January 4, 1859
CRIME AND TRAGEDY. -- We are grieved to learn that the family of Dr. Moxley, near Greenwich, in Prince William county, Va., were poisoned on Friday last, by the cook, by mingling arsenic with the soup. Mrs. Moxley, the aged mother of Dr. M., soon died, and several other members of the family are reported to be very ill. Some of the servants also partook of the poisoned food, and are among the sufferers. The atrocious being by whom the deed was committed will of course meet the penalty of her awful crime. -- Alex. Sentinel.
+-+poison+-+moxley.JPG)
Evening Star
January 7, 1859
The family of Dr. Moxley, in Prince William, Va., are recovering from the late attempt to poison them -- none dying except the aged mother of Dr. M. The criminal is now in jail.
+-+poison+-+moxley+-+recovering.JPG)
Wow. I wonder what drove the cook to do such an awful thing.
ReplyDeleteSo far I haven't been able to find anything else on the case, but I suspect the cook was a household slave. The reason could have been anything from retaliation for abuse by a master to anger at one or all of the family for a specific slight.
Delete