alton Case.

The trial OF Niliegard Rundberg. domestic.
10. the murder OF Richard Parker, the infant
child OF Mr and Mrs F. W. Parker. by poison
ing him with rough on rats, began IN Judge
Humes court yesterday. Throughout the day
the prisoner sat absolutely Tnpassivs beside her
mother
The jury wsa sworn az o'clock. and Pros
scuting Attorney John T. Miller made the OPEN
tng statement Of the case for the state. He said
that the state would prove that Richard Parker
died from the effects of poison administered By
defendant; that defendant was 10 years old:
vas q nurse girl IN the Parker family at
the time: that Mr.. Parker kept a box
Of rough on rats in the pantry. On tho evening
before the day on which the poisoning is al
legged TO have taken place. he put some OF this
poison on some fish for the purpose of killing
eome mice that were giving trouble in the pam
try. While he was preparing this the
deiendsn. asked IL the poison would kill per-
SOL. She was told IL would. The state would
prove that defendant took some of the poison
and gave II to the child, causing instant death.
James Hamilton Lewis followed by the OPEN
ing statement for the defendant He said that
twas customary TO defer the opening statement
10 the jury in case of this kind until the close
Of the testimony for the state, but that he had
thought It proper In this case to make the open
ting statement before any testimony was taken, in
order TO apprise the state and Mr. and Mrs. Parker
surrounding this case were so shrouded In mys-
terry that it became Of the utmost importance
tbs: the Jury should at the out
get understand the position taken
by both the stata and defense:
that the defendant denied tie charges made:
that tho death was caused BY administer.
ing arsenical poison By a careless though unin-
tentionai use OF medicine that was given to the
child BY the mother: that there was not the
least doubt OF the innocence of the defendant
Mr. Parker was the first witness. He testified
TO the employment of defendant as q nurse girl;
that she was good girl aud had stayed with his
family about seven weeks: that on the
evening before the child's death he had
placed some Rough on Rats on some ash and
placed IL on the floor in the pantry and
had placed the box containing the poison on the
top shelf in the pantry; that no person could
reach that box unless by standing on a chair or
box And the following day, while seated at
the table with his wife psrtaking of
dinner. he heard the child, who was
10 the sitting room upstairs, COM
mence 10 cough. Mrs. Parker went upstairs
and found defendant holding the child in her
arms and trying to give 1t some water out of a
spoon. The child had a brownish substance in
i,s mouth. He heard defendant say:
at looks Ike rat poison He ex-
amined the matter found on a hardkerch EFF
tied around the child's neck and concluded it
was rat poison, and sent for a doctor. Witness
knew very little about the circumstances as ha
was down stairs most of the time and did not
come up stairs until the Child was resting Qui-
stiy.
Mrs. Parker. the next Witness told the story
o! the ohild's death. but when her testimony
was compared with that she gave before the
justice Ii differed in some material pontA Her
e.ossexanination was in progress when court
Adjourned.