The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-02-17
Developments in the
Marlboro Mystery.
THE FATAL POTION.
Was it Taken From the
Humber Home?

HoSeuS Which aroused the people or
the state on Tuesday, and has since
been the all-absorbing topic Of CONVEX
sation and conjecture, will not go up
on history's pages as an unsolved mys-
terry.
Today additional facts came to light
which conclusively proved in the
minds of even the authorities and they
have been more conservative than was
necessary, that the four members of
the Underwood family, who were found
dead Monday at Frye court, reached
their untimely end purely by accident,
and that the two other members of the
family and Robert McMullen, who
have been detained at the Marlboro po-
lice station for nearly four days, es-
capped the same fate the others met for
the simple reason that they did not get
a sufficiently large quantity of a dead
ly liquid which was probably taken in
to their home by one of their number
Saturday night or early on Sunday.
Adjoining the Underwood homestead
up to two weeks ago resided Prof.
Emil Humber and his wife and three
children. He was a teacher of the
French language, and for a long time
employed at Pratt's factory Saturday,
the day the Underwoods moved into
the house at 2 FRYE court, Emil Hum
bert visited his apartment which he
had left in charge of a relative, when
he went 20 work at Rice & Hutchins'
factory in Worcester, supposedly for
the purpose of moving his furniture to
his new abiding place. Humbert could
not lock the door upon leaving for
Worcester on account of mislaid key.
\ Humbert left the factory at the time
of the strike, and for weeks after work
ed about Marlboro, but when the Rice
& Hutchins factory opened at Wor-
cester, he went there and secured work,
and his wife remained behind and took
up her residence with her own family
on Washington street. Before the
strike. and while Humbert was work
ing at the factory at Marlboro, it is
said that he took from the shop bottle
of wood alcohol with which he intended
to clean furniture
This is vouched for by a fellow en-
I3oyJ4e whose name has not been given
to the state or city police Circum-
stances showed that this bottle was
only partially used, and the theory is
that Saturday night it was in a closet
Of the Humbert home.
Late that night or Sunday the au
thorities believe. and everything seems
to strengthen that belief, the
Underwoods or Robert McMul-
len discovered that Humbert's door
was not locked, While they were
rummaging around, they found near
ly full bottle of wood alcohol or alco-
line, and other bottles which contained
what they thought We're intoxicants,
and they took them back to their apart
ment. The children, it is surmised,
We're given a diluted amount of the
fluid. 1t has been maintained by peo
pie in Marlboro ever since Monday,
that the parents had been in the habit
of giving the children intoxicants.
Emil Humbert will be brought to
Marlboro tomorrow, if nothing happens
to prevent and asked to give his testi-
mony to Judge Mcdonald, who will take
up the inquest proceedings in the
morning. The police found the bottle
which they think contained a small
quantity of wood alcohol, in the I'm
derwood residence Its contents are
now being analysed by chemists Wed
nesday afternoon State Detectives
Hammond and Burleigh and Patrolman
Connors visited the Frye shop and also
the Humbert home.
Every article in that place was thor
oughly looked over, and it was decided
that Humbert should be located and
asked to give his testimony.
State Detective Hammond said to-
night that Detectives Burleigh and
himself had satisfied themselves that
wood alcohol was the agent that killed
the Underwoods.
This afternoon the funeral services
Of Edward Allen Underwood, Frances
Underwood and John Clifford were held
in the hallway of the police station.
Undertaken McGif1 brought three cas-
kets, which We're the common, cheap
wooden affairs that are usually given
to those that are buried in pauper
graves, into the station. and the bodies,
which lay in the morgue, were put into
them and the covers tightly screwed
down: The caskets We're then carried
by the undertaken into the hallway,
and Mrs. Underwood and little Guy and
Alonzo Underwood. brother of the dead
father OF the family, came from their
cells and took seats at the foot Of the
casket. Rev. George s. Pine came
from an adjoining room and read the
burial service.
The newspaper men, outside of those
already mentioned, and Chief of Police
Pope were the only people present. Gas
lights were lit and cast CHASTITY eli1n-
mer upon those assembled. A bunch
of pinks, given by some kind friends
from the outside, was laid upon the
coffin carefully
Mrs. Underwood and her boy were
not allowed to go to the tomb. AS soon
as the funeral procession had LEFT tba
station, they were taken back to their
cells. Robert McMullen was not al
lowed to attend the services.
Judge Mcdonald continued the in
quest examination today and several
witnesses gave their testimony. The
hearing was held behind closed doors
and at each conclusion Judge Mcdonald
refused positively to give any informa-
ton regarding the nature of his work
during the day.
The city is much excited over this af-
fair and every one seems to think the
police have acted too mysteriouslv in
an affair which every one is satisfied
apparently is nothing more than a case
Of purely accidental poisoning. The
wood alcohol theory is the only one
accepted by the public and authorities
as well.
HIIMRERTS STATENIE;Nr