Arsenical Poisoning at Border Town
The Adelaide Register 24 March 1886
ARSENICAL POISONING AT BORDER TOWN
INQUEST ON THE BODIES
[By Telegraph]
Border Town, March 23.
An inquest was held here this afternoon before Mr. D. Matheson, J. P. (Coroner), and a Jury of thirteen, touching the deaths of Frank Oliver, aged 6, Flora Munt, aged 7, and Mary Cunningham, an adult, all living at Mr. J. B. Oliver’s house in Border Town.
The two children died between 8 and 9 o’clock last night and Mary Cunningham at 4 o’clock this morning, all the cases showing evidences of arsenical poisoning.
After viewing the bodies the evidence was taken of the several witnesses, the first being Mr. E. T. Peate, the Manager of the store, who, although suffering severely, managed to attend. His evidence went to show that he and others had felt ill and vomited immediately after eating a dinner of rabbit and pancakes. Dr. Mountain was sent for an hour afterwards and came. Subsequently Dr. Steven attended. Arsenic was kept in stock at Oliver’s store under witness’s control. By direction of Mrs. Oliver he had given half a pound to a man named Dale to mix with paste for paperhanging in one of Oliver’s cottages. Dale got the arsenic on Saturday morning. The parcel given to Dale was not labelled “Poison.”
Nine persons suffered from the result of the poison, namely, the three who died, Miss Flemming, Miss Dinning, Edward Kaesehagen, Mrs. Oliver, Walter Oliver, and himself. Had sold one other lot of arsenic a short time ago. Dale, the man who received the arsenic from the store, deposed that after using 2oz for the paperhanging he placed the other 6oz on a shelf in the cottage and left it there. Mrs. Oliver’s evidence went to show that she saw the package in the cottage, and thinking it flour brought it to the kitchen with other things, placing it on the table. She had tasted the stuff in the package, and thought it was flour.
The evidence of Drs. Mountain and Steven was pronounced as to the symptoms being those of arsenical poisoning. Dr. Mountain questioned Mary Cunningham before her death as to whether she had put anything into the pancakes they had had for dinner but she was positive she had not; but the girl averred that Mrs Oliver on seeing her (Cunningham) ill said, “Why, Mary, are you ill too? Then I must have made a great mistake.”
The Rev. C. G. E. Ashworth deposed that he informed Dr. Mountain that Oliver’s people were ill shortly after dinner, and said they thought it was the rabbit. Acting under advice he fetched Dr Steven. He knew nothing about the poison packet. The pancakes and some vomit, also some uncooked pancake-paste were produced at the inquest, but have not been analysed. The doctors say that Walter Oliver and Miss Fleming are still in a precarious condition. Mr Peate, Miss Dinning, Edward Kaesehagen, and Mrs. Oliver will probably be all right in a few days.
The Jury retired for about an hour before arriving at a decision, which was as follows:- “We find that the deaths of Florence Munt and Frank Oliver on March 23 were caused by the arsenic given to Dale by order of Mrs. Oliver, and ultimately brought by the latter in mistake for flour to the kitchen, and used by some person unknown in the food prepared for dinner. We also find Mr. Peate censurable for serving out the arsenic without being labelled ‘Poison’, and Dale guilty of gross carelessness in giving up the key of the house when he knew poison was lying about un- labelled, and Mrs. Oliver censurable for using the supposed flour under the conditions.”
Transcribed from the Register
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