The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1922-09-30
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Dalpably assumed name or the woman
whose body rests beneath the mum
bered headstone at Mattewan, is that
she was of either English or Canadian
origin and that she came to Troy, n.
Y in 1851, being always well sup
piled with funds from source which
remained concealed even during the
rigid investigation which followed hef
arrest on the charge or murder.
Some months after Mrs. Robinson
| settled In Troy q strange ana alpal
emily inexplicable tragedy occurred
A merchant and young woman who
was living with his family dropped
! dead at the table A post-mortem eA-
animation showed that they had peeh
poisoned and, despite the absence Oh
motive, "Mrs. Robinson who hau
been present. was arrested, put re-
fused to say a word even to her law
yer
To add to the air OF mystery WHICH
surrounded the entire case, the de-
PENDANT insisted upon appearing III
which effectually concealed her lea-
lures. All during the trial she sat-
impassive and unmoved, apparently
taking not the slightest interest IN 'he
conduct of the proceedings. When the
state had concluded its case, com
paratively flimsy structure or clrcuih-
stantial evidence, the counsel FOR the
defense arose and, admitting that ne
had not q shred of direct evidence 10
offer, introduced the plea of insanity.
At the conclusion Of the trial ana
before delivering his charge to the
jury, the presiding judge called atten-
ton to the fact that no one In the
court had seen the defendants face
and requested Mrs. Robinson" to HIT
her veil
Slowly and with great dignity she
arose, but made no effort to comply
with the courts request.
II am here" she stated, In a voice
which penetrated to every corner or
the crowded courtroom, "to undergo
most painful ordeal, not to be
gazed at"
The request was not repeated and,
after deliberatOn Of several hours.
the jury returned verdict OF
Guilty" and the prisoner was SEN
fenced to death-a decree which was
later committed to life Imprisonment
by order of the governor, though not
before Mrs. Robinson" had made her
one formal statement In the shadow
Of the gallows:
When | am Dead" she declared,
"all will die with me. l have prom
ised to be silent, to die without be-
traying anything"
The first Is years Of her life SEN
tence were passed in Sing Sing peni-
Tertiary. She was then moved to the
Auburn State Prison for the Insane.
where she remained for II years, and
finally to the Asylum Of the Criminally
Insane at Mattewan, where the woman
Of mystery finally died on May 4. 1905.
after 50 years in prison. During all
this time, however, she never wrote q
letter nor spoke word save to her
lawyer who visited her at regular in
tervals and who admitted that his
services had been paid for by certain
influential personages" whom he was
not at liberty to name.
All that was known Of Henrietta
Robinson" was that she played the
organ at Sing Sing with the touch of
a master musician and that She died
as she had lived-in silence. utter and
absolute, leaving as heritage some
of the most puzzling questions In the
history Of criminal proceedings:
What was the woman's real name
and where had she come from2
Had she poisoned the merchant and
his young guest and, II so. with what
motive?
Why had she insisted upon conceal
ing her face during the trial?
If she were innocent, why did she
refuse for more than half century
to make any plea for leniency?
What did she mean by her state
ment that she "had promised to be
silent. to die without betraying any
thing?"
Who supplied the funds with which
the lawyer was paid?
The answers to these and as many
more unsolved riddles connected with
this woman Of mystery lie concealed
beneath that simple headpiece in the
Potters field at Mattewan, head.
stone bearing only the number "S8."
St. Philip Founded Oratorv