The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1911-11-01
GOT RIGHT MAN
Chain Of Circumstan!iaI Evidtrce Being
Drawn Around Pastor
he GAVE GIRL POISON
1t is Claimed That He Dined With
Miss Linnen a Few Hours Before
Her Death, and That Then He
Gave Her the Poison that Ended
Her Life.

To strengthen the chain of circum-
stantial evidence upon which the
Rev. Clarence V. T. Richeson was ar
rested for the alleged murder of Avis
Linnell, the Boston police concentrat-
ed their efforts to ascertain definitely
whether it was Mr.. Rioheson or an
other person who dined with the
young music student the Saturday af-
ternoon, few hours before she took
the cyanide of potassim from which
she died.
The police now claim that they
have evidence indicating that Mr..
Richeson was her companion. They
have worked on the theory that the
man with whom Miss Linnell dined
was the person who gave her the "a
tai powder, which she took, believ-
ing it would remedy her physical
condition. Several persons have tes-
tilted that they saw Richeson and
Miss Linnell together on the fatal
Saturday, and the girl herself told
her roommate that she had dined
with the preacher that day.
That the police have discovered
the restaurant at which Avis Linnell
lunched Saturday, and that Mr.. Rich
eson was the man who accompanied
her, was reported from headquarters
late Saturday. It was said that a
young woman at the Young Women S
Christian Association building fur
nished this information. This witness,
who is believed to be the last per-
son who talked with Avis Linnell be-
fore she took the fatal dose, says the
unfortunate girl declared: "I dined
with Mr.. Richeson."
Pursuing this line Of Investigation,
the police say they learned from a
Cambridge man that on Thursday Of
last weep the minister was overheard
to make an appointment by telephone
to lunch Saturday with some person
at the Young Women's Christian AS
sociation. Thus the chain of cir
cumstantial evidence is being slowly
but surely drawn around the Rev.
Mr.. Richeson as the murderer Of the
young women he had deeply wrong
ed.
Police attempts to obtain from
the rooms in Cambridge occupied by
Mr.. Richeson some article which
might further connect him with the
poison, were frustrated, unexpected
ly. Chief Inspector Joseph Dugan
declared that when his inspectors
went to the pastors rooms they
found everything in state OF chaos,
the result of a general ransackins
which occurred prior to the police
visit. It is not known who was re-
spensible for this.
1t is said that Miss Linnell believed
up to the hour of her death that
Richeson intended to marry her, and
that is why he found it an easy mat
ter to induce her to take the poison
he gave her, telling her it was drug
intended to relieve her of the en-
barrassing position her criminal in
tineary with him had placed her. II
is supposed he gave her the poison
while they were dining together, and
the girl went home, took the sup
posed medicine, and died in a very
short time afterwards from its ef-
fects.
The minister was visited Saturday
by Moses Grant Edmands, father OF
Miss Violet Edmands, his finance, at
whose home, at Brookline, Mr.. Rich
eson was arrested. With the bars be-
tween them, as a grim reminder OF
the events which nscessitated the
postponement of the wedding set fo1
October 81, the accused clergyman
and his prospective father-in-law had
long talk. RicEeson claims that
he is innocent, but the police say they
will convert him Of the awful crime.
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