The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-03-20
FAMOUS MURDER RECALLED
CENTRAL FIGURE N BOTkIN
CASE DIES ~ PRISON.
q D9scn Wears Age the A9thsTstiea %
Tive states were Busy Tracing tine
Poisoned Candy she sent % Mrs. Jshn
p. Dlnmnang-TMO We're Killed by %.


PSassned Candy she sent % Mrs. Jsha
p. DSnnsng-TwO We're kiiied by %.
A news despatch printed q few days
ago told Of tho death In San Quentin
prison. California, Of Mrs. Cordelia Bot
Kin and recalled a murder story Of 1893
which attracted the attention Of the
country.
Mrs. BOtkin was serving a liio inn
prisonment for the murder Of Mira. John
p. Dunning. Mrs. Cunning and her
sister. Mrs. J. ID. Deane. died from eating
poisoned candy sent from San Francisco
to Mrs. Dunning in Dover Del.
John p. Dunning WINS serving N cor.
respondent in Porto Rico when on AuG,.st
0. ISns. his wife received the box Of candy
through the mails Mrs Cunning dur
/ ing her husbands absence from the
country was living with her father. ex-
Congressman John b. Pennington. nc
/ Dover. On the night the candy arrived
Mrs. Dunning was sitting on the porch
OF her fathers home With her were her
sister. Mrs. Deane. Mrs. Dunnings small
daughter. a daughter % Mrs. Deane.
Harry Pennington a nephew Of Mrs.
Dunning. and three young women friends.
Mrs. Dunning passed the candy around
and the whole party ate % 10. Later In
the night all were taken III.
The candy came on a Tuesday night.
/ Mrs. Deana died the following day and
Mrs. Dunning on Thursday. The others
recovered.
The box In which the candy was sent
was wrapped in light brown paper. OF
variety not affected by confectioners.
The address was written in a cramped
hand which seemed to betray an effort
az disgtIise. Done up with the box was
q new white handkerchief the price
mark. rs scents. still showing in one corner.
A note written on ruled paper in lead
/ pencil was enclosed. This note was
signed Mrs. c. and contained merely
the words with love for yourself and
/ baby At tire time the note was be-
lieved TO be- in a handwriting different
! from the address on the wrapper. This
later was proved not 20 be the case.
The box contained two kinds % candy
| both chocolates, one the usual cOnfec-
toner's goods. the other apparently home
made. Tie theory was that box OF
candy had been purchased and poisoned
home made candy substituted here and
there through the box. Three pieces OF
the suspected candy were turned over tn
/ chemist. who found in them between
ten nd twelve grains % arsenic. small
amount Of the poison. he found had been
! forced through the coating Of the candies
and mo the cream filler. The coating
was then patched with melted chocolate.
/ Dunning was notified % his wife's
death and hurried home His fatheT-in-
J law meanwhile fastened the legal ma
chinery % Delaware Dunning's life n
/ san Francisco. where he was well known
was looked into and on his arrival in
/ Dover he gave the authorities still more
/ Information
Mrs. Botkin already had been mentioned
in the case a. one who had been very
friendly with Dunning while lie lived in
San Francisco. When Questioned. she
talked with seeming freedom OF her ac-
qunintance with Dunning and gave out
for publication two letters she had re-
ceived from hinl while he was IN Porto
Rico The letters began Dear Ada
but their contents were not az all sen
ational
The san Froncisco police cooperated
with the Dover authorities and on August
n Mr. Botkin was arrested az stockton
Whom the warrant was read to her she
remarked $50 this - the result or one
Of them"
Dunning himself identified the hand
writing Of IN" wrapper End the note. IS
well a. that Of two anonymous letters
which Mrs Dunning had r-ceived. - that
Of Mrs Botkin. When g-ked On what he
based HIS opinton he replied that he had
several hundred letters from H." woman.
The drug clerk who sold the candy was
found and 10 mail course traced
Gov Tunncli ~ Delaware signed .
requisition upon Gov Budd ~ California
FOR the delivery 10 Nirs. Rotkin 90 the Della
ware detectives. The reguStt on was
accompanied by an AFFIDAVIT made by
Mr. Pennington charging Mrs.. botkin
with the double murder. Gov. Budd
granted the requisitIon. hut the Superior
Court OF California decided that Mrs.
Botkin was not a fugitive from justice
( from the State Of Delaware and on October
- San Francisco GRIND jury indicted her
ON n charge 81 murder.
Mrs Bntkin fought hard gainst return
ing to IhelAwnrs To - tried. and with the
/ determination that the California courts
/ had jurisdiction she won the first hattie
I Of the many that were fought before she
, finally was sentenced Ia san Quentin.
I II was announced that the trial would
{ take placs Ia DeCenber. just before
the day for which IL wis set the District
Attorney heard JUNIORS 81 the intention
/ 81 tho defence after all the evidence
should have been introduoed to step
! in and protest that IN" Superior Court
I 81 California lacked Jurisdiction. To
prevent this the Prose"titOr Ciit away the
I ground from under the defence by rtis-
I ing the question Of jurisdiction himself
| He petitiOned the supreme Court to On Join
| the Superior Cour, Judge. Carroll Cook.
| from proceeding with the trial. The peti-
ton was denied and on December - the
| taking Of evidence was begun.
Dunning took the stand and admitted
his intimacy with Mrs. Botkn. He re-
fused to name other women with whom
he might have been intimate unless u
were shown that any woman other than
Mrs Boekin could be connected with the
death of his wife He spent "a night in
prison for contempt as a result Of his re-
flsal. hut finally won his point lie was
questioned without mercy and stood the
ordeal without finching.
MIR. BOtkin's attorneys Etrove To- show
that their client was not in San Francisco
hut Eureka during tn" time that tho pack
age must have beerf sent. This WAS met
with evidence that mail deposited in
the mail bag on the wharf az Eureka was
a L a a