Perth Amboy evening news. [volume] (Perth Amboy, N.J.) 1903-1959, 1924-09-23
Mrs. Elsie SWeetin ConfesseS
Part in Poison Plot of
Rev. Mr.. Hight

MOUNT VERNON, ILL.,, Sept. pa
After an all night vigil Mrs. Elsie
Sweetin confessed this morning that
she was implicated with the Rev.
Lawrence M. Hight. OF Ina, in the
plot to poison her husband and Mrs.
Hight in order that she and the
minister could be married, thus con-
firming the confession made yester-
day by Rev. Hight.
Arrested yesterday at her home in
Ina, near here. Mrs. Sweetin denied
any part in the alleged poison plot.
as had been admitted by the minister
but broke down this morning after
being closeted in the same cell with
the minister, with States Attorney
Thompson.
The text of her confession signed
by Mrs. Sweetin follows: 1.-THE first
time that l noticed that Lawrence
M. Hight had any feeling of affec-
ton for me was in April, 1924; my
husband, for some time had treated
me without affection.
REV. Hight continued his ad-
vances and / finally discovered that
/ returned his affection. About
three months ago he suggested that
he give me some poison to give to
my husband and he would do the
same to his wife.
''At first l was Mortified. but he
talked so plaudibly and l had such
confidence in him that 1t seemed to
me to be right to do 1t. We then
finally agreed that 1 was to admin
ister poison to my husband, Wilford
Sweetin, and he was to administer
poison to his wife, Anna Hight
And when a week or two later my
husband was hurt In the mine, Law
renee High gave me a paper pack
age which he told me contained
poison, and he told me to give some
of 1t to Wilford in anything.
"Wilford was hurt in the mine on
the night of July 16. and the follow
ing day we went to Benton and
went to drug store and got some
ice cream and soda water and on
the way home l gave Wilfred. my
husband. some chocolate candy. in
which 1 had mixed some of the
poison. He became very ill but
seemed later to grow better and on
Tuesday l gave him more poison in
oatmeal. Mr.. Hight having given me
more poison In the meantime.
with medical attention Wilford
seemed to grow better again and
after DIR. S. A. Thompson had waited
on him Friday. July 25. l admins
tered the final dose of poison and he
grew worse and died, July 28. the
final dose having been mixed in to-
mato soup.
Every time Mr.. Hight came to the
house during Wilford's Illness. he
gave me a note of announcement to
give Wilford more poison. l did not
know and he did not tell me when
he poisoned his wife. but when she
became i'll and died l supposed he
had poisoned her. Until l became
infatuated with Mr.. Hight l had led
blameless life and had always been
a true wife md mother. and 1t is
true. so help me God.
"(Signed) ELSIE SwEETIN."
Mrs. Sweetin waived prelimin-
ary hearing, and the case was given
to the grand jury.
Mrs. Sweetin appeared worn out
and hagard due to the twelve hour
grind of grilling during which she
was confronted with the clergyman.
After the hearing before the justice
of the peace, she IRIS taken to n
cell adjoining that occupied by
Hight.
The Rev. Mr.. High told newspaper
men Mrs. Sweetin had promised him
in the cell she would confess she had
poisoned her husband. Mrs. Sweetin
was taken to the states attorneys
Office, and low trembling voice and
the clicking of a typewriter were
heard.
In an interview Hight gave brief
sketch of his life and told how a
premonition that something would
happen had warned him to stay
away from Ina, and how he had
protested after beng assigned to
the Ina church. He said that dur
ing the thirteen years he has been
a minister he had converted $500
persons, 1913 during his stay in Ina.
1t was one day in church, he said,
when he met Mrs. Sweetin. They
met in the aisle and from then on he
had entertained a feeling of more
than friendship for her, he said. His
affection for his wife, he said, began
to wane.
The first indication that Mrs.
Sweetin was weakening and ready to
admit the part in the poison plot the
minister had already attributed to
her in his confession yesterday, was
given when the two met in the cell
together. Attendants of the jail and
the states attorney, spying on them,
saw them caressing one another and
weeping. This, the states attorney
SAID, contradicted the contention of
Mrs. Sweetin that there had been
no love affair, and from then on he
was convinced that she was impli-
Gated.
How do you feel today?" were
the first words spoken by the min
lister. when left alone with the wo-
man.
mot so WE'LL" was the reply, and
then the two sat down and wept.