In 1936, Mary Francis Creighton (of New Jersey) was executed in Sing Sing for the poisoning of Mrs. Ada Appelgate. It was a sordid story involving child sexual abuse, betrayal and murder. At the center of the vortex was Creighton, a deeply disturbed woman who was acquitted at two murder trials and later killed her boyfriend's wife so he could marry her 14-year-old daughter. Her "murder weapon of choice" was arsenic, which she purchased over the counter in the form of a chemical designed to kill rodents."Rough on Rats" was the brand name.
And that's the Hertford County NC connection (you were beginning to wonder weren't you). Nearly four decades earlier, in 1897, a young girl in Hertford County was equally attracted to "Rough On Rats" when she too decided to murder.
The following article appeared in the News and Observer (Raleigh NC) on May 18, 1897:
PUT "ROUGH ON RATS" IN FOOD
Little Colored Girl Attempts Murder of a Whole Family.
Norfolk, Va., May 17 - A little colored girl living near Union, Hertford County, North Carolina, with the family of Mr. William Horton, attempted to murder the family yesterday by putting "Rough on Rats" in the food. Three of the family were affected and came near dying. Mrs. Horton is still in a precarious condition, but the rest are recovering. The girl has been arrested. She gave her reason for attempting the wholesale murder "that she was tired of living with the family."
Luckily "the little colored girl" was not as skilled with rat poison as Mrs. Creighton. I wonder what happened to that young girl, whose name was not given ? Or to the William Horton family, of "near Union" ? Does anybody know more details of this story ?
(Look, there was even a song advertising "Rough on Rats")
