New-York tribune., 1911-11-06
MRS. VERM|LYA MAY LIVE
WouId-Be Suicide Probably Will
Survive Dose of Arsenic.
is UNDER SURVEILLANCE
Police Determined Woman Sus-
pected Of Numbering Nine
Shall Not End Her Life.

Chicago. Nov. 5.-AIrs Louise Vermilya,
accused OF the murder by poison Of Arthur
Bissonette, a policeman. and under inves-
tigation in connection with the successive
deaths Of eight other persons, to-day was
pronounced probably recovering after her
attempt to end her own life by poison
yesterday
Energetic methods TO counteract the ef-
fects of arsenic, which Mrs. Vermilya cum
ningly contrived TO ming!e with her food
In the presence Of her guards. probably
will be successful. her physicians say
Since the attempt at suicide Mrs Yer
milya has not been out of sight of one
or more guards. ard every article she
touches is first examined either ty de-
tective or a trained nurse
Though IN a condition bordering on ner-
vous collapse. the accused woman was
pronounced i'm fair physical condition to-
night. Mindful however, Of the frequent
relapses Of Bissonette. her alleged victim.
ending in the mans death. Dr. Van Arsdaie,
who is in charge of the case and who also
attended Bissonette. refused to say post
lively that she would recover
4 guard of detectives and uniformed po-
ncemen, with a police matron AMI several
trained nurses, is watching over Mrs
Vermilya, and night or day she Is never
out OF the scrutiny of at least one pair
OF eyes.
The womans he'd and bed clothes. her
sleeping garments. her hair and everything
else about her that could conceal poison
have been examined. The police are
hot no
woman shall stand trial on the charge Of
numbering their comrade.
Since learning that they had been season
ing their food with pepper from a tin can
that stood beside similar can nlled with
enough poison to cause the deaths OF a
hundred men the police guards and ma
irons have had no food prepared on the
Nermilya premises. The meals of the
watchers are cooked at a restaurant near
by in the presence Of policeman and
brought i'm by a waiter under guard
During one of the lucid moments that
broke the delirium following the taking OF
the poison Mrs Vermiya to-day denied
to the police that she had attempted TO end
her life The poison I'm the tin box was
an insect powder. she said. She declared
that the nurses had given her the wrong
shaker
After a conference between States At
torney Wayman. Police Inspector Wheeler
and Captain Harding it was announced
that warrant charging Mrs. Vermilya
with the murder of Bissonnette would he
served tomorrow and the woman placed
in the hospital I'm the county Jail
Captain Harding. after questioning Mrs.
Vermilya. gave out this statement:
Mrs. Vermilya firmly maintained that she
had not poisoned either BsSOnnette on
Smith. She also denied that she had at
tempted 70 poison herself
She said that she had purchased some
roach powder and had put II in a talcum
pOWGer box. She said she had three talcum
boxes IN her pantry. I'm one was black
third the roach powder. We have been
able To ind only two such boxes
7 told her the chemists had found arsenic
IN the toX, and not roach powder. but sh1
could not account for this. | attach no
Importance to her denials, and am satisfied
that there were but the two boxes in the
house. one containing arsenic.
Portions Of the body Of Richard T. Smith.
conductor, who died at Mrs. Vermilya 5
home last March were brought here to-
day from North Henderson. III, for eX-
animation for traces of arsenic.
Dr. l.. J.. Hertel. who attended Smith
when he died said to-day that he now had
no doubt that Smith died from arsenic
DOisoning