KARAKA TRAGEDY.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 17773, 8 October 1927, Page 17

KARAKA TRAGEDY.

, VERDICT OF MURDER AND SUICIDE. ' ' ■ __ • ; ■wV, "iit Telecrovr —Press Association. r!; "' AUCKLAND, October 7. mystery" of ‘ how thd' late. Mrs' t", Mafy! Miiniie Btackweil ('3B) of ICar- ’ ' 'akh,'obtained the 'strychnin,© poison with'.Wliieli 'she hired liersolf and. her •''t'VtJ"'djiught'ers/ Marjory ’Doreen (14), 'W and MuHc-l'Mercia ..(II), Was unsolved : "at';thc' inquest touching the three . deaths. . . «Ttv;o verdicts were returned by Mr F; K. Hunt. SAL, Coroner, who found that Mrs Blackwell committed suicide by taking poison,' and that she admin- ' v-intered it to her daughters' while in an >insan's : condition. "(Hie' 1 -tragedy hap- ’ - pengd ort September <5. ■ • " - v -l(: M. Griffin,■■'Government analyst, said he.'found that fatal doses of strjehnine were held by'the stomach content ‘‘Of each victim. 1 In each case he found • s.vridine, 1 indicating the presence of t methylated spirit,- and ib- would ap--pear’ that strychnine l had 'been administered “in methylated spirit, mi Various', foodstuffs in the hods© were examined for strychnine, but none was found. • ' "- ,1 -

’ ; • d'6 is a 'mystery Where Mi's Blackwel’ got' 1 the poison, stated Senior CDotect- ' ivfwHjmuhoiKL 'Every chemist’s shop in Auckland hud. the; suburbs had been • visited, 1 ’ > r,d • every 1 • • poise rt register' " searched', -ou b without- '-result;" -R. W.‘. Yates, manager of the' farm, ‘.".'said '•that about twelve 'hi’oiifhs ago, 'A'‘Mrs Wlmkwoll attempted a similar thing. He bad 'strychnine l ! at'‘-hie-pdac-e--for pbismiiu" rabbit--. Mrs Black well - ;often i.assisted Mrs 'in household ■" duties at the farm. About, that tirno r’--v'.~.Hio -thole-a - ttvo-njs. bottle, of strychnine to lier homo. Then she took it back to him. or most of it, and told him sb.o bad mixed some of it with the r divbut sire bad come to her senses and thrown the dinner out. Airs Black- . A wgll made" him'promise ho would not tell her husband. After that, ho locked nTUiiis .poison all. and had .kept :it ufi--1; ; deiy kcv ever since. . ■ /C.i AU' .Blac-kwoli. in evidence, said lie ccmld mot in-'-gine how .bis- wife' got the, poison-. He k'-ol no pc/i«en at' the --,/ i house-.' 1 . The news did not emue -as d surprise to him. :v= hi=v; wite- had•' been talking about it for . the past three woeks.r g], 0 J,nd been tbveateninr!; to do - away with, herself and. tlio .children. V b had beer, in ill health for .tbcXpaSt ?;k twelve months. .< r.