| Notes |
- Mother Takes Life of Child
Poisons Four Others and Slashes Throat
Clinton, May 30 (AP) – Six-year-old Jerry Watson died of poisoning in a hospital here today and Sheriff Everett Stambaugh declared the boy’s mother, Mrs. Ida Watson, 34, had given him and her four other children poison capsules and then slashed her throat with a butcher knife.
Jerry Watson died shortly after he was carried to the hospital. The other four, Marie, 16; Bobbie, 14; David, 12, and Joe, 9, were reported improving after emergency treatment.
The mother was reported recovering from a deep wound in her throat.
Stambaugh said the eldest, Marie, told him she became suspicious when her mother called them into the house and made them take two capsules apiece, saying it was “quinine for malaria.”
Jerry was stricken ill quickly and Marie picked him up and ran for the hospital seven blocks away, the other children following here. They all collapsed as Marie was pouring out her story to a staff physician.
“Mrs. Watson was found bleeding and incoherent in the tourist cabin where the family was living,” Stambaugh continued. “She was persuaded to lay down her knife and be taken to a hospital.”
The sheriff said he found an unsigned, unaddressed note in the cabin which said, “you have your good time. I will take the children with me.”
Police Chief J.R. Greer quoted the father of the family, Duke Watson, unemployed oil worker, as saying he knew of no reason for his wife’s act.
Watson left the family shortly after noon to attend a baseball game with an old friend.
Stambaugh said he would turn the case over to the county attorney tomorrow.
Shawnee News-Star, Shawnee, Oklahoma. Wednesday, 31 May 1949, page 1.
[4]
- Mother Charge With Murdering Little Son
Clinton, June 3 (AP) – Guarded day and night in a hospital, Mrs. Ida Watson, 34, faced tonight a charge she murdered her 6-year-old son Jerry by poisoning.
Four other children made ill be poison Tuesday recovered. The destitute mother gashed her own throat, officers said. The father, Duke Watson, who was not home at the time, came here with his family seeking work.
County Attorney Milton Keen announced arraignment awaited the mother’s improvement.
Shawnee News-Star, Shawnee, Oklahoma. Sunday, 4 June 1939.
[4]
- Poison Probe Awaits Report by a Chemist
Clinton, June 1 (AP) – An investigation to determine the source of the poison administered five children of Mrs. Ida Watson will begin when the state chemist at Oklahoma City completes examination of the viscera taken from six-year-old Jerry, the only child to die, County Attorney Milton Keen, said today.
If the report reveals the exact type of poison, its source can be determined more easily, Keen explained.
Mrs. Watson, who slashed her throat after the children were administered “quinine capsules” for “malaria” was reported by hospital authorities to be in “fair condition”. The four surviving children were recovering.
Shawnee News-Star, Shawnee, Oklahoma. Friday, 2 June 1939.
[4]
- Woman Slayer Is Sent to Hospital
Arapaho, June 22 (AP) – Mrs. Ida Watson, 34, who officers said poisoned her five children at Clinton last Memorial day and slashed her own throat with a butcher knife, was ordered committed today to the Norman state hospital for a 30-day observation period.
The order was given by County Judge Donald Darrah on recommendation of physicians at a sanity hearing.
One of the children, Jerry, 6, died. The others, Marie, 16, Bobbie, 14, Davis, 12, and Joe, 9, recovered.
Sheriff Everett Stambaugh said Marie told him she became suspicious when her mother gave the children “quinine for malaria.”
Jerry was stricken quickly and Marie picked him up and led the others to a hospital.
Mrs. Watson was charged with murder. The case has been bound over to district court.
The family came here when the father was seeking work. He was not home at the time.
Shawnee News-Star, Shawnee, Oklahoma. Friday, 23 June 1939.
[4]
- Clinton, July 3 (AP) – Mrs. Ida Watson, 34, charged with poisoning her five children, one fatally, has been declared insane at the Central state hospital, Norman, County Attorney Milton Keen announced today.
Shawnee News-Star, Shawnee, Oklahoma. Tuesday, 4 July 1939.
[4]
- LKH note:
It appears from news articles and from census records that Ida was pregnant when she poisoned her children. Duke and Ida's youngest son, Peter, was born about 9 months after that event.
Ida is not with the family in the 1940 census, but has returned to the family by the time of the 1950 census.
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1902 - 1984 (81 years)
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