The case of a long-lost family member’s demise was officially closed as an accidental poisoning, of all things, but was it? Tribune reporter tracyswartz wanted to learn more.
Irving Michelson emigrated from Poland to Chicago in 1921 and later married his wife Charlotte and had two children, Harry and Tobia. He died in Chicago in 1935 from poisoning.
One of the first things he did when he stepped on American soil in 1921 was change his name from “Isaak Michalski” to “Irving Michelson.” Irving didn’t live in the neighborhood long. He married Charlotte, a cousin from Poland, in 1923. The couple was living on the Near West Side in 1924 when Charlotte gave birth to a daughter six months into her pregnancy. Charlotte’s unspecified “debility” was listed as the reason for the stillbirth, and the girl was not officially given a name.
Rebecca had testified the prior housekeeper initially showed her around the Michelson apartment in what is now the Humboldt Park neighborhood. Rebecca said she spoke at length with Irving for the first time on Thursday, when he gave her $1.50 to buy chicken and bread and prepare a meal on Friday. He told her not to work on Saturday because he is an Orthodox Jew and observed the Sabbath. “He would not allow me to do it,” Rebecca testified.
The powder inside the brown paper bag was white, odorless and crusty, so Rebecca guessed it was cake flour. She said she stuffed it into the neck of the chicken with a soup spoon and roasted it with the rest of the chicken.At dinner Friday, she served a soup course and then the chicken neck, just to Irving. She assumed he would divide it up for the children, but he kept it for himself.
Rebecca said she was nervous and restless that night as Irving got sicker. She said Irving told his son to call the doctor early Saturday — but she advised him against it. “And so I talked to the little son, ‘Don’t call the doctor because we haven’t got any money in the house. The best thing is to call the police station,’ ” Rebecca testified.She said she checked on Irving that morning after he called for help. “I says, ‘Now, Mr. Michelson,’ I says, ‘We ain’t poisoned.
Harry, then 9 years old, was called to the stand after Rebecca, my rare document showed. He said his father immediately noticed the bitterness of the chicken when he tasted it. He spit out part — but not all — of the neck upon learning it was stuffed with roach powder, Harry testified. He also testified that Rebecca left the apartment after Irving went to the hospital. The police waited for her to return. When she did, she said she had been shopping. Rebecca interrupted Louis’ testimony to say she went out to fetch milk. Louis testified that Rebecca had admitted to him she purchased a pair of shoes. “She made a terrible impression upon me,” Louis said.
The death was ruled an accident, though, for me, the testimonies raise more questions than answers. I’m not ready to put this mystery to bed.
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