The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1896-03-27
SHEDIEDFROM POISON
That Much Known Regarding the
Death of Annie McGrath.
PHILADELPHIA POLICE ARE RETICENT
Further Known That Samuel Langdon,
the Wealthy Coal Operator, Sat
Beside the Girl During
Her Death AgOnies.

| the Wealthy Coal Operator, Sat
Beside the Girl During
Her Death Agonies.
Philadelphia, March 25.-The arrest
of Samuel P. Langdon, the wealthy
coal operator, in connection with the
death of Annie McGrath, the handsome
| young typewriter, whose body was
found on bed in house on Girard
street, which, it is claimed, Langdon,
! Miss ,McGrath and servant occupied
alone, has caused ne. little excitement.
in business circles, where Langdon Is
well known. Langdon is a man of
about so years of age, and occupied
position of considerable prominence In
financial and business circles in Phila-
delphia and the state. He is president
of the United collieries companies,
bituminous mining company; president
of the Altoona & Philipsbury connect
ing railroad. and was formerly presi-
dent of the Altoona, Clearfield &
Northern railroad. Besides these COM
panies, he has other varied interests in
the bituminous coal regions of Pennsyl-
vania. Although he lived with Miss
McGrath as her husband, Langdon has
wife and grown son and daughter,
but he has not lived with his legal wife
for some time. To-day Langdon occu-
pies cell in the Central police station,
and the police are working on the
mysterious manner of the girls death.
| 1t has been developed that the dead
| girl first met Langdon when he en-
ployed her as his stenographer and
typewriter.
At the Girard Street Residence.
Langdon took up residence few
weeks ago in the Girard street house
with an exceedingly pretty girl about
18 years of age whom he stated was his
wife. Langdon looks fully his SO years
and the youth and beauty of the young
woman caused the couple to be con-
siderably talked about in the neighbor-
hood. They neither sought nor seemed
to wish to make any acquaintances and
they were variously known by their
neighbors under the name of McGrath,
Mcdonald and Langdon A colored
girl named Bertha Stewart was en-
ploye6 as a servant. ''Mrs. Langdon'
came down to breakfast on Sunday
morning in her usual good health. At
dinner she complained Cf feeling un-
well and later in the afternoon the
servant girl heard her moaning in her
room on the second floor. LaRgdon
told the girl that there was no occa-
sion to disturb his wife, as she was suf-
fering from bilious attack. After
this the servant did not go near her
mistress room that day. About
o'clock Monday afternoon, Langdon
came down stairs with a valise in his
hard He told Bertha he was going to
New York and that she need not worry
about his wife, who was still unwell
from billiousness. Langdon then left
the house.
Found Dead on the Floor.
About o'clock at night Bertha became
alarmed at ''Mrs Langdon's" quiet
Going to the room on the second floor
she looked in. ''Mrs. Langdon" was
lying on the floor, fully dressed. Her
feet were crossed, there was a towel
over her face, and her attitude was so
quiet that Bertha was frightened. She
snatched the towel from the girls face
and, even to the colored woman's un-
trained eyes, one glance was sufficient
to show her that she looked upon
death. She gave the alarm and the
| police were soon on the scene. A ply
sician was summoned and he, after an
examination of the body, gave it as his
opinion that the woman had been dead
| fully twenty-four hours before he had
been called in.
Deceived Her Parents.
The girl was the daughter of press
man on one of the daily papers here.
It seems that when she was supposed
to have been travelling with Langdon
she was really at her fathers house.
To her parents she had some plausible
tale of situation that required her
absence from home, and thus she was
enabled to GO with Langdon. She was
also careful to never appear at her
fathers house arrayed in the handsome
dresses and jewelry with which Lang
don supplied her.
Death Was Due to Poison.
Despite the efforts of the police at
concealment enough has leaked out to
show pretty conclusively that Miss Nc
Grath was killed by poison. Whether
this poison was self-administered or
not, Langdon probably only knows,
unless he told the police the full story
That he watched by the girl during
her death agonies has also been clearly
brought out.