POISONER EXECUTED.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 July 1922, Page 11

POISONER EXECUTED.

MAJOR ARMSTRONG’S END. A REMARKABLE CASE. PROTESTATIONS OF INNOCENCE. London, June 2. On the day of the execution at Gloucester of Major Herbert Bowse Armstrong, who had been found guilty of poisoning his wife at Cusop in February of last year, a correspondent at Hereford wrote:—“The three children of Armstrong, pathetic little figures in this case of sombre tragedy, now know that their father has ‘died.’ Probably only the eldeet girl, aged 13, realises the real significance of this. One plan suggested for the future of the little ones is that they should be sent to New Zealand, to a relative of their dead mother. Armstrong himself has left very little money, but the children will have two thousand odd pounds left by their mother.” For five months Armstrong had fought for his life. All through he had preserved an air of unconcern, and this he maintained to the end. In the ; condemned cell he was watched day and night, and during the last two days of hie life he was visited at his own request by the vicar of Hay, the rector of Cusop. and his solicitor. To each one he protested his innocence. “Gentlemen, your task is nearly, over. My trial has nearly ended. I thank you for the kindness you have shown me.” This was the doomed man’s farewell to the cell guard. He walked to the scaffold and stood on the trap-door with the same military erectness he effected when he stood up to receive sentence of death. There were two Armstrongs—Armstrong the poisoner and Armstrong the social figure, the public man. His attempt*; on the life of Mr. Martin were almoet ridiculous enough for comic ooer:;. A. man o* Viw, one might Lcve expected, would have taken every precaution to cheat the gallows, but Armtrongj jeemiugly, never ~oqk the hang-

man’s rope into consideration. He tried time and again to poison Martin with arsenic obtained from his intended victim’s own father-in-law. Once he actually succeeded in administering poison,, and Martin was attended by Dr. Hincks, the very doctor who must have observed that the violent symptoms were the same as shown by Mrs. Armstrong during her last mysterious illness. Surely he ought, to have known, after 20 of his invitations to tea had been avoided by excuse and subterfuge, th,at he was suspected-—that he was living in the shadow of the gallows. But this never seems to have entered his mind. So little did he fear detection that he always carried a little packet of arsenic in his pocket.