POISONING MYSTERY

Taranaki Daily News, 26 April 1930, Page 7

POISONING MYSTERY

STRANGE DEVELOPMENT.

Sydney, April 10.

The poisoning of all the members of the Murray family, who lived at Conjola, a small country settlement in New South Wales, has puzzled the police and interested the people for weeks. Now a remarkable solution has been found. An analysis of a pepper caster from tho Murray homestead has revealed that it contained, besides pepper, a white ant exterminator —an arsenical mixture. The deadly substance had been placed in the castor in error, and as it looked much like popper it was not easily traced. When it was first discovered that four people were suffering from poisoning it was thought that some diabolical crime had been perpetrated, and the police acted on the assumption that there had been foul play. Quite a squad of detectives was put on to the inquiries, and in the course of several weeks they interviewed upwards of one hundred people, but could discover no motive for getting rid of the family. When the whole of the inquiries were completed, conferences were held at the Criminal Invcfltigation Department, and while it was thought to be highly suspicious that all the members of a well-to-do family should

be poisoned at the same time, it was suggested that there might ‘be a very simple explanation. Again the detectives visited the homestead, and again everything in and around the farmhouse was closely examined, even to the floor boards and wall paper. The paper in each room was torn down, and samples sent for analysis for traces of arsenic that might have been used in the colouring materials. At last the process of elimination narrowed down to the aluminium salt and pepper castors in the kitchen. It was then noticed that the contents of the pepper castor appeared to be very coarse, as if the pepper had not been ground properly. It was then learned that three years ago Miss Murray purchased a small quantity of ant exterminator, which the storekeeper had placed in a pepper tin. Some of the exterminator was used and the remainder was placed on a shelf. Late last year she became ill, and her brothers had to do their own cooking. One of them emptied the deadly contents of the pepper tin into the castor. It was not long before they became ill. Then later, when she recovered, Miss Murray was able to go on with the housekeeping, and she used the contents of the castor. Only a little while elapsed before they were all seriously ill —so ill that it is not likely that they will ever completely recover. So it was a simple domestic accident that nearly cost four lives, and baffled tho whole of the police force for weeks.