One of the most infamous murders in Dover's history is also the first in the country to be committed using the U.S. Mail.
The weapon was a box of chocolate bonbons laced with arsenic, targeting the family of a philandering husband.
And the suspect was aspurned lover taking revenge on a man with whom she had a love affair.
History buff Jan Crumpley will commemorate the "Chocolate Candy Murders" Sunday, Aug. 5, when she donsa Victorian costume to lead a 2 p.m. walking tour in Dover that will discuss how the case lefttwo sisters of a prominent Dover family dead in 1898.
Her tale will be startat the site of the Pennington mansion on The Green,where the sisters died, Crumpley said.
From there, the tour will go to the Presbyterian cemetery a half a block away on Governors Avenue so tourists can lay flowers on the sisters'graves.
"This is the most romantic murder of the century," Crumpley said. "The walking tour is focused just on the murders, and it's the only time anyone presents it this way."
In February 1891, John P. Dunning married Mary Pennington, the daughter of former Delaware Congressman John Penningtonin Dover. The couple moved to San Francisco.
The next year, the couple had a daughter and the family moved near Golden Gate Park. One afternoon while strollingin the park,Dunning met Cordelia Botkin and the two began a flirtation that spilled into an affair.
While his wife remained in San Francisco, Dunning and Botkin carried on. But whenMary Elizabeth had enough, she took her baby to her father’s home in Dover.
Botkin and Dunning remained constant companions until Dunningaccepted a position as a war correspondent with The Associated Press in March 1898. When he left for Puerto Rico to cover the Spanish-American War, he told Botkinhe would never return to San Francisco.
Botkin is said to haveaccompanied Dunning across the bay and wept bitterly when they parted.
That summer, on Aug. 9, 1898, a small package arrived in Dover via U.S. Mail addressed to Mrs. John P. Dunning at her father's home.
After supper, the family retired to the veranda, and Mrs. Dunning opened the package, which was a fancy candy box containing a handkerchief, chocolate creams and a small slip of paper which said:
“With love to yourself and baby. – Mrs. C.”
Mary Elizabethdidn't know who sent the package, but with many friends in San Francisco, she had no reason to suspect the contents to be poisoned.
Six people ate the candy. Mary Elizabeth's sister, Ida Deane, died two days later. Mary Elizabeth followed her a day later on Aug. 12.
When the former Congressman examined the writing on the box and paper, he realized he had seen it before. Itwas the same handwriting as that on an anonymous letter to Mrs. Dunning from San Francisco many months before, alleging an affair.
When Dunning returned to Dover, he immediately recognized Cordelia Botkin's handwriting and remembered he told her about his wife's fondness for candy. He had also told her that his wife was fond of a San Francisco friend named Mrs. Corbaly.
Botkin was arrested for the murders and her trial was covered on the front pages of newspapersacross America.
While Crumpley's walking tour is the only one dedicated to telling the storyof the murders, this piece of history isn't new to people visiting the First State Heritage Park in Dover. They've been talking about it for years, she said.
"I've only been talking about the murders for three years, but it was only last year that I decided we needed to pay homage to them on the anniversary," she said.
First State Heritage Park's Sarah Zimmerman said it isimportant to keep the story alive and to maintain a respectful tone.
"It was one of those watershed moments when the eyes of the nation were glued on the outcome of the case," she said. "This was one of those trials of the century – much like the Scopes Trial or the O.J. Simpson case. Although the case was tried in California, all of the witnesses and family members had to travel from Delaware to testify. Not once but twice."
On Dec. 30, 1898, Botkin was found guilty, and on Feb. 4, 1899, she was sentenced to life in prison.
A Supreme Court decision related to circ*mstantial evidence required Botkin to be re-tried years later. She was again found guilty Aug. 2, 1904.
The 56-year-old Botkin died in prison on March 7, 1910. Her death certificate cites the cause as “softening of the brain, due to melancholy.”
"Everybody in America knew about this bizarre story," Crumpley said. "It, unfortunately,brought Dover some notoriety."
IF YOU GO
WHAT:Chocolate Candy Murder anniversary walking tour
WHEN: 2 p.m., Aug. 5
WHERE:Meet at the Delaware Store – on the corner of South State Street and The Green (the old Golden Fleece site)– 325 S. State St., Dover
ADMISSION:$9 for adults, $4.50 for children age 6-18 (smaller children are free)
NOTABLE: Crumpley will be selling boxes of Cordelia chocolate guaranteed not to be poisoned
INFORMATION: Call the Delaware Store at (302) 674-1787
Reach Jerry Smith at jsmith17@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JerrySmithTNJ.
