The Central Glamorgan Gazette, and General, Commercial, and Agricultural Advertiser. — 1868-07-10 (Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan, Wales)

REMARKABLE TRIAL FOR POISONING. A remarkable poisoning case has just been tried at Posen. A bookbinder named Wittmann was accused of having poisoned six persmis in six years, namely, Liv four wives and two children. Wittmann had worked as journeyman for a bookbinder named Pirsch, of Wollin, where he made the acquaintance of Marie Gehm, Pirsch's housekeeper. Wittmann was on a visit at Wollin at the end of 1853 and beginning of 1859, on January 1 of which year Pirsch died very suddenly, and Marie Gehm, according to a previous arrangement, came into the possession of all his property. Soon after this Wittman commenced business in Wollin,  and in February, 1860, married Marie Gahm, who, in addition to Pirsch's property, had also inherited some money through the sudden death of an aunt. Two sons, John and Paul, were the result of this marriage. Mrs. Wittmann died very suddenly In 1362, leaving all her property to her husband and two children, of whom the eldest died in the same mysterious manner three months later. In June, 1863, Wittinann married his second wife, Charlotte Rohn, who possessed some fortune. The latter made her will in the following December, leaving everything to her husband, and died a week afterwards. In April, 1864, Wittmann married his third wife, Augusta Kernotzky, who was richer than her predecessor. Her fate may be described in almost the same words. She died in August, 1865, leaving her property between her husband and her mother. Only two months after her death Wittmann married his fourth and by far the richest wife, the widow Bose, who had one child by her first marriage. This child tdcketied immediately after its mother's wedding, and died in a day or two, by which the fourth Mrs. Wittmann inherited its property. Wittmann then removed from Wollin to Posen. It is hardly necessary to add that the fourth Mrs. Wittman'e life was not of very long duration, as she died in September, 1846, having made a will in favour of her husband a month or two before. Under the pretext that she had died of cholera, Wittmann had made arrangements for burying her the day after her death. But the extraordinary mortality in the Wittmann family had already excited attention. The police here took the matter up, and their first suspicions were strengthened when they found that Wittmann had called in no medical advice. Wittmann was arrested just as the funeral procession was about to start, and the burial of the body was prohibited On searching the house, a large lump of arsenic, sufficient to poison a hundred persons, was found locked up in a chest. All the bodies of Wittmann's former wives, as also those of his two children, were then exhumed, and submitted to a chemical investigation. The result was the same in all six cases; a lug. quantity of arsenic was detected, and there could not be the shadow of a doubt that Wittmann had poisoned his four wives and two children. He has been found guilty and sentenced to death. If we consider that the motive for these crimes was no higher passion than avariee, and then remember the relation in which he stood to his victims, and the deliberate perfidy with which he entered upon those relations, I doubt if the whole record of crime can shows blacker case. Indeed, it is not improbable that he committed eight murders, as the very sudden death of Pirsch during Wittmann's visit, and also of his first wife's aunt, are extremely suspicions coincidences under the above circumstances.