Paulding County GaArchives Obituaries.....Jarman, Mary 1896
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Skye Sonczalla-Driggs skyeld@comcast.net June 27, 2006, 9:51 pm

The Daily Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia, November 15, 1896
Jarman, Mary 

Child Wife Innocent. 

Paulding superior court has been engaged during the past few days in the trial 
of the case of the state against Mrs. Sallie Jarman, charged with murder. 

The case is in some respects a most remarkable one. the defendant is a slip of 
a girl, a childish figure in short dresses, who only passed her fourteenth 
birthday last July. She looks less like a murderess than any criminal I have 
ever seen. It is almost impossible to believe that one with such an innocent 
looking face could be guilty of such a heinous crime. Her manner is gentle, 
her features delicate and rather pretty. She is the daughter of Mr. Nathan 
Barron, a prominent and substantial citizen of this county. 

On the 22nd of last March she was until in marriage to William Jarman, himself 
only seventeen years of age. During the next few days the bridal couple 
divided the time between the homes of Mr. Barron and Mr. George Jarman, the 
father of the groom. On the 3rd of April while Mr. George Jarman and his wife 
had gone to Dallas, Sallie Jarman prepared the noonday meal for the family, 
which was very frugal, consisting of turnip salad, vinegar pie and coffee. 

The seven members of the family who drank the coffee immediately became very 
ill, and commenced vomiting violently, from the old “Granny” Jarman down to 
little two-year-old Mary. They continued to be very sick for several days, but 
all finally recovered except little Mary, who died on the following Monday, 
after a great deal of suffering. The only persons who ate the dinner who were 
not made sick were Sallie Jarman and a baby grandchild of Mr. Jarman’s, who 
had not taken any of the coffee, according to the testimony of the state’s 
witnesses. 

Sallie Jarman was sent by the old “granny” several hundred yards to a 
neighbor’s house for assistance and was gone for two hours, leaving the family 
in that helpless condition. She claimed in her statement, however, that she 
drank some of the coffee, and that she was sick on the way to the neighbor’s 
house, and this caused the delay. 

Dr. M.U. Nix was called to attend the sick members of the family, and stated 
the symptoms indicated arsenical poisoning. Besides constant vomiting the 
symptoms consisted principally of redness of the eyes, the swelling of the 
face, feeble pulse and intense, burning thirst. 

On account of the actions of the defendant, suspicion fastened upon her, as 
she prepared the coffee, and it was claimed by the state’s witnesses that she 
had procured a package of “rough on rats” from her father’s country store and 
put it into the coffee, although the testimony in regard to this was purely 
circumstantial. 

There were various theories advanced to account for the violent illness of the 
Jarman family, the defense attempting to show that it might have been caused 
by the acid in the vinegar pie, which was cooked in a tin pan. The experts, 
however, testified that there would hardly be enough poison from this source 
to go around among so many patients, and do so much damage; for it was also 
testified that there were a great many chickens killed by it, and a hog and 
dog made very sick from eating slops in which the coffee had been thrown. 
Another theory of the defense was that the poison was kept there by Luke 
Jarman, another son; to put into his “blockade” whisky to make it “bead,” and 
that some had accidentally got into the coffee. 

One very investigative witness by the name of McMeekin, after feeling the 
pulse of each patient, stated that he “differed” from the doctor and others as 
to the poison theory, and to demonstrate his conviction on the subject 
proposed to eat a portion of each article of food that the family had for 
dinner if Dr. Nix would treat him free of charge in case his demonstration 
failed to demonstrate. He did actually eat some of the salad and the vinegar 
pie, but allowed himself to be persuaded not to tackle the coffee.

Twelve days after the death of the child her body was disinterred and a 
postmortem examination made by Dr. W. C. Connally, of this place. The stomach 
and liver were sent to Professor George F. Payne, state chemist, who analyzed 
them. Both Dr. Connally and Professor Payne testified in the case that they 
found no traces of arsenical poisoning, but admitted that the poison could 
have been vomited so as to leave no trace, and yet enough have been absorbed 
into the system to produce death. 

There seems to be an entire absence of motive if it be true that the poison 
was put into the coffee by the defendant. There was no evidence to show that 
she had any trouble with her young husband, but there was some testimony that 
she was very reluctant to leave her father’s house the day before the alleged 
crime to return to the home of her husband’s father, though this was denied by 
the defense and evidence offered to disprove it. The only plausible theory to 
account for her act, if guilty, is that she was trying a childish experiment 
and did not anticipate the disastrous consequences to her husband’s family; or 
else, she had found marriage a failure, and tired of her young husband, whose 
habits were not the best and thought this the quickest method to get rid of 
him and his family. There was some testimony offered by the state, but ruled 
out by the court, in reference to her actions toward her husband, which 
aroused some suspicion, although he was sick at the time the dinner was eaten, 
and drank none of the fatal coffee. 

During the trial the defendant has been perfectly self-possessed and shown no 
emotion whatever. She seems to have no conception of the gravity of her 
situation; or else, conscious of innocence, she has no fear of the verdict. 
Her statement on the stand was well delivered and indicated no lack of 
intelligence. There are no marks of the criminal about her. After studying her 
child-like and apparently guiltless face, outside of the evidence, the 
conclusion is almost irresistible that she is innocent 


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