WEED-KILLER USED

Waikato Times, Volume 195, Issue 22459, 21 September 1944, Page 4

WEED-KILLER USED

POISONED BISCUITS .WOMAN GUEST DIES SEVEN OTHERS IN HOSPITAL (By TelegrAph.—Press Association) CHRISTCHURCH, Thurs. One person is dead and seven are seriously ill in hospital following a party yesterday at the, house of Mr and Mrs T. O’Connor, 85 Radley Street, Woolston, when they ate biscuits compounded of arsenical weedkiller in mistake for ground rice. The victims are:— Died from Poisoning IVlrs Gladys Pearl Hopping, widow, of Clarendon Terrace* 111 from Poisoning Mr T. O’Connor,, condition fairly serious but improving. Mrs Violet May Virtue, cgndition now fairly satisfactory. Judith Virtue, aged 4, condition still serious. Mrs Nelly Joyce Gee, condition slightly improved but still serious. Audrey Gee, aged 10, condition serious. Mrs Robb, condition now fairly satisfactory. Miss Joyce White, aged 21, condition slightly improved but still serious. Birthday Entertainment On Tuesday Mrs O’Connor cooked German oiscuits, sponge cake and pikelets for the entertainment of a number of friends on Wednesday, which was her birthday. Miss White and Mrs Hopping called yesterday and had morning tea with Mrs O’Connor about 11 o’clock. They both left shortly afterward as they were feeling ill. Later In the day other visitors called and were also taken ill. A doctor was called first to Mrs Hopping and later to the other patients, who were all in a grave condition. After being treated at their homes they were taken to hospital. Mr O’Connor did not taste any of the biscuits until evening. He too subsequently took ill and was admitted to hospital. Shortly after midnight when the I dice were called they learned that there had been in a cupboard a tin containing weed r killer, the principal ingredients of which proved to be arsenic and caustic soda, while the biscuits Mrs O’Connor had cooked contained a considerable quantity of arsenic. Contents of Tin It is believed that Mrs O’Connor used the weed-killer, which her husband had had for more than two years, in mistake for powdered rice. When Mr O’Connor took ill he asked her about it and she took the tin to a chemist, who told her that it certainly did not contain ground rice.

Mrs O’Connor herself had not been feeling well and therefore had not eaten any of the biscuits. She had given cakes to a number of children in the neighbourhood, and during the evening detectives made a house-to-house canvass to see if any of the children were ill and to warn the parents to call medical assistance immediately if they took ill.