The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1898-08-31
WORK OF A FIEND.
Two Women Killed With Poisoned
Candy.
SENT THROUGH THE MAIL.
One Of the Most Heinous Crimes
Ever Committed by a Dev-
il in Human Form.

ever ComnITreo py OeV-
il in Human Form.
With some design that no body will
tell, tigerish woman in San Francisco
murdered two women in Dover, Del,
this last week, attempted the death Of
baby girl and almost killed five other
people, none Of whom was known to
her.
The hand of jealousy or vengeance:
or pure malice, reached from ocean to
ocean to deal hideous death to Mrs.
}. P Dunning, the daughter Of ex-
Congressman Pennington and her child.
The child escaped, but Mrs. Dunnings
sister, Mrs. j. D. Deane, died with her
and her brother, her niece and three
young women friends also ate OF the
poisoned sweets that were sent. guised
as friendly gift, with a forged mes
sage of love. and came Very near to
death indeed.
1t was not ouly against Mrs. Dun
ming that the murderess directed her
efforts She wanted the baby girl dead
as we'll With love for yourself and
baby, from Mrs. c., the note in the
death package read. What more natu-
raj than that the mother, opening the
unexpected present and reading the
kindly message, would call to the child
and give her morsel Of the sweets?
Why anybody should send death to
young, amiable, home-loving woman,
whose interests were only in her hus-
band, baby, father and the friends who
we,e theirs as we'll as hers; who only
touched the outer world in social cir
Gle the reverse of sensational, IS an ab-
solute mystery. Why the murderess
should plot to kill an infant lies as
deep.
1t was hideous vengeance On one
VINO had never harmed soul. All the
authorities have to guide them, unless
somebody speaks, to the awful crlml-
nal is simple white pasteboard box,
bonbon box, and so designated by a
broad, diagonal gold lettered label
across the top. There is nothing to tell
what confectioner's it came from. Such
glazed white boxes are kept in stock By
nearly all of them.
The box was wrapped in ordinary ma
Mia papcr-not confectioners wrapping
paper. On this the address was writ
ten twice. Delaware was misspelled
'Deleware 1t bore for postage four
fve-cent stamps and a two-cent stamp,
which were cancelled by blur that
missed most of them. The writing Of
the address was cramped and apparent
ly disguised, though obviously . wem-
ans. It differed from the writing on
the note inside. The postmark San
Francisco" is blurred, but it can be
made out
Small details these, and maybe tedi-
Gus. but no circumstance is unlmport-
ant in case like this, and in these de-
tails there is to be read the story Of
the crime, and wonderful, if horrid,
tale it is. There were two kinds OF
candy in the box. The lower layers
were fine chocolate, bonbons, ETC.,
packed in professional style, evidently
Just as the box was sold. The top layer
was of thin, irregular blocks of soft
chocolate candy, homemade beyond a
douht-just the sort that girls make on
kitchen stove instead Of taffy. This
candy was laid in loosely. It was the
poisoned part, as analysis subsequently
showed
On top of this was new handker-
chief, common, plain white, with the
price mark, twenty-five cents, still IN
one corner. It was either meant as
gift for the child or as packing to keep
the candy in place. On top Of all V'.2s
the note, written in lead pencil on
bit of common white ruled paper. The
handwriting is small and jerky and OBJ
yiously femme. While differing in its
characteristics from the address, it may
still have been written by the same
person. It is easy to see what the mur-
deress's process was. Analyze It and
look on this appalling picture.
When she had determined to kill
Mrs. Dunning and the little one she
purchased box of candy. She doubt
less knew enough Of Mrs. Dunnlng 5
taste to select candies to suit it. She
knew enough to sign her note Mrs
c., for Mrs Dunning had two dear
friends with that initial-Mrs. Corbal-
ly. of San Francisco, and Mrs. Craven,
of New Jersey-both of whom are IN
the East now. 1t is sometime since
Mrs. Dunning left San Francisco,
though her husband remained there
longer.
The murderess brought the candy
home and took out the top layer. She
ate some-no woman could resist 4 bit
: of bravado like that-and then prepar-
ed the poisoned chocolate. Fancy the
deliberateness of it. Making candy is
no momentary enterprise. She stood
over the stove and cooked the choco-
late and poured in the arsenic and stir
red it up. She watched it up to the
proper moment, for candy must not be
cooked to long, and this had to be pala-
table. She poured it into plate and
set it aside to cool-no short wait
Such was the package that reached
the home of ex-Congressman Penning.
ton at Dover by the evening mail OF
August 9.
Mrs. Dunning tore off the wrapper,
remarkiug to her friends and relatives
S'This comes from a friend in San
Francisco" The little party were on
the porch Of Mr.. Pennington S house.
Mrs. Dunning noted the enclosure with
interest: as she passed the candy
around
Il know 4 lady of that initial in San
Francisco" she said, but I'm sur.
prised that she should send me any
candy.
Her father Joined the group on the
porch. Look here, father said Mrs