Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-11-10

potassium to have killed 10 persons. Two
sons and daughter have been arrested,
charged with the murder, but the evidence
which the police havr thus far secured
against them is not strong
Last night Mr.. Toolc learned for the first
time of the death of his wife and daughter.
and in a few minutes he, too, was dead
The shock killed him. Another daughter
is lying at deaths door, and the chances
are against her recovery.
The scene of the tragedy is s. West Third
street, South Boston. Mr. Toole is piano
polisher and had lived IN that house nearly
30 years.
The Fatal Porter.
He had reared family of five SONS and
three daughters and had acquired prop
erty worth about Sa0,0OO. lie was one of
the most respectable citizens in that part
of the town. His via had been i'll for
some time, and in accordance with her phy-
sician's orders had been in the habit of
drinking glass of porter every night be
fore retiring. Wednesday night she asked
her daughter Mary to give her son Michael
some money to purchase a bottle of porter.
The lad went to George Walker liquor
store and procured it. Mary Toole met
him at the foot of the stairs and carried
the bottle to her mOther's room.
1t was Corked and sealed. Mrs. Toole
broke the seal, uncorked the bottle and
poured out a small glass for her daughter
Margaret and one for herself No sooner
had the porter been drank than the moth
er complained of feeling sick ut her stom-
ach, and she started 10 go in her eldest
daughters room, only 10 feet away. When
she reached this room, she sat down and
soon vOmited. Margaret, thinking her
mother was about to have fainting spell
went to her assistance and took her by the
arm. The mother never spoke after she
entered the room and in about two min
utes fell dead to the floor.
Margaret cried out to her sister Mary.
who was down stairs, to come up. and
when the latter entered the room Margaret
Tell across the lifeless body Of her mot her.
Mary Immediately called her brother.
who was in the kitchen. He mounted his
bicycle and summoned Drs. Whipple and
ID. +. O'Callaghan. Both women were
dead when the doctors arrived. The doe
tors at once said that the women had been
poisoned, but it was not until Medical En-
aminer Draper had examined the bodies
that the nature of the poison was known.
The Mystery UnsoIvcd.
Meantime the police had searched high
and low to solve the mystery. The poison
had been placed in the bottle OF porter, but
by whom and for what reason they could
not ascertain
The bottle came in a case purchased by
Walker from Foster, a New York bother,
ON Sept. p. The bottle had been dosed
with the deadly poison. 1t was either put
in by an employee of the bottling establish
ment in New York, or else it was placed in
the bottle after it reached Boston with the
purpose of killing some one. The police
chose to follow the latter theory ard looked
for reason for the crime. They found
that there was 4 slight MISUNDERSTANDING
between stephen Toole and his brother
Patrick. On Tuesday and Wednesday
stephen had been drinking. so the police
say, and had had "A row with other mem
bcrs of the family,
The father was very sick, au.I on w rdnes-
day Mrs. Toole secured his signature to a
draft for 81 600 which was taken from the
bank to provide for the payment Of certain
bills. So far as can he learned, there was
no effort on the part uf any members of
the family to get hold of that money, and
it was found intact Thursday in Mrs
ToOlc's trunk.
a Skeleton In the CIu-Ct.
These circumstances were all that the
police could find TO work upon They
offer no explanation of he crime, hut have
arrested and chan C,Tl with murder Michael
Toolc, who purchased the liquor; Mary
Toole, who carried it 10 her mother, and
stephen Toole, who WAS in the ncighbor-
ing clubroom AT th, time, and who has not
yet been connected with The purchase of
the liquor.
The daughter, Mary, who is under arrest,
tells straightforward story about the or
der for the liquor and th.. condition of the
bottle when she It pcivcd it from her broth
er and delivered it to her mother
When the police questioned the Young
Eirl, Mary, as TO the motive any one might
have for killing her mother and sister, she
exclaimed between her sob>:
t,IInNN- can | toll it. IJ,,,. ,,,,, 7