Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1894-12-20
GUILTY OF MANsLAUGHrER.
End of the Longest Criminal Trial in
the History OF New England.


After a trial lasting six weeks, the
Jury returned verdict of guilty of
manslaughter last Friday at Burling-
ton in the case of State VS.. Mrs. Effie
/ Whalen and Rose Fourier for the
murder of Alfred Fournier, husband
1 of Rose. The case closed Saturday
noon of the week before, arguments
began Monday afternoon. the judges
charge occupied six hours and the
Jury were out "a hours. The penalty
for manslaughter is Imprisonment in
states prison for life or for not less
than seven years, or fine not exceed
ing 81 900. The expense of the trial
to the state will exceed $4,000. SEN
tence will be imposed to-day. The
respondents were Frustrated by the
result The verdict was a compromise
one. States Attorney Cushman and
II. +. Brown prosecuted, and Henry
Ballard and J. j. Enright defended,
the prisoners. The evidence which |
secured the conviction of Mrs. Four
nier and Mrs. Whalen was wholly cir
cumstantial. No one living saw them
administer the fatal poison, and TO no
living person has been breathed the |
motive for committing the deed, but |
the case has been developed as follows:
Al the time Of Fournier's death,
on Oct. l4th, 1898, the suspicion that
his death was caused by poison was
made known 70 States Attorney
Cushman. Soon after this he was in
formed by Druggist Collins that he
had sold some tartaric emetic TO
woman living in that vicinity. With
these two threads, Mr.. Cushman went
to work and developed the most COM
plete chain of circumstantial evidence
which led to the conviction of these (
two women.
The first step was to ascertain
or not the man died OF poi
soning. To do this the autopsy and
the analysis Of the contents of the :
stomach were found necessary.
The result of these investigations 2
proved beyond doubt that the man !
lied from entimonial poisoning, the /
examinations being conducted By 6
experts. In opposition !
o this evidence, the defence claimed 4
hat Fourier was so long addicted TO e
he use of liquor that he had drunk o
Ird's stomach and was suffering from !,
at the time OF his
leath. This claim was overcome by \
he State showing that Fournier did 7
lot have the symptoms of gastro-en-
eritis but those of antimonjQl pois-
ming.
The next step was to prove who adj y
the fatal drug. The de- 4
ence claimed that Fournier's father, Of
Fho is now dead, wash kind of doc c,
or, who handled liquors and danger =,
us drugs and that he gave his son the %
rug, either purposely or by mistake, L
a his liquor; or that Fourier him g
alf, ON account of his depressed ply N ~
zeal condition, caused by drink, had in
lken the dose TO end his misery. To ii
rove its claim that these two respond s.
nts administered the fatal dose. the a,
tatc proved that Mrs. Whalen bought II
olson on two different occasions af- re
II visiting doctor and calling for
to put into Fournier's liq-
Ir to sicken him; that Fourier was
crfectly well until the time that this o.
olson was bought, when he was TAX ii
A suddenly and violently i'll; and that be
0 one else had an opportunity to adj tte
linster any such drug. "
After all this had been proven, the ed
efence put forth the claim that there nj
as no motive for the thurman deed. u
ut the State had learned that there N
as unpleasantness in the Fourier ii,
Imily; that Mrs. Fourier had inn hi
roper relations with another man, q,
ld that Mrs. Whalen was an unwel- p,
'me inmate of the house of Mr.. Four III
Ter. These facts, the State said, e
'rmed the strongest motive for the O,
of tie deed. hr