Leita Nobles and her husband Olgie were famously poisoned in 1988 by Tim Scoggin. The full story of the poisoning of Olgie and Leita Nobles, and the sisters Catherine and Cordelia Norton, can be read in:



• Poison For Profit by Mac McKinnon (1992, Nortex Press)



• "Poisoned With Love" by Gary Cartwright, in Texas Monthly, May 1989: http://www.texasmonthly.com/content/poisoned-love



Mr. Scoggin had purchased an air conditioning business from the Nobleses. He was to pay for it in installments. Instead, he tried to evade payment by putting arsenic in the Nobleses' medication. Mr. Nobles died, but Mrs. Nobles survived because her body had managed to build up a tolerance to small doses of the arsenic over time. Had Mrs. Nobles not survived, pathologists would probably never have discovered that she and Mr. Nobles had been poisoned.



Law enforcement soon realized that Tim Scoggin had also been a friend of the wealthy Norton sisters, Miss Cordelia and Miss Catherine, who died within a day of each other in February 1988, just weeks before Mr. Nobles was killed. A forensic researcher found a way to test the Norton sisters' cremated ashes. Miss Cordelia's ashes showed the presence of arsenic. Some authorities believe that Mr. Scoggin killed Miss Catherine with strychnine instead of arsenic. He had purchased both before the sisters' deaths.



Excerpted obituary from The Junction Eagle (Junction, Texas), 2 May 2012, page 3 (some survivors' names redacted):



"Leita Sutton Nobles, 93½, passed away Friday, April 27, 2012, in San Angelo, Texas, after a short illness.

"She was born to Robert Lee Sutton and Lillie Turner Sutton on October 13, 1918, on the Colorado River Bend Area. She was one of nine children.

"She is survived by one brother, Leo 'Boss' Sutton, of Monahans, Texas, and many nieces and nephews, including ... [the] son of Leonard Sutton, of Junction.

"She was preceded in death by her husband, Olgie Nobles, and one son, Ferris Leon James [Farrice Leon James, probably 23 January 1937 – 12 November 1995].

"Mrs. Nobles and her husband, Olgie, were associated with Leonard in the pecan, fur, and ranching business in Junction during the late 50's and early 60's.

"In the spring of 1988, her husband, Olgie, was murdered by arsenic poisoning from a young business associate and Leita was likewise poisoned by him, but survived, which left her wheelchair bound. Her nephew, District Attorney Ron Sutton, began investigating the death of Olgie which led to the arrest and prosecution of Tim Scoggins for Olgie's death, and poisoning of Leita along with the murder of two old maid sisters in Llano. He is still serving a series of long penitentiary sentences. This story prompted several books and TV specials relating to the poisoning and deaths of these individuals.

"Leita lived alone the rest of her life, while wheelchair bound, together with her cats and later a small dog named 'Sugar'. She often said that she was a 'Tough old Gal'."

Leita Nobles and her husband Olgie were famously poisoned in 1988 by Tim Scoggin. The full story of the poisoning of Olgie and Leita Nobles, and the sisters Catherine and Cordelia Norton, can be read in:



• Poison For Profit by Mac McKinnon (1992, Nortex Press)



• "Poisoned With Love" by Gary Cartwright, in Texas Monthly, May 1989: http://www.texasmonthly.com/content/poisoned-love



Mr. Scoggin had purchased an air conditioning business from the Nobleses. He was to pay for it in installments. Instead, he tried to evade payment by putting arsenic in the Nobleses' medication. Mr. Nobles died, but Mrs. Nobles survived because her body had managed to build up a tolerance to small doses of the arsenic over time. Had Mrs. Nobles not survived, pathologists would probably never have discovered that she and Mr. Nobles had been poisoned.



Law enforcement soon realized that Tim Scoggin had also been a friend of the wealthy Norton sisters, Miss Cordelia and Miss Catherine, who died within a day of each other in February 1988, just weeks before Mr. Nobles was killed. A forensic researcher found a way to test the Norton sisters' cremated ashes. Miss Cordelia's ashes showed the presence of arsenic. Some authorities believe that Mr. Scoggin killed Miss Catherine with strychnine instead of arsenic. He had purchased both before the sisters' deaths.



Excerpted obituary from The Junction Eagle (Junction, Texas), 2 May 2012, page 3 (some survivors' names redacted):



"Leita Sutton Nobles, 93½, passed away Friday, April 27, 2012, in San Angelo, Texas, after a short illness.

"She was born to Robert Lee Sutton and Lillie Turner Sutton on October 13, 1918, on the Colorado River Bend Area. She was one of nine children.

"She is survived by one brother, Leo 'Boss' Sutton, of Monahans, Texas, and many nieces and nephews, including ... [the] son of Leonard Sutton, of Junction.

"She was preceded in death by her husband, Olgie Nobles, and one son, Ferris Leon James [Farrice Leon James, probably 23 January 1937 – 12 November 1995].

"Mrs. Nobles and her husband, Olgie, were associated with Leonard in the pecan, fur, and ranching business in Junction during the late 50's and early 60's.

"In the spring of 1988, her husband, Olgie, was murdered by arsenic poisoning from a young business associate and Leita was likewise poisoned by him, but survived, which left her wheelchair bound. Her nephew, District Attorney Ron Sutton, began investigating the death of Olgie which led to the arrest and prosecution of Tim Scoggins for Olgie's death, and poisoning of Leita along with the murder of two old maid sisters in Llano. He is still serving a series of long penitentiary sentences. This story prompted several books and TV specials relating to the poisoning and deaths of these individuals.

"Leita lived alone the rest of her life, while wheelchair bound, together with her cats and later a small dog named 'Sugar'. She often said that she was a 'Tough old Gal'."