The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1902-12-19
STRANGE CASE.
me- Queer Story Of a Young Lady
\ Who Steals Diamonds.
SHE A THIEF OR a MANIAC?

|
aR5as the Needle to tho Pole
| lS}s and Steals Nothing &.
elise.
llhe$ Augu usta correspondent Of I'ht
| SO says L3nyStery that outrlvals
tht3SYel Lowest Of the metropolitan puz.
| zltB isspne III. which the Georgia sea,
| lpoStseig igy5FSa yannah, is puzzled to IN.
| de, haIiltt Iii Which ~ pretty girl OF
Iisol ca l1Essffef sHon the soubriduct
OK ueeRS Of Iliain inonsls,pS from,thr
l:feA l,c9 ecIlls to be possessed SDi
1H ept0mania5h and only on the Sub.
lbjcghQf9 this most valuable Jewels.
Ss5tt;liaugilty Of manner, in Tho blight
estaYpOssible OF moods, and gay of
speech, with Absolutely no thought Of
thtsfSimmeaSlty OF the crimc with
WlElItch She is charged, except for an
occasional expression OF doubtful sor-
! ooSf!at the fact that she has bccn cap,
t,llAd aud her name placed before the
pubic IN the manner it has, Mamie dc
CI st occupies u lonely cell in The
Cll .snam county Jail, Snc receives
ocG GSionally Il visitor from among the
set y3ithfWllicll sllesuscd To minglc and
clfsa .thc story ofGimiNdcedS that
Wol kc the strongest man blush
lrrcst Of Miss DcChrist in a t.
Ian .ai,ast week was of a most scnSa-
tiGfal ma ture and 4llas continually
since then kept Savannah agog with
the hereXcitcment Of wonder impelled by
wondering what next, and the entire
State filed with interest as to the
possibility or an unexpected turn in
tbascasc. rssew York in all its history
hasSncvcr produced u drama of more
Staftling nature than the exploit OF
AIaInic DcChrist l;,sb July, and tho
connecting subsequent events, when
sleiappeared repeatedly at the Jewel
ry stores Of Thcus Bros. and a. S.
Dcsbullions and succeeded in robblng
them by = most marvellous nerve of
watches cf high value, diamond
broQoheS and rings of various prices.
Imagination docs not picture a cooler
scene, which was her salvation,
thpughout her transactions, that the
styEshly dressed, pretty, petite bru-
nctte who enters the jcwclry stores
wiGllan air that fitted to a nicely
withthc stories which she told. At
the store Of ,Fheus Bros. she was Miss
Williams, the niece Of Mr.. Up. VIII
lialEs, a Savannah millionaire, and at
the|otller establishment She was Miss
BlAii Il niece OF Capt. Henry Blum,
PRESIDENT Of The Gcrmania bank.
,Bl-- the one place slie}sD,"~ ada
n0tc ScrlDDlctr on HociCo o,.. INV
from Mrs. Williams asking that She
be shown q lot of jewclry from which
to choose pieces to be taken to Mrs.
Williams that she herself might make
selections, and at the other she dis
played Il similar note purporting to be
from the wife Of the wealthy banker.
at neither store could the jewellers do
enough for the relative Of either Of
these ladies and really insisted on her
taking more baublcS than she had
chosen from the%cascs. They were
sorry when this smooth female whom
thcy had never Seen before and whose
ldenClty yrs AS vague to them as that
OF forclgntr except for the pcncilcd
note whenrshc would not take more
than $1,000 worth OF jewels, and that
they did not have more valuable
Jnnkets for her to bear away to her
imaginary auntS. ~
Young DcsboullionS asked when the
woman left who she was and was told
she was Miss Williams. Then it
dawncd upon him that there was no
such person and a search was inStitu-
ted, but the woman was not found
AS Il matter Of fact she was living in
q Hat on the same block where her
victims did business the whole time.
a craze for having her name appear
in print was her mdoing. She went
to "A tlanta and stopped at tic Kim
ball house. For the purpose OF letting
her friends see that she was being re-
ccived by the top Of society she wrote
a story to the Savannah Morning
News telling all about a swell we'd
ding at which She was present as an
,attcndant. TO make the story more
graphic She told Of q pair Of horses
running away hitched to carriage In
which were two attendants, the names
| used being the most prominent fami-
lies in the State, and the couple being
killed. The whole story was filled
with well known Georgia names, but
with strange initials, the signature tc
the story being Mrs. G. w. vii.
liams," Tho affair was investigated
apd foundry the authorities 10 be Ell
ltYrcly imaginary, the dramatis per.
sonae being without existence.
On reading the story the solicito,
general deducted that sNIlss DeChris,
was the Diamond Quccn," by com
parisoD Of the writing in the letter tt
The News and the note left at thu
jcwclry store. She was arrested ii
Atlanta and confessed. She was talcl
back to Savannah, where she tolf
endless conflicting stories which led tx
the popular opinion that she was In
sane. and caused the issuing OF a writ
OF lunacy at the instigatlon OF hcl
mother. Mamie DeChrist was born o.
humble parcntagc in that part OF Sa
vannah known as Thundcrbolt, but
now She denies her mother.
| Eg4t7S i. l
Killed in IA Cotton Gin.
| A special to The State from Hame,
says Mr.. Peter G. McEachcrn, a high
| ly respected and progressive citizen O
that place, was caught i'm the saws O
his gin Wednesday and before mcdica