Cleveland Plain Dealer, Sept 6

Prowler Spraying 'Poison Gas' Fells Women in Night

Mattoon, Ill. Sept. 6 [UP] -- A mysterious "poison gas" sprayed through open bedroom windows by a night prowler, has prostrated nine persons in four days, and police today called upon University of Illinois chemists and the state crime laboratory for help.
A new technique hospitalized the latest victim, Mrs. Carl Cordes, 45. She reported to police she merely had sniffed at a damp cloth found on her back porch last night. Her nose, throat and lips began to burn and her mouth became "terribly swollen," physicians said.
Police Chief Eugene Cole said the gas or vapor apparently has not put any of the victims to sleep, like an anesthetic. All the victims except one have been women and in each case the prowler has been frightened away.
The victims said they suffered from nausea and partial paralysis from 30 to 90 minutes after inhaling the "sickly, sweet" fumes.
Near the damp cloth picked up by Mrs. Cordes was found a skeleton key and an empty lipstick tube. -- Thursday, September 7, page 1, bottom