Death By Chocolate: The Chocolate Candy Murders
Cordelia Botkin used a sweet tooth to seek revenge
In 1895, Cordelia Botkin was taking a stroll through San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park when a man riding a bicycle caught her attention. His name was John Preston Dunning, and even though he was nine years younger than Cordelia, he was quite taken with her. The feeling was mutual.
Sounds like the set-up for a Nicholas Sparks novel, right? Well, I hate to burst your romantic bubble, but both Cordelia and John were married, and not to each other. That said, you might want to buckle up because it’s about to get bumpy.
Cordelia Botkin was born in 1865 in Polk County, Missouri. Very little is known about her early years except that at some point, she and her family moved to California. After she turned 18 in 1872, she met and married a man named Welcome Botkin.
It seemed like the couple were settled in for a normal life after moving to Stockton, California where Welcome worked as a gain broker. It wasn’t long before they welcomed a baby boy named Beverly into their family.
Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for Cordelia and Welcome to figure out that they were not compatible together and separated, although they didn’t officially divorce. Cordelia moved to San Francisco but required…
