The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-02-10
NINE. J0NIAUx, POISoNER.
SHE MURDERED SISTER. BROTHER
AND UNCLE FOR MONEY.

Her AvyfuI Deeds.
/ From the New York world. Feb. 4
! Marie Jonlaux. the Belgian poisoner.
who to-day begins her life sentence for
/ the murder Of her brother. her sister and
[ her uncle, has not a parallel among civ
+ ilized nations in this century The pois-
oner is the most desperately wicked Of
murderers, because poison is q weapon
I which can only be used with elaboration
and can never be used even with the self
/ deceiving semblance Of passion. But there
have been many poisoners. many more.
doubtless. than The law has reached. To
murder and TO murder by poison the mem
bers Of ones family is a climax of wick
edness. but that, too. has been reached
before.
But never In this century has a series
Of these crimes been done by a person
Of the highest education, the most as
sured social position. and the soundest
and sanest intellect For this Marie Jo-
niaux is the daughter of that distinguished
Belgian cavalry leader. Gen. Jules Ablay.
She was born in 1872. that Is. she is now
50 years Old. Not only was her father
general, but also his two brothers. one Of
them being aide-de-camp to King Leopold.
| Thus this woman was carefully educated.
and trained, and was from her childhood
accustomed to the best society of Bel
GUM.
She was comely girl but. being with
out fortune, counted herself as doing ex-
| ceedingly well, when, at p, she became
the Wife of Frederick Faber, the author
Of several books of criticism and a member
of an excellent Belgium family. She was
reasonably happy in her married life. and
continued to move in the society to which
she had been accustomed. although this
I life caused the Fabers not a little anxiety
on the subject of money. When Nine
Faber was about 40 years old, this press
ure of money matters, becoming greater
as Nine. Faber's desire for social lead
ership grew stronger. gradually estranged
| her and her husband. He was not ambi-
tious socially, and his wife's continual
struggles seemed foolish and useless to
him.
Among the intimate friends of the
tabers was a young government engi-
neer named Henri Jon.aux, a widower
with three children, a man of fine per-
sonai appearance, of small means and
or gnawing ambition. He and Nine. Fa-
Der became great friends and were con-
| tinually about together, to the great de-
light of NJ. Faber. who had the go1t
and loved his big chair and his books.
In 1881 NJ. Faber, who had heavily in
sured his life for his wife's benefit, died
suddenly Of the eout.
The widow had a small fortune In the
/ life insurance and for two years lived
with her widowed mother, whose pen
sion from the government was barely
sufficient to support herself and her I'M
married daughters. At the end Of two
] Nine Eahas. -,
/ came Nine. JoniauX. and these two spir-
It's with their congenial tastes for shin
ing and dominating, We're able to work
out their destinies together.
IN 1883 Joniaux, who was rising rapidly
thanks to his abilities. supplemented by
| the influence of his powerful family, was
| made chief state engineer of roads and
bridges for the province of Antwerp, and
moved from Brussels to Antwerp. All
! the money his wife had got from her
! first husbands insurance was spent. and
/ his salary, Their only income, was but
$500 q year. This means a good deal
| more in Antwerp than it would in New
| York. But it was not enough to sustain
! any sort Of a social show
Therefore those who knew the Jo-
/ niaux family well wondered how they
were able to keep up the fine establish
/ ment in the big white stone house in the
/ Rue Ges Nerviens. But Nine. Joniaux
.
/ her husband was so good looking and
/ popular, that nobody was willing to be-
! lieve that the whole structure was built
+ upon credit, that the Joniaux family
/ owed everybody and were on the verge
/ of being sold out every day. This state
/ of affairs. which must have caused Nine
/ JoniauX many sleeples nights, kept on
/ for four years Then the crash was i'm
mnent, and then came a windfall
In the fall of 1881 Leonie Ablay, Nine
! JoniauX's youngest sister, came up to
/ visit her and to enjoy the social season.
which was gayer nowhere than in the
/ big mansion on the Rue de Nerviens
! Soon after her arrival Nine Joniaux in
! sured Leonie's life for $4,000 in favor Of
/ Mile. Faber, the only child of the first
/ marriage. In mid-February Leonie Ablay
fell sick, and on Feb q died of pneu-
/ monia, complicated with Influenza Soon
after her death the Insurance companies
| paid over the $4,000 and Nine Joniaux
/ paid her most pressing debts.
1t was well known to the friends of
! the JoniauX family that they had great
/ expectations from Nine. Joniaux uncle.
/ Jacques Van den Kerchove, the bachelor
manufacturer of Client, rich and gen
erous. but abnormally healthy. In Client
1 he was liked by everybody, was a men,
/ Der of all the best social organizations
/ and had been elected a senator In
/ March, 1893, the king made him an Of
fcer of the order of Leopold, and he
I sent out cards for a banquet for that
! evening. For several years he had been
living with a young woman of Ghent.
/ and in 1888 she presented him with son.
/ he got so fond of her and her bow
| that he privately legitimatized the bow
and made will in his favor. He had
I planned to make public this fact at the
/ banquet, and also to announce mis- an
preaching marriage with the. boys
/ mother.
But the Joniaux family knew nothing of
this when they invited the old man. for
I with all his vigor-he was over sixty
to come over TO a banquet they were
/ giving on the evening of March 16 in
honor of NJ. JoniauX's promotion to be
a director of engineers. NJ. Van den
Kerchove was one of the jolliest Of the
many jolly guests at that dinner. It
lasted for FIVE hours, and Just as the
last toast was being drunk the old man
gasped, fell back in a fit and died of
apoplexy before morning NJ. Joniaux
supposed that, of course, his wife was
the heir, and took an early train for
Ghent to enter into possession. He found
the young woman and her son and several
of NJ. Van den Kerchove's friends there
laughing, joking, getting ready for the
= 10 l~1.d y