Insanity runs in my family. It practically gallops! -- Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
STRANGE CASE OF DOUBLE MURDER-SUICIDE
by our reporter at the scene
The town of — has experienced the strangest case in its history. Residents of — Street became alarmed when they smelled burning food inside No. 14. They called the police, who discovered two corpses in the living room. The victims have been identified as Stephen and Louise Fitzpatrick. A post-mortem revealed they had both died of ingesting massive amounts of poison; three different types, reportedly.
Now the story becomes bizarre. Police investigation discovered that Louise Fitzpatrick was married before to a man who died of heart failure shortly after she insured his life. She inherited all of his money.
She recently insured the lives of her new husband and both stepdaughters.
Examination revealed the food in the oven and the cake that the couple had been eating both contained shocking amounts of poison.
The two stepdaughters were lucky enough to be shopping in — when the bodies were discovered. We asked them for a statement. Miss Ruth Fitzpatrick said, "Louise invited us to dinner. It was her and Dad's anniversary, you know. We thought we'd have time to get our shopping and get home before dinner was ready."
The coroner's ruling yesterday summarised the case: "Mrs. Fitzpatrick attempted to kill her family for their money. Somehow she mistakenly ate the poisoned food, and her plan backfired fatally."
Mr. and Mrs. Fitzpatrick's money has been divided between the two young ladies.
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Death Waits for Some Men
Mystery / ThrillerRuth and Nancy Fitzpatrick set out to murder their father and stepmother. Their plan hits a snag when they discover their stepmother is also planning to murder their father -- and them.
