The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1906-03-22
WEIRD STORY.
A Girl Poisoned to Death by a
= Dead Man,
WAS HER SUlTOR.
Takes Fatal Poison He Left When He
Killed Himself Month Ago. he
Gave Her the Deadly Poison,
Calling it q Love
Charm.

Charm.
Stranger than all the tales Of the
polsonIngs by the Borgias, and sur
passing all stories Of death pacts by
disappointed sweethesrts are the Cir
cunnstances surrounding the death st
Paterson, N. j., Of Mae Agnes Nor
ton, a young woman OF nineteen, who
month after the death OF her euitor,
James Boucher, by bis own hand, fell
a victim to the dead man, q murderer
In death.
Only his surprising belief In the
wonderful powes Of the young wo-
mans love for him could have inspired
the far-yeacbing plot and sent the
young man to his grave confident that
his sweetheart, innocent of any 1nten-
tion upon her own life, but trusting
In the ficacy Of the potion he had
.ett win her at their sad parting,
would soon follow him to the land OF
the shadow.
The church has set It's seal upon
the verdict of murder against the
young man. acquitted Miss Morton OF
the charge OF suicide, although she
confesssdly died Of poison administer.
ed by her own haDd, and permitted
her body to be laid at rest IN conse-
Grated ground.
It was the law Of the Roman Gath.
olic Church which forbids ths burial
of the self-slain in consecrated ground,
invoked in this case on behalf OF MISS
Morton, that brought to light the re-
markable story of love, suich> md
post nortem murder. In q so-ca Il
| five weeks the plot was formed and
made complete In the duel tragedy.
Miss Morton, we'll connected and
socially prominent, who lived with
her father, Alexander Morton, at No.
70 Madison street, met, some months
ago, James Boucher, a young man OF
excsllent ancestry, the nephew OF DR..
William A. Norval, Of No. 3Sl Main
street, member Of the Board OF
Ereeholders. The young man and
woman became sweethaarts, but for
some reason there was objection to
their marrying on the part OF Miss
Morton's family, and after the oppo-
siuion to their courtshtp had contin-
ued for some time, and had only serv-
ed to cement the bond Of affection be.
tween them, the young man, despair
ing Of his suit, decided to leave Pstsl-
son.
Before the final parting the plot for
the death OF Miss Morton and himself
must have formed in his mind, and at
The last he put it into execution. He
gave to bis sweetheart just before he
/, it Paterson on February 7 an enve.-
one containing a number of tablets.
He told her that they were love por.
6ion or charm, and that she should
tax one of them every time she
thought of him when he was absent;
thai the mysterious power OF the tab
lets would bring them into q closer
communion of souls, and that he
would know she was thinking of him.
Foe trnstiul young woman believed
him, and jealJusly guarded the pre-.
cious tablets, which were IN reality
corrosive suolimate, and deadly.
Oa February Boucher was found
dead in bis room in the LacaWanna
Hotel, In Scranton, Pa. 1t WAS at
first believed that he had died Of heart
failure, but a further examination
showed that his death had resulted
from msrcurial poisoning, and that he
mad ooubtless killed himself. 1t is
believed now that he also took corro-
siye sublimate to end his life.
Miss Morton was so affected by the
death that sne was prosGrated aG her
home and unable to attend the funer-
Al Of look upon the face Of the dead
man. Her grief ovsr bis death made
her forget about the pOt!oL given to
ner by Boucher when they parted.
Miss Morton, RrieTing over the
tragic death of Boucher and constant
ly thinking Of him, remembered a few
1nvs ago Ghe tablets In Tie envelope
And took a number Of them, regard
less Of the cain they caused her. She
took them jrst ctten enough to nrn
duce tue cumulative effect which re-
suited in her death.
When Miss Morton became Ill on
THURSDAY III WIS believed that she
was suffering with gas5rits. Sue grad
II, lly grew worse and the physicians
d,agnusad the case as one OF poisoning
but believed 1t to be ptomaine, Sae
vas then in a dying condition, and
tue physicians Questioned her about
what she bad eaten, and for the
first time learned OF the existence OF
the love tablets.
The last rites OF the church we're
administered to the dying girl, and
a15er ner death q search was made FOR
the tablets of which she had spoken.
The envelope which lad c)nta'ned
them was found, but she had taken
all the tablets. Some powder from
them remained and this was analyz d
and found to bs corrosive subllnate.
A letter written to Boucher by Miss
Morton probably the day after he left,
hut never mailed, WAS found among
nnr efT.ots. aud III IL She spike abou;
the taolets and her determination tt
take Them.
DR., Mcbride reached the technical
finding that the death was a suicide
n