Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1893-07-06
CRIMINAL MALPRACTICE.

In This City, the Victim-CorOner
MIX to Complete the Investigation
in This City To-day.
most grievous and distressing case of i
criminal malpractice came to light yester-
day morning. The victim was Miss Helen
Nesbit, bright and attractive girl, twenty
one years of age, who formerly lived in
this city, but had been in Ansonis for
some time past. She died at her mothers
residence, on Maple street, in that town,
about O'Clock yesterday morning.
Less than a year ago Helen Nesbit
worked at William Nicely & Co.'s as q
mill:ner. She was with this firm for
about a year, and at other times worked at |
Ballerstein's, Rogowski's, Aendel & Freed |
mans and F. N. Browns.
She was a girl who had host
CT friends, and among them some of
the best families in New Haven. Her
family in Ansonia is a very respectable
one and all those who knew her describe
her as girl for whom they had the great
est respect and as being bright and very
attractive. In Ansonia she bore the same
good reputation. Her father has been
dead for some time and her mother, one
sister and brother live very comfortably
in Maple street, in the west part of the
town. The mother keeps a few boarders
All that Is known of the past history OF
the girl Is good, save the part which be-
gins with her return to her mothers home
last Tuesday evening to die.
On the morning of Tuesday, June ~,
she left her mothers home in company
with man, who said that he was going to
take her to New Haven for a drive, 1t
being the day of the Yale Harvard base
ball game at the Yale field. Quite late on
that same evening the young man
whom she went to drive with stopped at
Mrs. Nesbit's home, and informed her that
| Nellie had met some friends at the ball
game with whom she decided to stay for
q few days. The mother didn't have any
suspicion that anything was wrong
wrong when she did not return for several
days. as she had often overstayed the ex-
pected time of her return.
Last Tuesday night about 1890 o'clock
| Mrs. Nesbit was sitting on the porch of
her dwelling with neighbor, when closed
carriage drove up. Mrs. Nesbit felt that
something had happened to her daughter
and rushed out. The driver had come
down from the box and, stepping up to
Mrs. Nesbit, to Id her that there was q sick
| girl in the hack that wanted to be taken
into the house. With terrible fear in her
| heart Mrs. Nesbit looked into the carriage
and there she saw her daughter, propped
up on pillows and wrapped in blankets and
| pale as in death. Miss Nesbit WAS sccom-
panied by middle-aged woman who with
| the assistance of the driver carried the sick
girl to her room.
Mrs. Nesbit was informed by the mid
die aged woman that her daughter had
been taken i'll with typhoid fever, and
that they had concluded to bring her
home.
| AS soon as Nellie had been put to bed q
messenger was dispatched for DR.. Wilmot.
The physician arrived soon after and saw
at glance that Miss Nesbit WAS in q very
serious condition. He thought from her
symptoms that she would not survive the
night. Suspecting from the first that the
patient was suffering from criminal NAL
practice, DR.. Wilmot began to question
her regarding the cause of her illness. At
ter few questions had been put to her she
had admitted that she had submitted to an
operation. DR.. Wilmot then treated her
as best he could and sent for Medical Elk
aminer Conklin. DR.. Conklin, on ascer
tanning the cause of her condition, there.
upon telephoned to Coroner Mix.
1t has been learned that instead of going
: to the ball game, as the young gentleman
who drove her has said, Miss Nesbit wal
taken to the house of a we'll known nurse
or midwife and that she remained there
, until her condition became such that there
was no hopes of her recovery.
1t is believed that the operation that hal
caused the poor girls death. which was o.
; a surgical nature, was performed sbou
three days before she left for New Haven
The girl evidently began to show symp
toms of peritonitis, as is often the cas-
after an operation of this nature, and, fear
| ing that he would be discovered the docto
l oAu vii aH hor fo 10 off oil ffy,f
. the house where she could receive treat
! | ment.
The symptoms of that dreadful diseas
, | soon bscame worse after her arrival II
New Haven and the misguided girl suf
fered week of the most agoniEing pain
Then too distracted by the thought tina
she might die alone and away from home
q the poor young woman was we'll nigh dis
tracted. When she fually arrived q
: home she felt somewhat relieved, al
though the physical pain and menta
anguish over the fact that her real con
| dition might be discovered made her suf
J., | fering all the harder to bear.
The mother of the girl is grief-strickel
and unconsolable. Mics Nesbit leaves
brother and sister who are also terribl,
. afflicted by the, affair.
q About o'clock Coroner Mix reaches
Ansonia and after getting what informs
y ton he could at DR.. Conklin's Office, re
I turned to New Haven. In this city b,
., obtained some additional evidence which
: eliminates others beside DR.. Pulford anC
| he then telephoned to Ansonia to arres
DR.. Pulford. Other arrests will, however
be made very soon, perhaps to- day. Las
Z | evening 1t was learned that the man VIII,
| rode with her from Ansonia to this city
and is supposed to be the cause of he
| trouble, Is certain Mr.. Burgess, employed
IN 10 s5n - a,, l.
1 tiyes in this city. He is said to have dis
; appeared.
Coroner Mix held an investigation yes
terday afternoon in his Office and 1t will
be completed this morning at his Office il
: | this city. Medical Examiner White alst
made an autopsy of the remains and mad,
.. his report.
DIR. w. Il. Pulford of Ansonia is a mai
, of abouthfty years and does not bear thu
best reputation among the medical prac
|, titioners of the Nsugstuck valley. He is
homSpsth. About two years ago he wal
accused of criminal practice In the case o.
negro girl, who was a domestic at Frank
lin Burton's house In Ansonia.
What became of this case Is not known
Dr.. Pulford's counsel at the time was W
d. Williams, and reports are current o.
} some sort of 9 settlement, but nothing
definite is known.
That Coroner Mix Is determined to fol
low the case to tho end is evidenced by thu
fact shat his orders have been that no one
shall be allowed to see DR.. Pulford, hi.
counsel not excepted.
1t has been learned that the day Helen
Nesbit left home that she was driven to
this city and left ct certain place here
She then went to the house of q nurse in
this city and this latter woman called for
her until she became alarmed about the
girls condition. The nurse called In q
New Haven physician, and the latter q.
once ssid that the girl would die Thus
alarmed, the parties In whose charge Helen
was determined to get rid of her. They
consequently hit upon the plan of taking
her home and having her die under her
own mothers roof. A carriage was So
cured and the long, hard drive, the last of
the dying girl, begun. 1t was when the
same carriage was being whirled through q
side street of Ansonia that passer-by saw
in 1t, as the electric light CHANGED to CLEAN
brightly, the face Of DR.. Pulford, the man
who is held to answer for Helen Nesbit's
death.
BE was brought to the county jail at
about 7:30 last evening, bonds being re-
fused in the case. The victim of this sad
case was born in this city and is well
known here. She also has relatives in the
city. She was bright, of prepossessing sp-
pearance and fond of society, and was q
great lover of dancing. For some time
past she has worked in the millinery stores
OF Anson1a and Birmingham, her last en-
4 VII r1ar hzt n