1939-11-02 — Page 15

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THE CHINA MAIL, NOVEMBER 2, 1939.

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TO-DAY'S STRANGE STORY OF REAL PEOPLE

NO. 97-THE CASE OF DR. WILLIAM H. WILSON

BY VINCENT TOWNE

"It's poisoned! Save the bottle!." With this cry of terror Dr. William H. Wilson, a Philadelphia physician, fell into a convulsion, during which a quarter of an hour later herdied in great agony.

a

Dr. Wilson had been enjoying

On very profitable practice.

Tues- day, June 23, 1908, he received by express a small wooden box contain- Ing a bottle of ale, and accompanied by a letter typewritten upon station- ery bearing the head of a Philadelphia brewing concern. The letter request- ed the physician to sample the pro- duct and Inclosed a blank form of testimonial for his signature. Dr. Wilson put the ale in his refrigerator and went to his bungalow at Corn- wells, Pa.. where he was in the habit of treating some of his wealthiest suburban patients.

"It's poisoned! Save the bottlel"

FORGED BUS TICKET CHARGES

A

SIX MEN, FIVE OF THEM CON- DUCTORS, OF THE KOWLOON MOTOR BUS COMPANY, AND -WOMAN, APPEARED BEFORE MR, Q. A. A. MACFADYEN THIS MORN- ING WHEN CHIEF DETECTIVE INSPECTOR A. E. CAREY BROUGHT 18 CHARGES AGAINST THEM, IN CONNECTION WITH FORGED BUS : TICKETS.

Accused Li Sang, 27, Wu Wing, 22, Tang Tak, 26, Ho On, 22, Pun Fat, 31, and Wong Lee, 26, and Chan Tai, 27, a married woman, were charged with conspiracy to defraud the K.M.B.C. by pretending that certain tickets were issued by the Company, whereas, in fact, they were not.

They were also charged individual- ly with different offences such as embezzlement, and possession of and uttering, forged tickets.

The letterhead of the brewery firm | hammer. Concerning this last the was proved to be a forgery, and a alleged murderer wrote: Philadelphia printer, suspected of

"I sent you an impression of the the crime, was arrested, but succeed- same hammer with which I nailed

his ed in proving

innocence. The the box containing the poisoned ale. authorities were at their wits' ends The wood is of the same used in the of when there was received at the Phila- box, this merely to prove authentic-at Li Uk Village.

delphia office of the Associated Pressity."

Returning home on the night June 26, he looked about him for a cooling drink, opened the icebox, noticed the ale and poured out a glassful, which he proceeded to drink. But he had no sooner swallowed the beverage than he uttered the alarm

quoted above. ‚ˆ

Analysis disclosed that the ale had been saturated with cyanide of potas- sium, a deadly poison, now common in our criminal annals, but very little known at that time.

letter

In this

The others

All were arrested on October 20

Mr. C. A. S. Russ appeared for Pun Fat, and Mr. S. Ng-Quinn for Wu Wing and Ho On. were not defended,

The prosecution opposed bail. A week's formal remand was or- adered.

the

a note written on the same typewriter When these articles were compared as that which had produced the letter with those held in evidence by the to the coroner,

communica-police microscopic examination failed tion the alleged murderer offered to to show any discrepancies. The seal sell a complete confession of the crime exactly fit the impression upon and give the profit to the six-year-wax, the initial S in type bore old daughter of Dr. Wilson. But the nick reproduced upon the letterhead, detectives, after futile efforts to trap

and the type coincided exactly with him, came to regard this mysterious that used upon the decoy testimonial; correspondent as an innocent person also, the wood bore hammer prints who was hoaxing them.

of the same size as those upon the poison package.

"Now this event closes for me a year of extraordinary events," wrote the alleged murderer. "My grief has been, more than words 'can wield the matter' - a grief'

that makes breath poor and speech unable.'""

The identity of the alleged derer was never discovered, and the murder of Dr. Wilson remains

blacker day a mystery even it was at the moment when he gasp- anded out his dying breath.

I

A year after the crime a news- paper writer who had been active upon the case received in the mail a long communication signed "The Executioner." It stated: "I am the person who' killed Dr. William H. Wilson just one year ago to-day.

will For purposes which you

later understand, I have prepared an ar- ticle upon the subject for which I wish an audience. I shall take the liberty of expressing you a small box

matter containing the entire

it that to everything pertaining to

have.”

The cork of the bottle had been secured with red wax., into which at either side of the neck had been impressed a seal bearing the S. Upon the letterhead the name of the brewery firm was flanked on either side by another large S of a different design. The letter explained that the bottle was one of a number

stated sent to physicians and

that the brewers

the would appreciate doctor's signature on the inclosed blank. There was nothing about the package, the bottle or the letter excite suspicion. Everything was bore evidence neatly prepared and

The box was received. It con- that hundreds of other such samples tained the "confession," copies of let- had been sent out .with identicalters used in correspondence with Dr. letters to physicians.'

Wilson's widow, and certain articles The following day the coroner re- which caused a commotion at police ceived a letter postmarked Bristol, headquarters.

die One was a steel Pa. signed "An injured husband and marked with the initial S and bearing father," and purporting to be from a tag which stated "Seal used on two Dr. Wilson's murderer. The alleged impressions on wax sealing bottle at confession stated: "This letter is true neck," a type initial letter S of 36- in every detail, and it proves I am point Stuyvesant labeled "The initial the person who attended to this used on each side of the letterhead matter.

I will tell you that the ale of the decoy letter," several lines of contained cyanide of potassium and type, set up. bound together and letter tagged "Type used in printing decoy there are two seals with the capital S on the bottle."

return blank;" also a small bit of Police and detectives left no stonewood bearing the impression of unturned in their search for the

a'

CONCUBINE RUNS OFF

mur-

PICKPOCKET IN A BUS

hard

Sentence

months' of nine labour was imposed on Hau Kau, 20, by Mr. R. Edwards this morning, for the theft of a wallet.

Inspector Collins said that at about 5.30 p.m. yesterday, the victim was to-riding in a bus in Pokfulam Road. the back of than Defendant, standing at

the bus, extracted the wallet from his jacket pocket.

was

Defendant was also placed under Police supervision for two years.

TIED TO A

TREE

A story of how he was tied to a tree and left in the sun for several hours by the Japanese at Namtau, was related by Chan Wo, 30, at the Central Magistracy, this morning, when he was charged with returning to the Colony after banishment for His life.

That his concubine had run away taking his daughters with her, reported to the police last night by Lo Ming, 52, of Sheung Li Uk Village. Lo stated that his concubine, Yau So-mai, 20, left the house at 11.30 a.m. yesterday, taking a quantity of

some jewellery. clothing and two daughters, nine and '11 years old, accompanied the woman.

He was sentenced to six months' hard labour.

criminal.

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