Michigan's Strychnine Saint: The Curious Case of Mrs. Mary McKnight

By Tobin T. Buhk

The spring of 1903 proved disastrous for the Murphy family. On April 22, the infant Ruth Murphy died in her crib. Within an hour, her mother, Gertrude, experienced a violent spasm before she, too, died. Ten days later, John Murphy followed his wife and child to the grave after suffering from a crippling convulsion. While neighbors whispered about a curse and physicians feared a contagious disease, Kalkaska County sheriff John W. Creighton and prosecuting attorney Ernest C. Smith searched for answers. As they probed deeper into the suspicious deaths, they uncovered a wicked web of intrigue. And at the center stood a widow in a black taffeta dress.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: Mar 4, 2014
• ISBN: 9781625847416

Tobin T. Buhk

Tobin T. Buhk is an English teacher and true crime writer. He began writing true crime after a brief stint as a volunteer in the Kent County Morgue. Tobin has published five books about historical true crime, the most recent being Poisoning the Pecks of Grand Rapids: the Scandalous 1916 Plot (published with The History Press).