The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1895-04-19
ACCUSED BY A NOTHIR
Mrs, Darling's Sensational Charge
Against Her Sons Widow.
LED TO HIS DEATH BY SLOW POISON

Mrs, Darling Declares That Her Sons Wife
systematically Dosed Him with Fatal
Drugs Prescribed by Young DR.. spranEer,
Whom She Has Since Married.
NEW YORK, April 19.-Mrs. Flora Adams
Darling writer of war letters and one Of
the founders of the Daughters of the Rev
olution is seeking the Indictment of DR..
Francis Xavier Spranger and his wife,
who was formerly her daughter-in law,
Mrs Edward Irving Darling, by the grand
jury of New York county. The case will
probably be presented to the grand jury
during the coming week.
Mrs. Darling's son, Edward Irving Darl-
ing, died on Feb 49, 1894, at Mount Glenn
ems, Mich, from what she claims to have
been slow poison. Edward Irving Darl-
ing was a musical composer and poet.
Prominent among his best productions
was book entitled ECHOES Of the Lake"
Among his operatic works was "The Vik
ing" which is to be produced in short
time. Others were "The jolly Bachelors"
and the Gentlemen Savage"
The son met Beatrice Gay Klingle while
in Washington with his mother in 1885.
He fell in love with the girl, and they were
married on Sept. 10 of that year. At first
they came to this city, residing on Park
avenue, but later they removed to Detroit,
where Darling became manager of the
music house of Grinnell Brothers. A short
time after his engagement there he met
with an accident in falling out of a win
dow and breaking several bones of his
body. DR. Spranger, then a recent gradu-
! ate of western college, was called in to
| attend him. For many weeks the young
man lay in plaster of Paris casts, and it is
alleged now that during this time the doc
tor fell in love with his patients wife.
On July 4, 1892, the younger Mrs. Darl-
ing received word of the death of her father
in Washington. This left her estate val
ued at more than 81 ,OOOOO Mr.. and Mrs.
Darling went to Washington to attend the
| funeral, and stopped at the Ebbitt House
in that city. While there the young man
became violently i'll after drinking glass
of milk. DR.. Harrison, physician of that
city, attributed his illness to impure milk.
Mrs. Darling, the mother, now claims
that the milk contained poison.
After the funeral of Mr.. Klingle Mr.. and
Mrs. Darling returned to Detroit, and
from that time on, it is said, the husband
story told by the mother, Dr. Spranger
When DIR. Spranger was questioned as to
the cause of the illness he said he was suf-
fering from Brights disease.
On Nov. %, 1892, while in bad condi
tion physically, Darling came to this city
and visited his aunt Mrs. Duval Ney Ev
erett. While stopping with her his health
continued to improve and he gained TWEEN
| ty-five pounds. Young Mrs. Darling
| joined her husband in New York on Jan
| "a, 1898, and, it is said, brought with hel
medicines prescribed by DR. Spranger
After a short time the son began to grow
| i'll again, according to the story told by
his mother, and when his wife returned
home on March he was again in a pre-
carious condition.
Darling returned to Michigan on jun
20 of that year to live with his mother a
| Mt. Clemens. There he was attended b,
| DR. Richard Lochner, who said the younj
man had been under the influence o
violent drugs, which had destroyed tn
tissue of the body, ana that his death wa
only a question of short time.
The patient died on Feb. 13, 1894, bu
previous to his death he made q statemen
that his wife and DIR. Spranger had sys
tematically poisoned him and that h
would die from the effects of the drug
given him
The body was cremated without a pos
mortem examination, at the request c
the patient, who maintained that he di
not want his body to fall into the hand
of his wife.
Mrs. Darling, the mother, had realized
as she now claims, that her son had bee
murdered, and took the matter befor
District Attorney Frazier, of Detroit, VIII
, , said that the suspicious, while perhaI
we'll founded, were not strong enough t
warrant the arrest of the doctor and he
daughter-in-law. At that time Mrs. Darlin
the elder had advanced the idea that he
son had been poisoned because his vii
had fallen in love with the doctor wh
had attended him. The district attorne
is said to have announced at that time thu
should the wife ever marry the doctor til
motive would become plain
The motive, according to the dead man
mother, has now been established throug
the public marriage of DR.. Spranger
Mrs Darling at the Corpus Christi CATH
dral, at Baltimore, on March of this yea
DIR. Sprangcr and his wife are now i
southern California, enjoying their hone,
moon.
AS soon as the marriage was announce
| John Quincy Adams, Drother OF the uea
mans mother, residing in this city, too
the case before District Attorney Fellow
He submitted proof, as he claims, that I'll
poison was administered to Darling by h
} wife while they were stopping in this cit
in the early part of 1893, District Alto
: uey Fellows assigned the case to AssistaI
District Attorney George g. Battle, WI
= is making thorough examination Of a
the circumstances,
The Income Tax Returns.
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