The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-02-28
ADAMS POISONING CASE.
r. B. Molineux Under Arrest
Charged With the Murder.

Charged With the Murder.
NEW YORK, Feb. 27.-Roland Burn
ham Molineux, son of General Leslie
Molineux of Brooklyn, was arrested to-
night charged with numbering Mrs
Katherine ]. Adams in this city on
December %. 1898. He was locked up
in the Tombs Prison
The arrest followed the verdict of the
Coroner's jury accusing him of the
crime. While the inquest was into the
death of Mrs Adams. lit also went into
the circumstances of the death of Henry
c. Barnet of the Knickerbocker Ath-
letic Club, who was poisoned by "a pow
der received through the mail, as in
the Adams case. The cases are so
closely connected that they can scarce
ly be considered separately.
The proceedings of the final day of
the inquest were sensational in the
highest degree. The case had dragged
alone monotonously, witnesses being
examined for the sole purpose. as it
seemed, of contradicting Harry Cor
nish's testimony in minor details or OF
eliciting suggestions as to a motive that
might have led Cornish to commit the
crime. The newspapers from the be-
ginning had stuck to Molineux as the
person most to be suspected, but the
prosecuting officials apparently never
harbored such thought. The Exam
iner was kind and gentle when dealing
with Molineux, but gruff and severe
with Cornish on the stand
The curtain rose on the last act Of
the melodrama this afternoon. A shop
keeper who rented private letter boxes
swore positively that Molineux was his
patron, using the name of III C. Bar
net" 1t was proved long ago that the
bottles of medicine had been sent 70
that letter box Then the handwrit-
ing experts were called, and one after
another declared that the hand that
wrote the address on the poison pack
age and forged the names of Harry
Cornish and H. C. Barnet to letters
sent to drug firms ordering powder
medicines was the hand of Roland B.
Molineux. The experts We're absolute
penmanship, and would make no quail
ifieations of their statements
District Attorney Gardner then sum-
med up the case, directly accusing
Molineux.
The jury brought in a verdict charg-
ing Molineux with the murder. and he
was at once arrested and committed to
the Toanbs without bail
Molineux is a member Of the New
York Athletic Club, and was, until his
quarrel with Harry Cornish promi-
nent member of the Knickerbocker
Athletic Club, from which he resigned
after that quarrel Molineuxs faith
-er is a. paint manufacturer and is re-
puted to be millionaire. The pris-
oner has gone in good society, being of
excellent address and manners and
prospective heir to great fortune
His counsel is Barlow S. Weeks of
the New York Athletic Club, and a
personal enemy of Harry Cornish.
Mrs. Kate j. Adams was murdered
on the morning of December %, 1898,
through taking, to relieve headache,
bromo settler which contained mer-
curic cyanide. The poison had been
sent to Harry Cornish, Athletic Director
of the Knickerbocker Athletic Club,
who lived with Mrs Adams, as a
Christmas present Mrs Adams daugh-
ter, Florence, who Was a witness at the
inquest, lived apart from her husband.
Harry Cornish has a divorced wife liv
ing in Boston. Neither Cornish nor
Mrs. Rogers could throw any light upon
the case.
The police worked on every clew that
offered, and discovered, through man
named Koch, on January 25th that a
man had rented a private letter box
under the name of Harry Cornish on
December Dist The discovery was
followed on January Goth by the most
important development of the case.
Nicholas Hickman, proprietor of
store in West Forty-second street.
through a dispatch from Won Mohl &
Co. of Cincinnati learned that he had.
had IA, mysterious lessee of a letter box
as far back as May, 1898. Mr.. Heck
man said at the time that he could
easily identify the man who rented the
box under the name of H c. Barnet if
he should see him again. The II. c.
Barnet had written for drug supplies
to Won Mohl.
The supposed Cornish" who rented
box from Koch had also written for
samples of medicines of various kinds.
The writing correspondent to that on the
wrapping of the package sent to Cor
nish at the Knickerbocker Athletic
Club. This fact it was that clinched
more than anything elese a superstition,
and the theory that the police had all
along. that the death of H. G.. Barnet
from supposed diphtheria and the
death of Mrs. Adams from poison had
been sent to Harry Cornish were the
result of deep laid plot
About this time the name Of Roland
Burnham Molneux was brought into
the case as the known enemy of Barnet
and Cornish. He, Barnet and Cornish
had been members of the Knickerbock-
err Club They were, each of them. 1t
was said, particular friends, and ad-.