[Facsimile of a letter from Madeline Smith to Miss Aitken, Matron of the Prison, after the trial for the alleged poisoning of Pierre Emile L'Angelier.]
Smith, Madeleine,1835-1928.
[Edinburgh? : s.n.,
1857?]
Madeleine Hamilton Smith (29 March 1835 - 28 April 1928) was a 19th-century Glasgow socialite who was the accused in a sensational murder trial in Scotland in 1857. At trial, toxilogical evidence confirmed that the victim, Pierre Emile L'Angelier, had died of arsenic poisoning. Although the circumstantial evidence pointed towards her guilt (Smith had made purchases of arsenic in the weeks leading up to L'Angelier's death, and had a clear motive) the jury returned a verdict of "not proven", i.e. the jury was unconvinced that Smith was innocent, but the prosecution had produced insufficient evidence to the contrary. The notoriety of the alleged crime and trial were scandalous enough for Smith to leave Scotland.
Smith, Madeleine, 1835-1928.
Trials