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Michigan's strychnine saint : the curious case of Mrs. Mary McKnight

Call Number

  • H 364.1523 B9315.1 (CEN)

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Publication Information

Charleston, SC : The History Press, 2014.

Physical Description

188 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Summary

"The spring of 1903 proved disastrous for the Murphy family. On April 22, the infant Ruth Murphy died in her crib. Within an hour, her mother, Gertrude, experienced a violent spasm before she, too, died. Ten days later, John Murphy followed his wife and child to the grave after suffering from a crippling convulsion. While neighbors whispered about a curse and physicians feared a contagious disease, Kalkaska County sheriff John W. Creighton and prosecuting attorney Ernest C. Smith searched for answers. As they probed deeper into the suspicious deaths, they uncovered a wicked web of intrigue. And at the center stood a widow in a black taffeta dress"--

"This is a spell-binding story of a startling crime set against the backdrop of early twentieth-century northwestern Michigan"--

Added Authors

Mary McKnight