The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-12-06
GIRL INDICTED |:
4
AS. A POISONER
Continued From First Page.

large quantity of the poison on the
pump and platform. Footprints Of a
woman IS shoe were noticed and these
were followed to the main highway and
for two miles south, to the home Of
Vida Johnson. The following day, in
pumping out the we'll, the flow Of water
suddenly stopped and a paper sack bear
ing the label, "Par1s Green, Metz q
from the spout.
In the meantime the officers had been
hot on the trail of the criminal, and
when the sheriff visited the. home OF
Vida johnson it was found that the
defendant 3 brother had obliterated all
traces of the footprints in the road by
means Of disc harrow. Asked why,
he had done this, the brother stated
that he was. simply trying to properly,
set his drag before entering the field
nearby. In conversation with Vida
johnson, she declared to the sheriff
that she was wrongfully accused OF the
crime. She stated that they never had
any paris green~on the place. - s,,~74 :,
Sheriff Chambers, suggesting that
evidence might be adduced to show that
she had purchased some recently IN
purchased 5 cents worth only short
time before. This, she secured to kill
rats switch infested the eellal. She Of
| fered to show Sheriff Chambers where
| she had placed the poison, and in his
i attempt to find any trace Of the poison
in the cellar he failed While they
| were in the cellar the mother, not know:
ing Of her daughter s admission, main:
tanned to J. L. johnson that they never
had any paris green ON the place.
| Garment Shows Mudstains.
Asked to be shown her wardrobe
Vida showed skirt to the sheriff. L
was marked with mud This she sale
she soiled while walking to the Ha
vana station the day before. She had
but one pair of shoes, and those were
the light slippers she then wore. A
the time of her arrest, however, sht
wore pair of shoes, apparently three
months old, and the left heel OF which
is worn over as that Of the person wh'
visited the home of Mrs. Lundstron
the night Of the alleged attempted poi
soning. .:.. q"
! While these Investigations were be
ing carried on, Mrs. Lundstrom CHANGED
to remember that only a few days pre-
vlous she had found a paper sack tiet
to the door Of her schoolhouse contain
ton, in feminine hand, "For Teach
err She was about to peel the orang
and distribute the sections among tn
pupils when one Of the scholars, cal
ing her attention to the fact that Their
was g hole punched in the orange, sh
} decided to take it home. She place
it on a pantry shelf, where it had r.
!; manned forgotten. until after, the we
episode; suspecting then that it, tot
, was forwarded to the. state chemis
: who discovered that there was enoug
sIrychnine in it to kill fifty people.
With the peculiar, actions Of the d.
| PENDANT at the church the Sunday prey
ious to the well episode, the poisone
, orange, concerning which the prosecl
| ton is thought to have some startlin
disclosures yet to make, the similarit
e of the footprints and the shoes, ;th
s supposed attempt Of the brother to oil
9 literate the footprints, and other eli
t cumstances combine to give the prosec,
? ton a strong case. ~ s@it ~.
The line Of the defense is not def1
itely known as yet, but from such il
) formation as can be had it is though
}. son with the crime will be offset b
:. that of Magnus Johnson, no relative
, either Of the Johnson families col
i nected with the case. According to h
: story, on the night Of the well .poiso1
ing he was driving home on the roa
running between the two JOhnsc
homes. His team SHE'D at what he soc
discovered to be person creepir
along the outside Of the roadway. f
!, called to the person, whom he CO
fdently states to have been n,;b,
y altho he called several times.$rthe pc
son refused to- answer. It has be-
i limited that the defense will advance
is theory that this person, whom The
i aver was man, may have been your
+, fl man who Mrs. Lundstrom once g1ilte
and who, altho a resident of anoth
i state, was at that time in this vicinit
: and may possibly have been the perst
. who attempted this crime.
e The trial will begin next week.