MEAT POISONED

Hokitika Guardian, 28 July 1932, Page 5

MEAT POISONED

DASTARDLY ACT FAMILY HAS NARROW ESCAPE. ' ■ ....... Vy. ■ V ■ ■' (Per Press Association — Copyright.) ' CHRISTCHURCH, July;(27. Strychnine rubbed into meat from which .a family were to make a meaJ nearly oaused the death of a brother and sister, Charles Topp and Mary Topp; residing on a small is6jat|cl farm at; ■Ha warden. They wer e ' violently- hi, after eating some of the meat, but, fortunately, a bitter taste revealed'- that something was amiss, and . they ate very little, and soon recovered.

The.meat wrs cut from a forequarter of beef kept in the., dairy, The family had had meails 'fio.ri the beef four days previously and the meat was all right. After they had eaten the beef on the’ last occasion, the remainder of the, meal was thrown out. Four dogs ate it, and all four died. The. unused portion of the beef in the dn'ry was analysed, and it was found to be impregnated with strychnine. A ■

Since this occurrence, on July 10, the police have been investigating but apparently are unable to dircover the p-rpetrato'r of the bl'imei

From the available evidence, it seems that some person must have gone to the ! arm on the night of July 9, entered the unlocked dairy, gome distance from the , house, and rubbed powdered strychnine into the meat hanging there. There was no strychnine on the farm, so that accidental contamination seems impossib). '. Charles Topp, when interviewed, today, said there seemed little doubt that soin e person who had a grudge against them had rubbed the poison into the meat, but‘ he had no idea who his enemy was. • •