Prime Crime: Solved Murders - The Candy Box Killings Pt. 2

Episode Date: August 10, 2022

44-year-old Cordelia Botkin was the sole suspect in a murder-by-mail case that killed two sisters and involved two jurisdictions on two different coasts. Authorities knew she had an affair with the husband of one of the victims, but could they find enough evidence to prove it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this murder case, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes dramatizations and discussions of murder and assault. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. On the evening of December 20, 1898, 35-year-old John Dunning was escorted out of a San Francisco courthouse and brought to the county jail. Guards ushered him through a sea of rowdy onlookers and reporters. The audience shoved one another just to get a glimpse at the man. According to the papers, his wife Elizabeth had been killed with a box of poison chocolates. He'd be testifying at the murderer's trial, but he hadn't been cooperating with the prosecution's questions.

That earned him some time in the clink. John tried to remain calm and refused to acknowledge the jeering crowd, but there was one pair of eyes that he simply could not. ignore. Those of his former mistress, Cordelia Botkin. Welcome to Solve Murder's True Crime Mysteries, a Spotify original from Parcast. I'm your host Carter Roy. And I'm your host Wendy McKenzie. Every Wednesday we step into the world of true crimes most fascinating murder cases and tell the tale of how real-life detectives close the case. You can find episodes of Solve Murders and all other Spotify by originals from Parcast for free exclusively on Spotify.

This is our second episode on the Candy Box killing. Last week, we watched as authorities arrested John's former mistress, Cordelia Botkin, for murdering Elizabeth and her sister, Ida. This week will follow Cordelia's journey through the court system and witness an unusual path to justice. We have all that and more coming up. Stay with us. On August 23, 1898, San Francisco Detective Gibson arrested 44-year-old Cordelia Botkin.

Cordelia was the prime suspect in the murder of sisters Mary Elizabeth Dunning and Ida Dean. Elizabeth and Ida had received a mysterious box of chocolates in the mail earlier that month. The women sampled the candies and died in their Delaware home a few days later. They had no idea that the candies were laced with arsenic. After a few weeks, the authorities were fairly certain that Cordelia was responsible. They were fairly certain that she'd had an affair with Elizabeth's husband, John Dunning, while he was living in San Francisco. And they speculated that she had committed the crime out of jealousy,

so she could have John all to herself. Once Cordelia was behind bars, all police chief Isaiah Lees could do was wait for new evidence. This was a bicostal case. and the San Francisco police needed to coordinate with the investigators in Dover, Delaware. Luckily, things were moving swiftly in Delaware. Elizabeth and Ida's father, John Pennington, had enlisted the help of an old work buddy, Attorney General Robert C. White. White was in constant contact with Lee's, and they frequently relayed info across the U.S.

They needed to figure out what to do with Cordelia as soon as possible. As glad as I am to help, technically the crime was committed in Delaware. Doesn't White understand that there isn't much I can do here? According to the last telegram, White thinks different. Mrs. Bogkin lives in San Francisco, so she would have used a post office in town. She probably bought the poison here, which means some of the crime happened in California. Well, he's the lawyer. I suppose the question on his mind is which state we'd be more likely to win in.

The victims were dover girls through and through, and everyone's. Dair knows their father. So we should form the jury on their home turf. It's a stretch, but maybe White can make an extradition happen. Extradition is usually reserved for fugitives on the lamb, not suspects already in custody, but the lawman involved thought it was worth a try. White told the media in San Francisco about their plans to file for extradition.

This amped up public interest in the case and seemed to jog the memory of a local candy shop clerk. Soon, his story was all over the news. Raymond Miller told police that he remembers a distinct sale he made three weeks ago. A suspicious-looking woman entered the wave candy store in Stockton and requested a box of chocolates. However, when another clerk handed her the box, she removed each piece and replaced them with some she'd brought with her. Chief Lees called Miller into the station and arranged a police lineup to determine if this strange woman was really Cordelia Botkin.

But Cordelia's lawyers successfully delayed that effort. Cordelia's attorney, George Knight, applied for a writ of habeas corpus that would allow his client to refute her arrest before the court. In essence, he was trying to prevent her from being extradited to Delaware, where the locals were against her. The application was granted,

and her hearing was set to be held on September 6th, which was just over a week away. Luckily for the prosecution, a Dover detective soon arrived with evidence in tow. While some of it pushed the case against Cordelia forward, it also led to some apparent dead ends. We showed all the evidence to a handwriting expert. The letters, the note that came with the chocolates, everything. And he says they're not a match.

Okay, so the letters came from some of the letters came from some. else. That doesn't... It's worse than that. The analyst also looked at Mrs. Bucking's pinman's ship. And? It doesn't match any of the samples. The case was unraveling in the prosecution's hands. Cordelia certainly seemed shifty, and she had a motive to kill Elizabeth Dunning, but that wasn't enough to get her extradited to Delaware. The investigators needed clear evidence that she sent the box of candy, and they needed it fast. Then a man named George Haas, owner of Haas and Sons Candy,

came forward with a statement that changed everything. He sat down with Chief Lees to look over the remaining chocolates which had been preserved as evidence. All right, here's the box the chocolates came in. You'll see there are a few left. That's it. My store has shelves of these boxes. We're one of the only shops in California to use them.

special order. Listen, you're not the first candy store worker to try to weasel their way into this case. Unless you've got something a little more substantial for me, we're done here. What about the chocolates themselves? Have at them. Aha, just as I suspected. See this dimple right at the top? That's our coconut cream.

And look here, we're the only shop in town to do this sprinkle of sea salt. I'm telling you, these are harsh chocolates. Later that day, officers came to Lees with corroborating information. You know that little white handkerchief that was mailed with the candy box? Where we traced it to a shop called the City of Paris. We talked to the staff and Cordelia Botkin is a regular there. Nicely done, officer. There's more.

In their records, it says that someone purchased one on August 4th. And guess what's two blocks down from that store? Haas Candy. Finally, the police had a concrete theory. As far as they were concerned, Cordelia replaced the candies from Haas candy with the poisoned ones, then tied the box up with a fancy bow and added a dainty handkerchief as an additional gift, but one element was still missing. The investigators didn't know where Cordelia got the arsenic.

They wondered if she bought it from the same neighborhood as the chocolates and handkerchief and scoured the area. Soon they came across the owl drug store and found a pharmacy clerk who was eager to answer their questions. Sir, do you recall selling any arsenic in recent months? As a matter of fact, sometime around June, a woman came in asking for some. She said she needed it to bleach a straw hat. I told her there are far less dangerous chemicals she could use for that,

but she insisted. Customers have to sign for arsenic, correct? Yes, her name ought to be here somewhere. Ah, here it is. June 1st, Mrs. Bodkin. With all the pieces now in place, Chief Lees prepared to talk to Cordelia again. If she knew just how much evidence was stacking up against her, perhaps she'd drop her claims of innocence before time ran out.

Coming up, the shocking witness testimony in an already unusual trial. Hi listeners, it's Vanessa from the podcast series Mythology. Every Tuesday, join me on a wondrous journey back in time. Exploring the most epic battles, sweeping love stories, and harrowing adventures ever told. Heroes, gods, monsters, mayhem. This podcast has it all. From the Knights of the Roundtable and Hori the Hunter to Paradise, Lost and the Lost City of Atlantis.

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Cordelia, I thought you'd like to know that my men paid a visit to the Owl Drugstore. Oh, is that right? It's the funniest thing. Their registry has your name in it. It says you... Purchased arsenic on June 1st? Oh, come now. Arsonic. has plenty of uses. It's great for removing stains. So, you confirmed that you purchased it? I sure did. That's no crime.

Thanks for your time, Mrs. Botkin. Chief Lees felt things were tipping back in his favor, but he still had the habeas corpus trial to worry about. Unfortunately, little is known about that trial. All we do know is that after September 6th, Cordelia's defense lost their case. That meant the murder trial could finally move forward. Cordelia needed to appear in court soon, but the authorities still weren't sure where that court would be.

The prosecutors were trying to get her extradited to Delaware, and the defense wanted to keep her in San Francisco. After Chief Lee submitted the files to the governor of California, extradition was granted, but only a week later, the defense found a way to block it. In mid-October, the case went to the Superior Court, who decided that because Cordelia had never set foot in Delaware, she could not legally be considered a fugitive from Delaware. Therefore, she could not be extradited, and she would be allowed to stay in San Francisco, whether the San Francisco PD liked it or not. It was a devastating blow for the prosecution, but the fight was far from over.

Cordelia was formally arraigned for murder and pled not guilty. The trial date was announced soon after, December 5, 1898. Once Cordelia's trial date was set, the victim's families and other Delaware witnesses boarded trains to San Francisco. Among them was the man many wanted to see testify under oath, Elizabeth's husband, John Dunning. John had repeatedly denied any romantic involvement with Cordelia, but people expected that to change. Few men would lie under penalty of perjury,

and if he finally told the truth, it would be juicy and sensational. For this reason and more, John wasn't excited to return to San Francisco. It was the place where his marriage fell apart. He may have thought about the fact that if he'd never moved there, he never would have met Cordelia, and Elizabeth would still be alive. Elizabeth's friends and family were probably thinking the same thing, but all they could do was put their faith in John's testimony. The first two weeks of the trial involved multiple witnesses, who all had something to say about Cordelia and the crime.

Elizabeth's family talked about the chocolate box and when it arrived. They connected the handwriting in the threatening letters to the box itself. Multiple witnesses also told their stories about interacting with John and Cordelia. Their landlord even said that they were living together for a time. One of Cordelia's close friends even testified that Cordelia had asked her about the uses and effectiveness of different poisons. Then, on December 19th, John was called to the stand.

He'd prepared for this moment. He was finally ready to tell the whole truth about his affair with Cordelia Botkin. but as he approached, he caught Cordelia's gaze. The collar drained from his face. He was asked to outline his history with Cordelia. Perhaps due to nerves, John spilled everything. When John finally stopped talking, George Knight approached him for cross-examination. As a defense attorney, Knight angled to make John look less trustworthy,

perhaps to cast suspicion away from his client. But he hardly expected John to act as he did. Now, Mr. Dunning, I have it on good authority that Mrs. Botkin was not the only woman you had an extramarital affair with during your time in San Francisco. Is that correct? Yes, that is correct. And what are the names of these women? Mr. Dunning, please answer the question. Some names I know.

Others, I do not. Would you mind relaying the name? you remember to the court, Mr. Dunning? No. Excuse me? I just need a moment to refresh my memory. That's all. Mr. Dunning, I order you to answer the attorney's question. No.

This is outrageous. Mr. Dunning, if you cannot abide by the rules of this court, then you will be sent to county jail until you are ready to do so. Perhaps it will do you some good. The people of the courtroom were stunned, but more important than what John Dunning left out was what he admitted to. When shown the anonymous letters Elizabeth had received and the box of candy, Dunning was certain. The handwriting was Cordelia's. In saying that, he was effectively accusing his ex-mistress of murder.

When the day's proceedings concluded, John was escorted out by guards and sent to the county. county jail, not far from Cordelia. As the former lovers were transported away, there was nothing but pure hatred in his eyes. It was a cinematic close to a day that would have been better suited to the silver screen than the courthouse, and the theatrics continued. On the morning of December 20th, 35-year-old John Dunning was asked to disclose the names of his mistresses for the second time. And once again, he refused. Without a moment's hesitation, the judge sent John right back to county jail. On the third day of this absurd back and forth, Cordelia Botkin's attorney finally broke the cycle.

Your Honor, I'd like to withdraw my request. Let these women remain anonymous. I think Mr. Dunning has endured enough humiliation for their time being. It was hard to imagine anything topping John's embarrassing display, but the trial continued to outdo itself. The next day, 44-year-old Cordelia Botkin took the stand. I've never seen that box of chocolates in my life. I've never purchased a handkerchief like that.

I've never been to the owl drugstore. I've never purchased arsenic in my life. And I've never sent a letter to Mrs. Dunning. Every accusation held against me is pure fiction. Even Cordelia's lawyer was surprised to see her deny everything. After all, she'd already told police that she did buy the arsenic, supposedly to bleach a sun hat. Her name was even written in the pharmacy's record book.

That called all the rest of her refutations into question. After a few more days of testimony, the jury finally moved into deliberations, and on December 30th, 1898, they delivered their final verdict. We find the defendant Cordelia Botkin, guilty of murder in the first degree. She will remain in prison until the end of her natural life. Cordelia hardly flinched and remained eerily calm as she left the courtroom. Her antics were far from over. Coming up, not even like.

life in prison can slow Cordelia down. Now back to the story. On Friday, December 30th, 1898, 44-year-old Cordelia Botkin was sentenced to life in prison. After just two days behind bars, Cordelia started exhibiting some concerning behavior. She refused to leave her bed and lay motionless in her cell for hours on end.

Guards became concerned for her well-being and alerted prison physicians. The doctors warned that this could be evidence of a serious nervous breakdown. Despite her weakened mental state, she was still needed in court for her formal sentencing. The jury had submitted their ruling, but Cordelia's defense team still had a few tricks up their sleeve. They petitioned the court for a retrial, and a hearing was scheduled for January 23rd. Cordelia's defense attorney started the hearing with full guns blazing. Your Honor, I'd like to request a retrial. I recognize that it has already been

discussed at length, but I believe that the state of California had no jurisdiction to hear this case. The victims were killed in the state of Delaware, mind you. Onlookers may have thought the defense attorney had a point. However, judges had already discussed this issue in depth during the extradition hearing that preceded Cordelia's trial. According to the judge, the judge, the attorney's argument for a retrial was deeply flawed, and the judge upheld Cordelia's original sentence instead. With no hope of a retrial, Cordelia's attorney filed for an appeal the next month, but it didn't look promising. Even though her attorney continued to work on her case, it seems like Cordelia accepted her fate, at least partially. By July of 1899, rumors were spreading

about her antics in prison. Convicted murderer Cordelia Botkin has managed to continue her streak of chaos even from the cell block. Rumor has it that she began a relationship with Frank McFarland, a guard at her prison. One of McFarland's colleagues confronted him about this strange trist,

which led McFarland to physically assault him. It looked like John Dunning wasn't the only man who was driven to poor choices by Cordelia's charms. After he attacked his colleague, prison guard Frank McFarland was arrested for intent to murder. However, the other guard refused to press charges so McFarland was free to go. But even after this incident, Cordelia still couldn't stay out of the headlines. In April of the following year, she was seen riding a streetcar in the middle of San Francisco,

with another guard from the prison. And she wasn't spotted by just anyone. The man who saw her just happened to be Judge Cook, who presided over her trial. Needless to say, he was not happy to see an inmate gallivanting around the city. He barged into the sheriff's office. I need answers, and I need them now. Look, I can assure you, the woman you saw wasn't Cordelia Botkin. She must have had some kind of look-like in the city.

How can you be sure? Well, you're not the first person to see this woman out and about, the guards are good men, they wouldn't let that happen. You mean to tell me there are other people who have seen her outside the prison walls? Just living her life as if she didn't murder two people. This is unacceptable. I'm launching an investigation. And although Judge Cook was confounded during that initial confrontation in mid-May,

he returned in a much different mood. Listen up and listen good. It's your lucky day. I won't be taking any further action. But if I see her or hear one murmur about her being so much as an inch outside that prison, you will regret it for the rest of your days. The judge likely backed down after he conducted his personal investigation. During this process, a local San Francisco woman came forward,

claiming that she was often mistaken for Mrs. Botkin. She looked so similar that some referred to her as Cordelia's doppelganger, and she claimed that she frequently rode the Guerrero streetcar. However, the court still had a ways to go with the real Cordelia. Her retrial was finally okayed in spring of 2001, but was postponed multiple times. It ended up opening about six years after her first trial on March 10, 1904. The case dragged on for weeks. Both sides rehashed old arguments without anything fresh to off.

But at the tail end of the trial, the prosecutors brought out their secret weapon, a new expert witness. Theodore Kitka was a world-renowned handwriting expert. Over the past weeks, he'd poured over the notes and letters that were allegedly written by Cordelia Botkin. He was far more thorough than the police analyst who looked at the samples before, and his conclusions were very different. After reviewing the anonymous letters sent to Mary Elizabeth Dunning and the note attached to that infamous box of chocolates, I can say, without a doubt, that they were penned by the same person. And I will illustrate it thus. Lights, please. What you see before you are 56 individual letters written by Mrs. Cordelia Botkin.

There are her uppercase A's, there are her lowercase B's, and so on. Go on. Compare those to the handwriting from the letters and the chocolate box note. Notice how the lines of T and I always intersect with the characters that follow them? Look at the spacing in between the letters. They're consistent, right? To the common eye, these might look like mere coincidence, but they're a clear sign that all of these samples came from the same hand. The jury was enamored. If they'd had any doubt about Cordelia Botkin's guilt, it was gone by now. Kitka's testimony fully convinced them that Cordelia poisoned Elizabeth Dunning and Ida Dean.

And while Cordelia never confessed to the crime, the facts presented by the prosecution paint a vivid picture. Cordelia Botkin and John Dunning became romantically involved sometime in 1895 in San Francisco. They became inseparable and spent countless nights in the back rooms of saloons and at the racetrack. At the time, John was living with his wife,

Elizabeth Dunning, and their young daughter. But Elizabeth soon found out about Cordelia and moved with her child back to her family home in Dover, Delaware. Once Elizabeth was out of the picture, John and Cordelia doubled down on their affair. They froliced around the city for several years with no fear of being caught.

But in early 1898, John received an assignment to cover the Spanish-American War. On the day he left, he told Cordelia that he wouldn't be returning to San Francisco. Instead, he would go to the East Coast. Maybe he'd go to Delaware to win back his wife and family. Cordelia was heartbroken. Throughout 1898, Cordelia's devastation turned into resentment. She wanted John back and felt like Elizabeth had stolen him from her. So she wrote anonymous threatening letters and sent them to Elizabeth's house.

And when that didn't feel like enough, she decided to up the ante. On June 1st, 1898, Cordelia bought two ounces of arsenic from the Owl Drugstore in San Francisco, California. This was enough arsenic to kill an entire family, and way more than Cordelia. you needed. But she just wanted to be sure. Then sometime around July 31st, she purchased a box of chocolates from Haas and Sons candy shop. She carefully pushed the arsenic into the chocolates and used her thumb to seal the candy back up and cover her tracks. Then she tied it up with a ribbon and attached a note to the box that read, with love to yourself and baby, Mrs. C. She then added a small handkerchief purchased that summer from the city of Paris store as an additional gift.

Her hope was that Elizabeth and her child would eat the chocolates and die. Then, with his family out of the way, John would run back into her arms. She mailed them in early August of 1898, and they arrived in Dover on the 9th. Three days later, Elizabeth Dunning was dead, and it looked like Cordelia's plan had succeeded. But there was one scenario that Cordelia didn't prepare for. She didn't realize that members of Elizabeth's family, like her sister Ida Dean, would try the chocolates and meet the same fate. This version of events made sense to the jury, and when it was combined with the new handwriting analysis, it seemed very convincing, so convincing, in fact, that the jury's final verdict didn't come as a surprise.

We, the jury, find the defendant Cordelia Botkin, guilty of murder in the first degree, and fix and assess the punishment, therefore, at imprisonment in the state prison for life. Despite the defense team's best efforts, this new jury ended up with the same conclusion as the old one. Cordelia was sent back to prison on April 7, 1904, and stayed there for the rest of her life.

She was forced to watch from the sidelines while John Dunning, the man she'd killed for, moved on without her. Her only child, Beverly, died the next year at age 32. Then in 1907, just three years into her sentence, John died of a brain tumor at age 44. She may not even have been informed of his passing. Cordelia died a few years later, in March of 1910, just a month after. after she'd asked to be released on parole on account of illness. She'd spent 11 years behind bars at that point. There were no clear signs of what killed her,

but multiple reports stated that she had just lost hope in ever getting out of there. After that, her spirit simply broke. The candy box killer story had finally come to its close. Thanks again for tuning into solved murders. For more information on the murder of Mary's, Mary Elizabeth Dunning, amongst the many sources we used, we found Dying for Chocolate by Carrie Seagrave extremely helpful to our research. You can find all episodes of Solved Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify.

We'll see you next time. Yeah, if we live till next time. Solve Murders is a Spotify original from Parcast. It is executive produced by Max Cutler. Sound designed by Michael Langsner, with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Nick Johnson, Trent Williamson, and Carly Madden. This episode of Solve Murders was written by Spencer Fox, edited by Sarah Batchelor, Kylie Harrington, and Giles Hofseth,

fact-checked by Claire Cronin, researched by Mickey Taylor, and produced by Freddie Beckley. The amazing cast of voice actors includes Tom Bauer, Joe Hernandez, Lath Walshager, Charlie West, and Jen Wong. Solved Murder stars Wendy McKenzie and Carter Roy.