The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-10-28
POISON KILLED
BOTH CHILDREN
OF mrs. PERKINS K
Coroner Gives Startling
Testimony to the
Jury.
iBEREAVED MOTHER
ACCUSES NElGHBOR
Mrs. Perkins Boldly Says She Be-
lieves Mrs. Bryant Gave Her
Children Matches.
.HEART-RENDING STORY
OF CHILDREN's SUFFERING

: f7llEs
and for Hours They Cried for
Water or Screamed With
Pain-Letters Read.
More Witnesses
To-day.
The two children, one two years Old
and tho other five years, OF Mrs Emma
| c. Perkins, wife .of Edward Perkins, who
lives at No. LOG North Sixth Street,
Navy Hi1l were poisoned by phospho
according to State Chemist ~ illiam II.
Taylor, who analyzed the stomaehs Of
| both children. l46; g II i is9t IS {8g ia 85
The report OF DR.. Taylor preceded the
| investigation by the corouer's Jury yes
| terday. 1t was given as a foundation
| for the jurors and with the indisputableS
| fact before them that death In both tin-@
stances was due to unnatural causes.
out undue haste for some clue that will /
Justify them in fastening the guilt upon
| any person or persons. IL gSs
Mrs. Perkins, mother of the two chill
| dren, the oldest Of which was the child
/! of her first husband, Mr.. Blakey. was on
the witness stand for more than two
hours yesterday afternoon, and asserted
with vehemence- and some show Of excite
ment her belief that Mrs. Bryant
/ given the poison to her. children
i She was positive in her beliefs.
! and her allegations. throw'ng w itaas "
cloud over the woman who has bee her
lsneighbor for months. We're emphatic and
direct. But. at the same time she ad--s aIdt-S
| mitted that she could not think OF any
motive for the crime. Step by step Mrs.
Perkins was carried over#thc$ case and
each day that either of the children was
sick she traced as though 1t We're hut yes--E
| terday II firmly believe that Mrs Bry-ls
ant Mrs. Perkins insists that the woman Z
is not Mrs. gNrcDowelD poisoned my chill!
5dren No one else had an opportunity
tol do IT,, she exclaimed In answer to
one OF Coroner Taylor's direct questions
But the real feature Of yesterday IN
the mysterious poisoning case on 4 ~ Navy
Hill was the testimony of Dr. Taylor
Matter-of- fact in everything; never ex-
cited or rufrled: always humorous, Cor
oner Taylor yesterday morning, imme-S
diately after the convening OF the jury,y
surprised his most intimate friends by
his recital OF his Investigation and anal
yses He was dramatic in picturing tho
process OF the analysis and In drawing
his deductions. H
DR.. Taylor said that he was called into
the case on8the 18th of the month by&Dr.I
Terrell, who had noticed the suspicious
circumstances surrounding the death OF
both children. He went at once to the
home OF Mrs. Perkins. who, among other
things, showed him an anonymous letter
she had received. This letter was stuck
together with rat paste or phosphorus.
the same substance from which at least
one of the children-the little two-year-i
old boy-had died. He decided to lnves-
tgate tho death of the little girl, Oo-
tavia, who was Ave years old at the time
of her death. h,
Coroner's Analysis. & &
Here Is Dir. Taylor's report as he gave
1T to the jury:
"she vomlted a great deal and her
symptoms were suggestive Of phos-
phorus poisoning more than anything
else. That afternoon at o'clock-as Il
soon as could act with decency un- \
der the circumstances-I operated on
the dead child Nothing very peculiar
was to he noticed about the body.
though the brain was little con-
gested, I took out the stomach and &
examined 1t the next night ut my
house, Tuesday ] examined 1t again.
also examined 1t In the daytime.
w. was StruCR Dy tne 1dCl CHdt ~ WIS OK It9
traordinarlly red--a vivid, crimson red f
of unusual hue. 1t was remarkably in-
famed. $B
No Metallic Poisons.
I'm making the analysis I looked
especially for phosphorus, though !.
Of course, also kept my eyes open for, s.
other polsons. found no metallic
poisons except II little trace Of mer-
curry. whch' might be accounted for
by the chllds taking calomel. That,
evidently, was not the way the child si
had died. however, No food was In 4
the stomach; 1t was absolutely bereft
OF Its original cnntents---a fact which N
made the analysis harder, ! had to
take the stomach tissue and cntait to-
pieces and nut 1t in this flask (show!
ing the glass receptacle to tho iury)
wt> water and sulphuric acid. Then
lamp was put underit.
Tedious Experiment.
II experimental chiefly at night with
a blue flame, This material was boiled
end II vapor would come Off The idea
was that phosphorus, coming up IN ~
vapor, would condense and give sudden
flashes OF light. They arc very plain
these tiashes-and very striking IN me
dark,
"Another little flask collects the vapor,
which, condensed comes drop by drop.
i took a part OF Octavia's slomaen ahu
boiled 1t a long time, but ! didn't get
n sign of phosphorus--not soiitan Z
CLEAN. repeated the experiment iater
or ana long after had abandoned hope