FULL TEXT: Syracuse, N. Y., October 21. – The village of Chittenango, fifteen miles east of Syracuse is greatly excited over the alleged case of a modern Borgia, whose deeds, if found guilty of the bloody deeds of the [illegible] of that name two weeks ago [illegible] lady named Mrs. Laney Barnard, a widow aged eighty years, died under circumstances that led to the suspicion that she was poisoned. Immediately after her death Frances Shrouder and the latter’s husband were arrested for the crime of poisoning Mrs. Barnard. It was shown on the coroner’s examination that Frances Shrouder purchased arsenic at the village drug-store the same week that her mother died, and both Frances and her husband were indicted by the grand jury at Morrisville for the murder of Mrs. Barnard. A chemical analysis of Mrs. Barnard’s stomach discovered arsenic in it.
This week there have been further
developments, which, if substantiated, will prove Frances Shrouder to be one of
the most cold-blooded murderers ever heard of in the annals of criminal
history. Mrs. Louisa Pope, an old lady aged eighty years, a great-aunt of
Frances Shrouder, came to Chittenango in April, 1876[?], and took up her abode
with the Barnards. Previous to that time she had lived at the village of
Truxton, in Cortland county. When Mrs. Pope came to live with the Barnards she
had a $1,000 mortgage on some property in Truzton, and, also $800 in United
States bonds, which she brought with her to Chittenango. Charles Barnard,
husband of Mrs. Laney Barnard, was then alive. Within three months from the
time that Mrs. Pope came to live with the Barnards she died very suddenly and
under circumstances of the most suspicious nature. Her death was accompanied by
violent spasms and other symptoms that would indicate that she had been
poisoned. Her death occurred on the last Saturday of July, 1876, and as soon as
she was dead Charles Barnard procured a cheap coffin of Mr. Greminger, an undertaker
in the village, and immediately boxed the old lady up and allowed no one to see
her.
The next day, which was Sunday, he started at
daybreak for Truxton, carrying the body of Mrs. Pope in his wagon. He arrived
at Truxton about noon, and insisted upon having Mrs. Pope buried that afternoon
to Mrs. Pope’s death, Frances Shrouder was seen to have large sums of money in
her possession, and on several occasions she endeavored to have bills of a
large denomination changed at the village stores, and for a couple of years the
Barnards appeared to be very flush with money. Charles Barnard claimed, after
Mrs. Pope’s death, that the old lady gave him the mortgage, and as Mrs. Pope
had no relatives but the Barnards, no one disputed his claim. Barnard kept the mortgage
until be died.
Public
opinion in Chittenango and in central New York now seems to be almost unanimous
that Frances Shrouder poisoned Mrs.
Pope in order to get her bonds, and old lady’s death, put in his claim for the
mortgage as his share of the plunder. Since these facts have come to light
public opinion in Chittenango is of the almost unanimous belief that Frances
Shrouder poisoned her father also, who died under suspicious circumstances
about a year ago. His remains have been exhumed and sent to Dr. Englehart and
Dr. Manlius Smith, of Syracuse, for analysis of the stomach and viscera. The
body of Mrs. Pope was exhumed at Truxton last week by Coroner Kendrick, of
Cortland county, who impaneled a jury. Dr. Manlius Smith, of Syracuse, who had
been sent for, was present when the body was exhumed, and brought portions of
the vitals to Syracuse, where a most searching analysis will be made. The
coroner’s jury adjourned until October 27th, when it will meet at John
Wheeler’s hotel, and the inquest will be resumed.
The circumstantial evidence is very strong
that Frances Shrouder poisoned her aunt, her father and her mother, and that
she was urged to poison her father and mother by her husband. The authorities
are of the opinion that Frances Shrouder will make a confession, admitting that
she killed her aunt, her father and her mother. She is a weak-minded person,
and already, it is said, there are evidences that lead the authorities to
anticipate a confession. It is said that her husband, George Shrouder, is also
disposed at the proper time to tell what he knows about the poisoning of the
parties. It is anticipated that he may be prompted to attempt to turn state’s
evidence in order to save himself.
[“By the Spoonful. – Chittenango’s Great Sensation. – The
Arrest of a Woman Who Poisoned Her Father and Her Mother – A Murderess Who
Rivals Borgia,” The Daily Constitution (Atlanta, Ga.), Oct. 22, 1879, p. 1]
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For more cases of this category, see: Female Serial Killers of 19th Century America (as of January 20, 2014, the collection contains 61 cases)
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