The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1893-08-17
MURDER WILL OUT.
\ SENSATIONAL CHARLESTON CASE
CLEARED UP.

CLEARED UP.
\ Girl Contessss That She Poisoned II q,
Father and Sister ut the InstiGation OF
Iier Observation-Disclosures tho Cause
CHAELESTON, :. c., Aug. 10.-The
mystery which surrounded the sudden
and peculiar death Of Isa nc Mitchell
anu his daughter, Ada, has at last been
solved, and the facts as they stand out
to view present a case Of diabolical
treachcry and murderous malice sell
dom seen on the records Of crime.
Sarah Mitchell, the fOu rtrel year old
daughter of Isaac Mitchell, has con
teSSed having poisoned her father and
sister by giving them Rough on Rats,
and claims that she did so at the sup.
gestion and by the direction of her
human stepmother.
Isaac Mitchell was a very resper l.
ble colored lOngshoreman, who live at
NO. lob Coming street Ills fan ily
consisted of his wife, Maria, and two
daughters, Ada aged Is and Sarah aged
II. There they had lived peaceabIy to.
gether, and Mitchell by dlnt of hard
work and economical manage.
ment had contrivpd to lay up a little
money for rainy day. AS far as was
known his relations with all his fami-
ly had ALWAYS been Of the warmpst and
closest kind
About the last Of July Mitchell re.
celVed an anonymous letter purporting
to have been written by dear
TREND. AS to its contents there is
some doubt. Certain 1t is, however
that the letter contained news that was
anything but pleasant. 1t was to the
general elect that the writer intended
to come To the house and make a deal
OF trouble, and furthermore that Nit
chell and his eldest daughter would be
poisoned. lie did not think much OF
the matter, however, and carelpssly
threw the letter aside. This was
HIS ONLY WARMING.
| When Mitchell went home to dinner
about o'clock on Tuesday, July II. he
suspected nothing wrong. The dinner
had been prepared 10y his Younger
daughter, who had always been in the
habit OF cooking the meals for the fam
lily. so he sat down to dine with tina
sense Of perfect security which is nat
ural with man in his own house sur
rounded by his family. At the tabl
were the family and another colorc,
| III. L
J meal consisted of beef, rice, tOmat oes
, bread and watermelon, and TO all an
pearance all ate out of the same dishp:
] Immediately after dinner Isaac an
| Ada were taken violently i'll, beng sic
), at the stomach and vomiting. TN
1 llamllt0n woman later became i'll, an
| Maria Mitchell was TO AL appearance
so sick that she was unable to atten
10 the wants OF her husband and steI
l daughter, who were soon in a dyini
condition. DR.. w. ID. Crum was called
in, and did all he could for the suffer
ers, but they were already too far pOn,
when he was sent for, and the fathe,
ana daughter died in a few hours.
The deaths OF two members of on,
lanlly ut the same time and in So
SIrange manner naturally aroused
Suspicion, and Coroner G.. IL. Il, vers
| was notified. lie at Onc, took rt,,. mat
ter in charge and held an inuur,t over
the bodies. DR.. &. B. LIineau urr.
formed the post-mnr en *. .mlnatior.
After careful diagaosl, OF the case
ne gave as his professional opiulou
| that 1t was
CASE OF ARSENICAL POISONING.
| beyOnd TINS no ulng could be learned
about the cause of the deaths. But
| Coroner RiV"rS and Chief of 'oIlcr
STONE unt'irllrn 10 unravrl the mystery
and bring the gully parties to Justice
| ihry 1T least imlV believed that mur
DR. hah been committed.
Ihe investigation was carried on
with the utmost care and diligence, ana
no Two officials could possibly have
dOne more than the chief ana coroner
dld IheY searched the house time aud
| again Tor clues. and everything which
looked IKE a connecting link in the
clialn Oh circumstances was carefully
preserved.
At length the Hamilton woman
dled. Her death was sad to he from
other causes. Maria Mitchell ana
Naran Alltchcil were arrested and lodged
III 'lhll. They had been under police
sllrVcillance all he while, and every
where they went they were faithfully
Kept III sight by Det GcliyrS John IIO.
gan and James Miller. At this TIM,
the officers, who had collected enough
evidence on which to base a belief that
Maria and Sarah at least had consider
able wledge Of the air, placed the
women IN Jail. An investigation wa.
held at the Station House, and the
prisoners were closely questioned
! lhey still held ont that they knew
J nothing of the affair, though their stor
} ieS differed greatly IN several partlcu
lars.
Since that time the chief and COron-
er Rivers have been working quietly
bat faithfully, and in consequences of
their excellent plans skilIlullv carried
out by Detectives Miller and Hogan
the whole thing has come out, and
SARAH HAS Confessed.
1T was supposed that an ANALYSIS of
the StomachS OF the victims would GER
talnly reveal traces of arsenic, aud 80
the matter was referred to Mr.. J. Ross
| llanahan. one of the most skiliul ana
lytlcal chemists IN the city Ills re
port was aS fOllOWS:
CHARLESrON, 5. G, August :, 1888
&. III. Rivers. Cor .ncr, CnarleSt on 5
C.-Dear Sir: Enclosed is the result of
my investigation upon the stomach of
OF Isaac B. Mitchell. Apart from this
L Will say that AS arScnious oxide the
suspected poison) is only slightly solu-
bic, 1t Is possible that u poison of this
nature could have been elected from
the stomach by violent vomiting, hence
It's presence could be detected in the