Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1896-10-03
DAILY KENNEBEo JOURNAL, SATURDAY. OCTOBER >. 1896
MRS. MAVERICKS CASE.
Aspects Of the Recent Reported Con.
fession Of a Detective,
Mrs. Maybrick's Belief That Deathbcd siaic
msnt Would exoneraie Her.

l
cution Of Mrs. Maybrick. had made ,
ueath-ped confession. In which he ad
mitted many things tending to exon
craze mat woman. produced much tall
among the members of the Interna
tlonal Noman's Maybrick Association
IN TINS city and elsewhere. 1t brought
out a number of curious and interest
ing facts which are not general,
known, and which throw a new ligh
upon this cause celebre.
MRS Ida Trafford Bell, chairman o.
Inc American branch of the association
Shld 70 Mail and Express representa-
| i've To-Day; While the ncws Is a pleas
ant surprise, it is also very remark
able coincidence. The prosecutfo:
against Mrs. Maybrick was started b3
The two brothers of her dead husband
Mr. Maybrick himself had some money
MIS- Maybrick had some, while the
children We're also provided for to z
very comfortable extent. The first eff
feet Of the prosecution was to put thess
people in control Of the three estates
while the subsequent conviction Of Mrs
Maybrick made her civily dead AM
gave the two brothers absolute poWc.
over the persons and properties OF thc
children and the estates Of the two
parents.
This we have always held was tht
inspiring motive Of the prosecution. Ia
carrying their schemes through. The
only testimony which reflected In the
slightest upon Mrs. Maybrick came
from three people. One of these was
the detective who has just died. HI
was. | understand, a coarse, cruel and
selfish official. with a reputation anon
the police that was none too good. III
had complete charge of all the prelirni-
nary steps and OF the testimony an
witnesses down to The conclusion of tn
ease. ard even afterwards. when tho
women In Great Britain and Anerlces
sought successfully for reprieve ans.
unsuccessfully thereafter for pardon
The other two were Nurse Wnsor
and Mrs. Humphreys. Nurse Wiisoss
was a hard drinking woman. as Wa
shown In reports Mt the trial. with ba
antecedents. who seemed In the lowt
or the pay Of both Of the policeman
while Mrs. Humphreys was shown III.
ON the trial and thereafter to have ber..
woman Of the most immoral ans
vicious kind. who had taken an intenst
hatred for Mrs. Maybrick.
Al the time Of the trial Mrs. NAV
hrick had almost no money and cnul
rot make the Investigations In regatt
to these people which subsequent dis
caveries showed would have MATERIAL
altered the case. After time. howeve.
she claimed that the three had con
st{rsA her
all the discriminating evidence and tha
they would stand together under an,
and all circumstances. She further dc
clared that her only hopeia lay ina death
bed confession of one OF the three, an,
that her inner consciousness told hs;
that one of the three would make tha
confession. Many of her friends wef
so impressed by her declarations tina
they looked forward confidentlyto SUD.
a confession. but never supposed T.
would come from the one who ha
proven himself the most savage ar
ruthless of her prosecutors
Nurse Wilson died, il is said Of to
much alcohol and without making an
confession. She was followed in a short
time by Mrs. Humphreys. the secont!
|of the trio, who persisted. according IT,
rumor. from the wild excuses of HI
vicious career She made no comics
sion, and it looked very much as if Mrs
Maybrick's predictions would not /,
borne out by the facts. After th
death of Mrs Humphreys. the sergean:
began TO act and talk queerly and be-
gan to drink much more heavily thae.
was his wont. He at last has died. bu.
he verified the prediction and made a
deathbed confession. What Ii is we al
not know until the matter has beea
submitted to and passed upon by III,
home secretary
1t Will be presented to him in die
form. as viii he also brief based IN.
on discoveries in chemistry and toxi-
cology made since the trial, which have
already received judicial sanction IN
this city, but so far as is known have.
not been put to similar test in Enc
land. Among these is the discovery
that many of the ptomaines produce.
chemical reaction which are scarcely
distinguishablc from the reactions
which formerly We're supposed infallf-
Die proofs Of the presence of arsenica,
poison.
~ Sts'iit 10 tftdt MANY OF the SO
called arsenic tests are imperfect ana
lnconolusive. and the third is Iawve,.
BROOKS famous rule that no test is
cI~---Nsive unless the arsenic supposed
20 hive produced certain reactions lie
reconNerted into its original form. The
famous poisoning cases of Buchanan
Rafris. Meyers and Fleming have
brought the subject of arsenical ana
antimonial poisoning up to a point III.
IN advance of that which prevails in
the medical Jurisprudence of Europe.
III the sergeant's confession is Wha.
we believe it to be. an admission that
the testimony of the trio had been doc
tored in several particulars so as to
give new aspect and a criminal one
70 actions OF perfectly innocent char
acter. we are confident that in conjunc-
ton with the brief it will change opin-
ION SO thoroughly that unconditiona;
pardon will be the result
y,