Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1900-03-01


nish drank showed the same rar'
poisoning. 1t is said that only tire,
cases of poisoning by it are on record
Barnet had been an intimate friend Of
, Blanche Cheseborough, whom Moli-
neux married shortly after Barnet died
The district attorneys office was
convinced that Molineux committed
both crimes.
The trial began Dec. 4. Interest in il
had become national, and the court
room was damned with all kinds and
conditions of men and women.
Molineux's father, general in
the civil war and a man of
social distinction in Brooklyn, who
had vowed that he would spend $780,
1000, his entire fortune, if necessary. to
save his sons life, sat beside the pris-
oner. Barlow S. Weeks, ex-president
of the New York Athletic club, a per-
sonal friend of the Molineuxs and an
enemy of Cornish, was principal coun-
sci for the defense. He had for advis-
ers David M. Carvalho, a handwriting
expert, and Allan McLane Hamilton. a
medical expert. Assistant District At
torney Osborne, with two assistants,
conducted the prosecution.
The case against the prisoner was
purely circumstantial. 1t was shown
that Molineux was superintendent of a
color-making factory in Newark, N. J.,
and that he could readily have COM
pounded cyanide of mercury from the
dry colors at his command
1t appears that it is the GUS
tom of manufacturers of GER
tain kinds of patent medi-
clines to preserve and exchange with
one another the letters of customers,
and hundreds of thousands of these
letters were examined by manufactur-
ers in various parts of the country to
find any signed by ''H. c. Barnet" or
H. Cornish" Some were found, and
were exhibited to the jury, and it was
on the claim that Molineux was the
writer of them that the prosecution
chiefly depended to prove it's case
None of the handwriting experts
called by the people was able to iden-
tify the admitted handwriting Of the
defendant with that on the poison
package, but they swore positively
that he was the writer of the Barnet
and Cornish" letters, and that the
writer Of those letters was the person
who wrote the address on the poison
package.
Great stress was laid on one dis
puted letter signed "H c. Barnet"
which was written on a quality of
blue paper rarely handled and sold.
The paper had device in the shape of
three interlaced crescents at the top.
An unwilling witness, Mary Melando,
an old friend of Molineux's, proved
that be had used this kind of paper.
Another document which the prose-
cution regarded as of much import
ance was a diagnosis blank sent out
by one of the medical concerns and
filled in and signed by the bogus Bar
net In it the writer gave his chest
and waist measurements, age and
height, and other physical Characters
tics, all of which are Identical with
Molineux's.
In order to prove motive, evidence
was given to show that Molineux had
lived with Blanche Cheseborough,
very pretty, talented and stylish girl,
as man and wife, in a clearinghouse
in New York for some months in 1898;
that later Miss Cheseborough lived
alone in another clearinghouse, and |
that Barnet called to see her there. 1t |
was also shown that she had called to |
see him at the Knickerbocker club, but |
no evidence that their relations were
more than of a friendly character |
was given.
The theory of the prosecution-al- |
though no evidence was given as to |
this-was that Molineux was jealous
of Barnet, and therefore poisoned |
him; that Cornish suspected him, and |
him out of the way.
The testimony of these experts was |
the only direct evidence offered against |
Molineux, but it formed by far the |
largest part of the prosecutions testi- |
mony, and in the aggregate it Is the |
most formidable mass of hairsp,itting |
deduction that has ever been offered |
in murder trial.
For the purposes of a mere summary |
of the trial, the rest of the testimony
with three exceptions, is immaterial |
Emma Miller, the Newark salesgirl |
who sold the discriminating silver bot I
tie holder, testified positively that !
Molineux was not the purchaser of it. |
DR.. Robert Boocock served to compli- !
cate the already conflicting evidence as
to whether Barnet died of diphtheria |
or cyanide of mercury by testifying |
that cyanide of mercury produces
diphtheritic symptoms in a patient, |
and also that the same poison cures
diphtheria.
In the testimony at the coroner's In
quest, Molineux asserted that he and |
Barnet were warm personal friends up
to the day Of Barnet's death. He as
serted that Blanche Cheseborough, |
now his wife, and Barnet were friend !
ly, that he called on her with Barnet, |
and that Barnet called on her with |
him. When Barnet vas sick he had
her send Barnet flowers and a note,
which is the foundation Of the asser-
ton of the prosecution that Molineux