The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1902-11-06
NEW TRIAL FOR
MRS. BOTKIN
Convicted POlsOn0r Of Mrs.
DunnIhg Hopes for AcquIttaI.
HER R0ME IN A JAIL CELL
Every Corner Of The Narrow Prison Has
It's Name and She Does Her Own
Cooking.
HER R0ME IN A JAIL CELL


Dunning and her sister. Mrs. Deane. 10
to have new trial.
Both sides hope that IL will occur early
next year. Meantime Mrs. Botkin lives in
the Branch county jail. In the outskirts
OF San Francisco, just as she has lived
for the last four years, since jury rem
dered the verdict OF guilty and Judge Car
roll Cook sentenced her to life imprfson-
ment.
The prosecution was conducted in the
frat trial by John Hosmsr, then district
attorney. Lewis Byington has taken his
place and will have charge OF the case
next time.
There isn't any new evidence" said
Mr. Byington. "A review OF the former
evidence Is enough TO convict the woman
Pennington, one OF tho witnesses, Is dead,
but otherwise the case OF the prosecution
will be the same as before"
Mrs. Botkin still employs her attorneys.
Messrs. Knight a. Heggarty, who were
with her In the first place.
I'VE have the same evidence as before
and plenty more" said Mr.. Heggarty.
I'VE are going TO bring witnesses from
Delaware For one. there IS a physician
who will testify that the women did not
die OF arsenical poisoning. Have hoper3
Why, IL isn't a possible thing that any
fair minded Jury could convict that wom-
an"
WITNESSES FROM DELAWARE.
Judge Cook will try the case once more.
The whole long and complex story will
be reviewed. Witnesses will be brought
from Delaware by both sides. John p
Dunning. husband of the murdered wom-
an and first accuser OF Mrs. Botkin, will
be here once more. San Francisco will
again be the stage OF a hot melodrama.
IF regain my liberty" said Mrs. Bot
kin. "the first thing ! shall do is TO go 10
my old mother. who has never known Of
my sorrow. I wish there were some wny
10 go more quickly than by rail.
II the sentence OF life imprisonment Is
repeated Mrs. Botkin WIFI leave what she
calls her apartment" In the county jail.
She will go to the state penitentiary In
San Quentin, where life will not be as
easy for her as II Is now.
The prosecution will tell It's story Of
how John p. Dunning, New York man.
who was living in San Francisco in 1898.
lived with Mrs. Botkin, having left his
wife in New York Mrs. Botkin's husband
sued her for divorce. She considered her
self free and wanted Dunning 10 be free.
so that she could go 10 New York as his
wife. This is the alleged motive for get
ting Mrs. Dunning out of the way.
OUTLINE OF PROSECUTION.
Then the prosecution will try 10 trace
Mrs. Botkin's movements through a
clerk OF a drug store who sold her ar
senic TO bleach hat. The clerk has stat
ed that he told her other drugs were bet
ter for the purpose, but she insisted on
having arsenic: through girl IN candy
store who sold box Of chocolates an
swering the description OF the fatal box
20 a woman answering the description
OF the accused woman.
Through clerk OF dry goods store
81 Ia ha N
the candy box to some one whom she be-
lieves TO be Mrs Botkin; through nurse,
Mrs Raouf who remembers strange
questions that Mrs. Botkin asked her
about the time OF the murder. such as,
How much arsenic does Il take 10 kill
a person." when n parcel is sent by
registered mail does the sender have 10
sign his name?" and Does one have TO
tell doctor or a. lawyer the truth when
ne IL engaged professionally
This Is the gist Of the San Francisco
Testimony From the East will come witt
nesses 10 tell OF the receiving OF the box
OF candy by Mrs. Dunnng, of the hand
kerchlef enclosed I'm the box and the mes
sage with best love" inscribed on a
card: OF the candles which appeared 10
differ from most OF those In the box. APP
parently being home made creams; OF the
illness that followed after several mem
bers OF the Pennington household had
partaken OF the candy. and OF the death
OF Mrs Deane two DAYS after its arrival
and OF Mrs Dunning three DAYS after.
Mr.. Pennington, father OF Mrs. Dun
ming believed the writing found In the
box 10 he the same as the writing In
several anonymous letters previously re-
ceived nv Mrs. Dunning. These letters
told OF the wrongdoing of her husband
The prosecution asserted that Mrs. Bot
kin was the writer I'm both cases.
The defence calls this n weak point
Mrs Botkin would not have written
ANONYMOUS letters even limiting at her
own relations with Dunning." II says
THE writer Of an anonymous letter al
wavs duplicates a third person. not him
or her self"
DEFENCE ASKS FOR MOTIVE.
Again the defence asks why Dunning
who placed the crime upon Mrs. Botkin
in the first place. should implicste her
any more than other women who had as
much reason for being jealous as MS
wife or more for II declares-.she parted
with him on the most friendly terms and
had no desire 10 be more TO him than she
already was She could not have wanted
! TO marry him, for she was hghting her
own husbands suit for divorce. There
fore there was no motive for the crime
The defence laughs at the evidence oi
| the candy girl She never positively henti-
| fed Mrs Botkin nor did the other girl
| I'm the same shop who had been near nj
| the time OF the sale. They merely said
| the buyer resembled Mrs Botkin. The
shop is one OF the busiest in town. How
could saleswoman remember any one
| 10 whom she had sold pound OF candy
| even as much az n week before7 is asked
Evidence CT the clerk who sold the
| handkerchief was attacked on the same
ground. There was no positive identin-
| cation I'm this case. either The books OF
| the dry goods store showed no record oi
| any such sale 20 a Mrs Botkin. and there
would have been such record N the ar-
ticle had been sent out 20 Mrs. Botkin's
house by delivery boy. as the clerk as
| serted.
The clerk of the drug store sold Mrs,
| Botkin powdered arsenic. The poison
| found I'm the candles was In lump form.
| Expert chemists testified that the pow
dered arsenic cannot he transformed into
| the lump form.
Mrs John =. Dunn!ng. of Dover Del,
received the box OF poisoned candy In
| August 1898 end died from eating some
| of the contents. Her sister also died
.|sser O..