A MELBOURNE POISONING CASE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2105, 28 June 1894, Page 17

A MELBOURNE POISONING CASE.

("From Oub Own Correspondent.) Melboubnb, June 19. Melbourne just now has the sensation of a poisoning case, which promises fair to turn out a big thing in that line. The accused is a widow named Martha Needle, only 30 years old, and who has been decidedly prepossessing in her time. At present she is charged with the attempted murder of only one individual, but if the hints conveyed by the newspaper reports prove to be well founded, she will probably come to be charged with the actual murder of some four or five— including her husband and two children. Mrs Needle is under arrest for the attempted murder, by poisoning, of Herman Juncken. After she became a widow, she sublet from Louis Juncken, a saddler in Richmond, portion of the two-storey building in which he carried on business. She kept boarders, amongst whom were Louis Juncken and Otto his brother. Otto and she became improperly intimate, and he was eager to marry her. Louis objected to the marriage, and so did all the other numerous members of the Juncken family, who lived in Adelaide, whence, by the way, Mrs Needle also came. On April 26 Louib Juncken became ill, and he died. A symptom of his illness was much vomiting, and his medical attendant desired to make a post mortem, I but the relatives objected, and fcbe body was taken for burial to Adelaide. It is only right to say that the doctor had no suspicion of poisoning. He set down the cause of death as an affection of the valves of the heart. A third brother — Herman Junckon — came to Melbourne to settle the affairs of the deceased. Of course he lived as a boarder with Mrs Needle, and he continued his opposition to the relations between her and Otto. Oa the 6bh of this month Herman became ill, and with much the same symptoms as Louis exhibited. His doctor considered the symptoms those of irritant poisoning. He got better under the doctor's care, but after eating a lunch prepared by Mrs Needle" his previous symptoms returned. His doctor had some of the retching analysed, and, arsenic being found, suspicion, of course, fell on Mrs Needle. She was asked to prepare another luncheon for Herman, but as he was about to begin it the detectives came in and seized it. One cup of tea was taken poured out for Herman and another partially drunk by Mrs Needle. These have been analysed, and the damning fact discovered that Herman's tea contains arsenic, whilst Mrs Needle's is free from it. She declared she bad no poison in the house, but numerous bottles containing poison, including liniment, iodine, and chlorodyne, were found, and also a box of " Rough on Rats," three-quarters full. This preparation, of course, contains arsenic. When she was arrested she attempted to seize a bottle of chlorodyne, apparently wishing to poison herself. There appears to be thus strong presumption of the truth of the present charge uuder which Mrs Needle has been arrested. Whether Louis Juncken's death was due to her agency is a question which will have more light thrown upon it when his body is exhumed. The motive for the deeds in this case would of course bo the opposition shown by both brothers to Mrs Needle's marriage with Otto Juncken. That she was a woman of strong passion and great determination is evident from her letters to Otto when he had gone on a visit to Adelaide. In one of these she writes as follows : — " Your conduct would have allowed your mother to part us if we had been married by all the ministers in the world. But perhaps if we were married nothing would have parted us. If you had been an honourable man, or if you wished to make an honourable woman of me— but no, men like you don't do that. You have had your turn, and have been persuaded against me. I can now be thrown aside. But remember this, the day you cast me off for your mother you will soon be motherless, for I shall kill her if I have to walk every mile from here to Lyndoch. I have vowed to my God to do this, and I shall keep that vow. . . You have left me, and so soon. Do you think that was right to go and leave me in this deathstricken house so soon and for so long. Do you think that to be left alone in this house is not hard on me without your cruel treatment in addition ? Your mother has done her best to poicon you against me. You mußt not think that I shall not keep my word and kill her if she parts us, for I have quite made up my mind for that. She shall never cause another woman all the sin and misery she has brought on me ; so you can do whatever you like while -you are over at home." The woman's history has naturally been investigated now, and the deaths of her husband and children seem to hay<? taken place under highly suspicious circumstances, to say the least of it. Mr Needle was a carpenter. Four months before his death he insured his life for £200. He died of " sub-acute hepatitis, enteric fever, persistent vomiting, and exhaustion due to obstinacy in not taking nourish" ment." The persistent vomiting is suspicious, and the obstinacy in not taking nourishment also. He refused to take any nourishment handed to him by his wife. Anything she offered to him he would wave aside, and when pressed in anger dash it over the floor or against the wall. The reason of this was not known, and the doctor set it down to the irritability and fractiousness of a sick man. Mrs Needle at his death obtained onethird of the £200, the other two-thirds going to the two children, Elsie and May. There had been three,' but the eldest;, Martha, died some two years before. The money was invested for tho two little girls. On the 9ch December 1890, Elsie, one of the children, died. She was six years old, and she died after a three weeks' illness from " gangrenous stomatitis and exhaustion." After Elsie's death Mrs Needle received the child's share of the £200, about £60. On the 27th August: 1891, the little girl May, aged four years and 11 months, di-id from " tubercular meningitis." Subsequent to this death Mrs Needle received the balance of the insurance 'money, aud the next important step in her history was her acceptance of the offer of the Junckeus to take utri o' the premises in Richmond for a board- " ing house. it' JLouis JunckcD, upon the exhumation of his body, proves to have died from arsenic, the charge of murder will be entered against Mrs Needle, and in any case it is probable that the bodies of her husband and children will be exhumed. So far there are nothing but suspicions in the case, but at least they are very strong. Mrs Needle is a South Australian, and there appears to be soms mystery about her early years, a3 some tirna ago she employed a private detective to investigate some mystery concerning her birth. Her mother is still alive, but is njarried a srcDn'l time.

Six more informations have been laid against perßons who escaptd from the gambling saloon at Wellington when tho police raided it.

The residents of Gillespie'a Beach polled almost a block vote for prohibitioc, yet they presented a numerously signed petition to the licensing bench in favour of granting a license.