Bread and Butter Murders 04

Hoag Family Plot - Alabama Center Cemetery, Alabama, NY

SETUP: Last time we left off with Polly's sister Julia insisting it was Polly's husband, Henry, who wanted the arsenic to kill rats, not Polly. Julia also testified that it was Henry who mixed the poison in the meal and Polly was outside at the time and had no idea where Henry put the rest of it. We know this was not the case as Henry was sick for several days, Many friends came to visit him until they thought he had chorea. And now the snippet.

Henry was sick for ten days before he felt any better. Selah Vosburg testified he went to visit Henry only once for fear he had cholera morbus again and he knew it was catchy. Selah said he had known Henry for a long time and had never known him to be sickly, although he saw nothing odd in Polly’s behavior to make him suspect her of any wrong doing.

All had said they saw no lack of attention on Polly’s part towards her husband. It is our opinion that Polly did poison her husband, but not enough to kill him yet. She wanted all to believe that she was a devoted wife. Polly also wanted everyone to believe that Henry was a sickly man and would always be so. When she finally killed him no one would suspect a thing.

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BLURB:

In 1856, in the rural town of Alabama, NY one woman's family suffered from multiple unexplained deaths. The town folk grew suspicious of the now remarried Polly Frisch. An investigation commenced, bodies were exhumed, an affair—exposed. Polly would be arrested for the murders of her first husband and daughters. Her fourteen-year-old son would testify against her. If found guilty, the punishment for such a crime was the gallows. Bread & Butter is the true story of Polly Frisch who poisoned her family with arsenic and the five trials it took to convict her. 

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The above excerpt is from Bread & Butter: The Murders of Polly Frisch, a book I co-authored with my friend, Ellen Bachorski in 2000. We are re-releasing it into the modern world of POD and Kindle, etc. with a new cover, fresh edits and new info. Due for release in February 2014.