The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-08-25
Of the Year, and, it Hay Be, of the
Century, is the Dun-
ming Case.
TWO WOMEN MURDERED
By Poisoned Candy Sent by Tail Clear Across the
Continent--1rs. Botkins Name VIII Be
a Noted One for a While.

a bon-bon box, and so designated by a
broad, diagonal gold lettering label across
the top. There is nothing to tell what con-
fectioners 1t came from Such glazed
white boxes are kept IN stock by nearly
all of them
The box was wrapped in ordinary smnila
paper-not confectioners' wrapping paper.
On this the address was written twice.
Delaware was misspelled "Deleware." 1t
bore for postage four five cent stamps
and a two cent stamp, whicvh were can
celled by a blur that missed most of them.
The writing Of the address was cramped
and apparently disguised, though OBJ
viousy a woman's. 1t differed from the
writing on the note on the inside. The
postmark San Francisco is blurred, but
it can .be made out.
Small details these and maybe tedious,
but no circumstance is unimportant in
! case like this. and in these details Their
is TO be read the story of the crime, and
a wonderful, if horrid, crime it is.
There were two kinds of candy in the
box The lower layere were fine choco-
| late, bon-bons, etc, packed in professional
style, evidently ust as the box was sold
, The top layer twas of thin, irregular
I blocks of soft chocolate candy, home
made beyond a doubt-ust the sort that
girls make on a kitched stove instead OF
taffy. Tho candy was laid in loosely.
1t was the poisoned part, as analysis sub
sequently showed.
On top of this was a new handkerchief,
common, plain white, with the price mark,
twenty-five cents, still in one corner. 1t
is either meant as a gift to the child or
as packing to keep the candy in place.
On top of all was the note, written in
lead pencil on a bit of common ruled
paper. The handwriting is small and
erky, and obviously feminine. While diff
fering in its characteristics from the adj
dress, it may still have been written by
the same person. a5a.s
It is easy to see what the murderesss
process was. Analyze it and look upon
this appalling picture.
When she had determined to kill Mrs.
Cumming and the little one she purchased
box Of candy. She doubtless knew
enoug of Mrs Cummings taste to selectc
candies to suit. She knew enough to sign
her note Mrs c., for Mrs. Dunning had
| CORDIALLY, of San Francisco, and Mrs.
Craven Of New Jersey. 1t is some time
since Mrs. Dunning left San Francisco,
though her husband remained there lon
ger.
The murderess brought the candy home
and took out the top layer. She ate some
no woman could resist a bit of bravado
like that-and then prepared the poisoned
chocolate.
Fancy the deliberateness of il Max
! ing candy is no momentary enterprise.
She stood over the stove and cooked the
chocolate and poured in the arsenic and
stirred it up. She watched it to the pro
per moment, for candy must not be cook
ed too long, and this had to be palatable.
She poured it into plate and set it aside
to cool--no short wait.
What did she do while It was getting
hard? Was she impatient? Did she test
it and burn her fingers? Probably not.
More likely she munched the candy she
had taken from the box and read novel
until the venomed mass was brittle enoug
to break up She wrote the note. she
laid the handkerchief in, she wrapped
the parcel and addressed it and put on
the stamps-an excessive amount.
She probably posted 1t herself after
washing her candy pan, and then she
waited-waited whole week, until the big
headlines in the newspapers told her she
had succeeded in killing Mrs. Dunning
and had killed another women with her,
but had missed on the baby.
Such was the package that reached the
/. home of ex-Congressman Pennington al
Dover by the evening mail Of August 9th
Mrs. Dunning tore off the wrapper, re-
marking to friends and relatives: ''T'hic
comes from a friend in San Francisco
The little party were on the porch Of the
Pennington house.
Mrs Dunning read the enclosure with
. interest. as she passed the candy around
81 know a lady by that initial in Sar
Francisco she said. ''bu II am surprised
that she should send me any candy
! Her father joined the group on tbs
perch.
! Look here, father" said Mrs. Dunning
! ..vvba+ a nice present 7 have received. and
/ I don't know who sent it,
Seven people partook Of the candles
They were Mrs. Dunning. Mrs. Deane
: their brother, Henry Pennington; Mis-!
Leona Deane, MISS E<sEel -144l-lis 1O-4' ~
Ethel Clark and Miss Josephine BateInan
l Very soon every one Of them was VIC
= lentiv III Henry Pennington co!lapse'
. on the piazza The unmistakenaole synlp
? toms Of arsenic poisoning were present j
: all the cases Mrs. Dunning and MIS-
5 Deane died on August Z. The Others
, who had not eaten 50 freely Of the candies
E struggled back 10 health, but for hour
their recovery was most doubtful
The victims OF 1he most myster!ou
tragedy were buried last Monday.
WIKI the handkerchief and the glaze
| bon bon box w.5h its pink ribbons. II
e western detectives are canvassing Sc