Dispatch, March 27, 1889

WAS HE POISONED?

Moral -- Murder

A BURNING QUESTION ON THE EASTERN SHORE.

The Trial of a Celebrated Case -- Mrs. Taylor at the Bar -- Interesting Testimony.

[Special telegram to the Dispatch]

ACCOMACK COURTHOUSE via TASLEY, Va., March 26. -- Another large crowd filled the court-room this morning to witness the second day's proceedings in the trial of Mrs. Virginia Taylor on the charge of killing her husband.

Dr. John W. Bowdoin, resuming his testimony, described Taylor's condition during his illness. He visited him five times; never saw him in a severe convulsion; found him comfortable Thursday night and Friday morning, but complaining of soreness and sick-stomach. His pulse was full and bowels costive. The witness gave him a purgative medicine and a compound of opium. On Saturday morning the patient appeared much better. Witness was summoned late Saturday night, but found Taylor dead. Did not go in to see him.

CROSS-EXAMINED.

Dr. Bowdoin being cross-examined said he did not at the time know the cause of Taylor's death. He knew the symptoms resembled strychnine-poisoning, but thought such a thing impossible in the case. He had been frequently at Taylor's house, but never knew of any trouble between Taylor and his wife. He saw Mrs. Taylor at Modestown December 13th, the day her husband was taken sick. She told him Taylor was feeling badly but she did not insist on his going to see him. During his (witness's) visits Mrs. Taylor was not often in the house. They were killing hogs at Taylor's and she was busy with hog work. He never told Mrs. Taylor to give her husband sugar in his medicine. The medicine he gave needed no sugar. Taylor died Saturday night and was buried on Monday.

THE POST-MORTEM.

Dr. Bowdoin held a post-mortem on the following Friday. He found the blood dark and liquid throughout the body, the heart, liver, and other organs apparently healthy, but some slight bruises on the inner lining of the stomach. The lungs were full of blood. Taylor had complained of pains in his breast during his illness. The Doctor described to the jury the symptoms of strychnine-poisoning and the difference between these symptoms and those of common tetanus. He said the symptoms in Taylor's case were similar to those of dumb brutes he had seen die from strychnine. Dr. Bowdoin stated that several days before Taylor's body was exhumed Mrs. Taylor came to see him and said she would not allow his body to be taken up. He told her the law would not regard her wishes in the matter.

A QUESTION.

Mrs. Taylor then asked him whether if he should hold the autopsy he could decide positively whether Taylor had been poisoned. He told her he could not. Mrs. Taylor then said: "Go ahead and take him up." Dr. Bowdoin had frequently stopped at Taylor's house while hunting on the neighboring seaside marshes and had never seen anything wrong between Taylor and his wife.

HAD THE JERKS.

John W. Bundick, a neighbor of Taylor, testified he went to Taylor's on the morning of December 14th to help him kill hogs. He found Taylor in bed. Taylor told him he had had a terrible attack of the jerks. His wife had given him a dose of household panacea just before he went to bed the night before. Taylor said he had never been in such a condition before. He had no use of his legs and was constantly jerking and twitching. Taylor described his attack to witness. He said he was waked by a jerking motion. After having several attacks in bed he sat before the fire. While sitting there another spasm came upon him and he fell to the floor stiff and unable to rise. During the forenoon, while witness and Edward Johnson were killing the hogs, Mrs. Taylor called them, and on going into the house they found Taylor lying on the floor with a spasm on him. His flesh and limbs were stiff, lips and nose purple, eyes starting, teeth clenched, and froth issuing from his mouth. As soon as the spasm wore off Taylor said he felt as if pins were sticking in him all over his body and asked to be rubbed.

MORE SPASMS.

In a few minutes he had another spasm similar to the first, and shortly afterwards he had a third attack. His head and heels would almost touch, and during these attacks Mrs. Taylor did not come into the room where her husband was, but she came to the door and asked if he was dead. Jim Dix alias Townsend, the young man employed by Taylor to work on his farm, was not at home when the men went there that morning, but came in about 9 o'clock. He did not go where Taylor was nor render any assistance during his attacks. Taylor perspired freely after these attacks and said he was perfectly conscious all the while, but could not speak. Taylor asked for water after the spasms were off and complained of sick-stomach and a bitter taste in his mouth and vomited freely, after which he got better and went to sleep. Witness saw Taylor the two following days and found him better. Late Saturday night he was sent for to help shroud Taylor; found Mrs. Taylor getting out his clothes. She remarked: "Well, Bill is gone," but she did not appear to be grieved. She told witness she wanted the body buried early Monday morning.

CONFIRMED.

Edward Johnson, a close neighbor of Taylor's, who went there the morning after Taylor had his first attack, confirmed the testimony of the preceding witness. He heard Mrs. Taylor tell Bundick shortly after the severe attack Thursday that she was going to try to get her husband to take the rest of that medicine. Witness stayed with Taylor that night. Mrs. Taylor went up stairs about 8 o'clock and did not come down till the next morning. Witness saw Taylor several times during his illness; thought he was nearly well Saturday night and went home.

A VIVID ACCOUNT.

Here the witness gave a vivid account of how Mrs. Taylor came to his house about 12 o'clock Saturday night and aroused him, telling him that her husband was sick again; how he went hurriedly with her across the fields and arrived just in time to see Taylor expire.

W. D. Parks testified that he went to Taylor's house Saturday evening and found several persons. Taylor seemed to be so much better that all the neighbors except witness went home. About 10 o'clock Mrs. Taylor asked her husband if he had not better take some medicine. Taylor said no, when Mrs. Taylor went up-stairs to bed and witness got in bed with Taylor. In a short while Taylor called to his wife to come down, and she gave him some medicine.

SUGAR.

Mrs. Taylor came down in her night-clothes, went into the kitchen, and came back with a glass containing something white, which she said was sugar. She gave it to Taylor and then went back up-stairs. Taylor complained of the bitter taste of the medicine, and in a few minutes had another attack, which bent him nearly double and caused him to jerk so violently that he (witness) thought the bed would fall. On being called Mrs. Taylor came down and went out to arouse the neighbors, but James Dix, who was sleeping up-stairs came down very reluctantly and for some time refused to help witness hold Taylor on the bed, saying he had a chill and didn't like to see Taylor in that condition. When witness proposed to send for Dr. Bowdoin, Mrs. Taylor said the Doctor could do him no good. Taylor had three convulsions and died about one hour and a half after the first attack. Witness asked Mrs. Taylor what medicine she had given her husband and she said it was hot drops. Shortly after Taylor died his wife came in and said she did not know what she would do without him, but he was gone and she was not going to run mad about it. She said she was going to carry on the farm. Monday morning, while Taylor's body was lying in the house, witness had assisted Mrs. Taylor in hiding two barrels of flour in the cellar. She said she was going to take care of herself and did not want people to know what was in the house. He never knew of any disagreement between Taylor and his wife.

SOLD THE POISON.

George W. Oldham, a merchant at Temperanceville, testified to having sold Mrs. Taylor, some time last October, a bottle of strychnine which she said she wanted to kill rats with. She seemed to be in great trouble at the time.

Ike Hall (colored) saw Mrs. Taylor one day last fall on the road to Temperanceville. She asked if she could get some strychnine in Temperanceville. She told him foxes and dogs were killing her geese on the marsh.

Rachael Watson, the colored cook at Taylor's house, testified that she had seen Mrs. Taylor and James Dix hug and kiss each other. She saw Mrs. Taylor throw her arms around him and kiss him. She had seen her sitting in Dix's lap. Taylor was sometimes present when these caresses were going on and made no objection. Witness never heard Taylor accuse his wife of improper conduct with other men.

Edward Johnson being recalled, said he had heard Mrs. Taylor say that she would get on without her husband, and that she had gotten tired of him.

O. J. Lucas, a prominent merchant at Modestown, testified that he went to Taylor's house last fall and asked Mrs. Taylor where her husband was. She replied he was down the bay, and hoped she would never see him again; said he had accused her of intimacy with Jim Dix, who would beat him if he ever came back. She said she liked Jim, and would like to see him beat her husband. Later she told witness that she was so unhappy that she had tried to kill herself by taking laudanum, and asked if he kept any poison in his store. A little later Taylor was in witness's store, at Modestown, and told how he had been made so drunk by some salts which his wife had given him that he had to sit down on the roadside. Witness asked Mrs. Taylor if she had put anything in the salts she had given her husband. She said she had not. He told her not to kill Bill Taylor; it would be better to leave him.

CORONER TAYLOR.

State-Chemist Taylor, of Richmond, then gave a minute account of the analysis he had made of the dead man's stomach and how he had found unmistakable traces of strychnine in the stomach by all three of the usual tests. He was subjected to a most rigid cross-examination by the counsel on both sides both as a chemist and physician, and gave it as his opinion that Taylor died of strychnine-poisoning.

At the conclusion of Dr. Taylor's evidence the court adjourned till to-morrow.