The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-03-21
WEIRD STORY.
A Girl Poisoned to Death by a
Dead Man, Was
WAS HER SUITOR.

Gave Her the Deadly Poison,
Calling it Love
Charm.
Stranger than all the tales OF the
polsonings by the BoIgias, and sur
passing all stories OF death pacts by
disappointed sweethesrts are the CIR
cumstances surrounding the death at
Paterson, N. j., CT Mae Agnes Nor.
ton, a young woman Of nineteen, who
. month after the death Of her suitor,
James Boucher, by his own hand, fell
q victim to the dead man, q murderer
In death.
Only his surprising belief In the
wonderful power Of the young wo-
mans love for him could have inspired
the far-reaohing plot and sent the
young man to lis grave confident that
his sweetheart, Innocent OF any intel
tion upon her own life, but trusting
In the efficacy Of the potion he hao
left with 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
confessedly died Ct poison administer
cd by her own hand, and permitted
her body to be laid at rest In conSe'
Grated ground.
1t was the law Of the Roman Cath
Ole Church which forbids the buria'
OF the self slain in c~onsecrated ground,
invoked In this case on behalf OF M 8;
Morton, that brought to light the re.
markable story Of love, suicide and
post mortem murder. In a space Il
five weeks the plot was formed ano
made complete In the duel tragedy.
Miss Morton, well connected ano
socially prominent, who lived with
her father, Alexander Morton, at No
u Madison street, met, some months
ago, James Boucher, q young man o!
excellent ancestry, the nephew Of DR..
William A. Noryal, Of No. 38l Matt
street, q member Of the Board O.
Freeholders. The young man ano
woman became sweethearts, but fol
some reason there was OF ction tt
their marrying on the part Of Miss
Myrton's family, and after the cppo-
sition to their courtehi had contlE.
-ued for some time, and had only ssrv
cd to cement the bond Of affs Lotion be.
tween them, the young MN, despair
irg of his suit, decided to leave Pats.-
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 his sweetheart just before be
left Paterson on f. b!uary 7 an enve
ope containing a number Of tablets.
He told her that they were a love por.
tiUn or charm, and that she shoulc
take one of them every time sh.
thought of him when he was absen;
that the mysterious power Of the tab
lets would bril- G them into a closer
eommun on of souls, and that he
would know she was thinking II him.
The trustful y ung woman believed
him, and jeal guarded the pre-.
cious tablets, wn;ca were In reality
corrosive su5limate, and deadly.
On E, bruary 8 Boucher was found
dead in his room in the Lacawanns
Hotel, in Scranton, Pa. 1t was al
/ first believed that he had died of hear
failure, but a further examination
showed that his death had resulted
from mercurial poisoning. and that ht
had coubtless killed himself. It II
believed now that he also took corro
sive sublimate to end his life.
Miss Morton was 80 affected by thu
death that she was Frustrated at hel
home and unable to attend the funer
al of look upon the face of the deaf
man. Her grief over his death made
her forget about the potioL given tt
her by Boucher when they parted.
Miss Morton, grieVing over TIT
tragic death Of Boucher and constant
" thinking of him, remembered a few
days ago the tablets In the envelope
and took a number Of them, regard
less Of the pain they caused her. Sht
took them jrst often enough to lro
duce the cumulative If ,ct which re.
sulsed In her death.
When Miss Morton became Ill or
THURSDAY 1t was believed that she
was suffering with gastrits. She grad
ually grew worse and the physicinns
diagnosed the case as one of poisonin,
but believed 1t to be ptomaine. she
was then in q dying condition, ant
the physicians questioned her abou,
what she had eaten, and for the
first time learned OF the. existence OF
tho love tablets.
The last rites Of the church we're
administered to the dying girl, ano
after her death a search wal made for
the tablets Of which she had. spoken.
The envelope which had contained
them was found, but she had taken
all the tablets. Some powder from
them remained ard this was analyz d
and found to be corrosive sublinate.
A letter written to Boucher by Miss
Morton probably the day after he left,
but never mailed, was found among
hor eF and In IL she spoke abOur
the tablets and her determination tic