New-York tribune., 1912-01-08
FAMILY WIPED OUT;
THE MOTHER SUSPECTED
Four Dead and Four Sick IN
Philadelphia Mystery Which
Battles Police.
ALL POISONED IS THEORY
Mother, Driven Insane by De-
sertion of Husband, Believed
to Have Put Cyanide OF
Potassium in Tea or Milk.
tBy Telegraph to The Tribune J

terry Philadelphia has had in years. The
police have little upon which TO base d
! theory, except that a woman gone insane
| following the apparent desertion of her nus
band. placed cyanide of potassium in food
and attempted to snuff out the life OF every
person residing at No 1928 North 2Atn
street.
THE DEAD
FLANAGAN Mrs Bridget 'hiF'y-seven years
! FLANAGAN. Annie. sixteen years old.
FLANAGAN. Joseph. eighteen months old.
| MURRAY, Catherine, eighteen years old.
THE SICK
! CURRAN, Mrs Hannah, sixty years old, in
Homeopathic Hospital
| CURRAN Marguerite eighteen years old.
| CURRAN. Philip, seventeen years old.
GALLAGHER Thomas fourteen years old.
MFADDEN. Dennis, twenty-nine years old
The Coroner and the police believe that
Mrs Bridget Flanagan. who ran board
ing house at the oath street address, is re-
sponsble for the wiping out OF her entire
family, with the exception Of her husband,
who cannot be located. the almost sure
death Of Mrs Curran and the sudden III
ness of the other four persons. They also
believe that she used cyanide OF potassium
but of this they cannot be sure until an
autopsy on the bodies is performed to-
morrow morning.
The only reason for the belief that Mrs.
Flanagan Is responsible for the deaths that
the police are able to give is that she was
unhappy and respondent during the holiday
season and she had no wish TO see other
persons happy
| Two weeks ago Joseph Flanagan. husband
of the dead woman. and who has been en-
poyed at the Baldwin Locomotive WORKS
! here for twenty-five years went home and
| informed his wife that he had been dis
| charged. She could not understand 1t. as
| he had stuck to the company through all
the labor troubles and had been promised
by the officials that. in case of reduction
in the force. he would be one of the last
men TO be released.
| The Flanagans had been having some
domestic difficulties. and Mrs. Flanagan
| was skeptical when her husband Informed
her he had been discharged. She went to
| Baldwins, where she was informed that
her husband had not been discharged lie
never returned home after telling her he
had lost his job, and she has been de-
spondent ever since.
Last night at the supper table Mrs.
Flanagan was especially depressed, but
her family and the boarders thought moth
ing OF it, nor did the persons who were
taken i'll think seriously of the matter
until this morning. when Mrs. Flanagan
failed to appear for breakfast.
After waiting more than an hour after
the usual breakfast hour Miss Marguerite
CCrran went to the Flanagan apartment
and knocked on the door Getting no re-
sponse. she entered. Sitting in rocking
chair was Mrs. Flanagan, cold and dead
for hours. and on the bed were the bodies
OF the two Flanagan children and Cath
arine Murray. who boarded at tie house.
| They also had been dead for hours, and
their features showed no evidences Of a
painful death.
At first it was thought that ptomaine
poisoning might be the cause of death and
the police attempted TO trace this TO pork
the persons had eaten at the Saturday
evening meal. This theory soon was cast
aside when it was discovered that the in
FAINT. Joseph Flanagan had not partaken of
the pork, but that his meal consisted en-
tirely Of milk.
| With the ptomaine poisoning theory cast
| aside the police are Of the belief that the
| poison was administered in the milk and
| tea of which the family partook Some of
| these were on the dining room table this
| morning, and they will be analyzed.
That none of Miss Curran's immediate
family are dead she attributes to the fact
that she attended dance last night, and
she told the other members of the family
| that she would bring home light lunch.
! She ate sparngly Of the supper and the
only bad result she noticed was a heavi-
ness and a desire to doze
! Miss Curran. who is the only member OF
/ the household apparently aole to give a
! comprehensive account OF what happened
at the supper table last night, declares
that Mrs. Flanagan was unusually de-
| spondent but she seemed very solicitOus
that her children should partake OF a
| hearty meal. She urged them to eat well.
| while she paid absolutely no attention to
| the boarders, IL being the opinion of Miss
! Curran that the woman, made insane by
| the apparent desertion Of her husband. had
planned to wipe out the entire family
! The Currans have been boarders In the
! Flanagan house only two days. They for
| merlV were next door nciGhbors TO the
| Tlanacans when that family resided in
| 'ravioT street. About week following the
/ disappearance of Flanagan, Mrs. Flanagan
! called on the Currans and told lnenDers or
| The family that she was lonely since the
! disappearance of her husband. She asked
] them IL they would not come and i've with
! her After arranging their affairs the Cur
! rams moved into the Flanagan mouse TWO
| days ago.