He Wants the Poisoner, Even If the Chemist Found None
Frank Mull says he will prosecute whoever poisoned his daughter Gussie—despite a chemist's report finding no poison in her stomach.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Seattle.—Despite the advantage they won Wednesday, when the chemist's report was submitted to Coroner Hoye, showing that no trace of poison had been found in the stomach of little Gussie Mull, E. O. Crowell and Mrs. Crippen are not yet out of the woods in the Mull poisoning case. An avenger who believes them responsible for the death of his child is on their trail in the person of Frank Mull, little Gussie's father. So far Mr. Mull has remained in the background, but promises soon to become a central figure in the affair. 'The case is now in the hands of the state's officers,' said Mr. Mull this morning. 'For that reason I do not feel that I ought to discuss it. I am willing to say this much, however: If the coroner's jury brings in a verdict that my baby was poisoned, I will prosecute the poisoner to the bitter end.' Mull's declaration was brought out by the fact that it had been reported to him that there would be no prosecution of either Crowell or Mrs. Crippen in connection with Mrs. Mull's death. 'That is a matter with which I have nothing to do,' said Mr. Mull, referring to his wife's case. 'The state may do as it pleases with that, for I had no control over her. But my little daughter was mine alone and I wanted her.'
“If the coroner's jury brings in a verdict that my baby was poisoned, I will prosecute the poisoner to the bitter end.”
In 1908, a coroner's chemist report could make or break a poisoning case, and a father had to threaten prosecution himself when he feared the state would not act. Modern child-death investigations rely on medical examiners and forensic toxicology, but the family's demand for accountability still sounds familiar.
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