The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1860-07-31 00:00:00

'husband,
had

Zomersetsbirc.

THE SUSPICIOUS CASE AT YEOVIL.

The adjourned inquest, which was fixed to take
place on Thursday, was adjourned until Tuesday on
account of the non.attendance of Mr. Herapath, that
gentleman being engaged in a case at Cardiff.
William Herapath, professor of chemistry, was
sworn, and said I live at Old Park, Bristol. On the
25th of June last I received a letter from Dr. E. C.
Garland, Yeovil, containing • key, and informing
me that a sample of urine would come to we con-
tained in a parcel in which there would be a box
which the key would unlock. It came from the
Great Western Railway, properly sealed—seals un-
broken. I found that the box was easily unlocked
by the key sent. There was in the box a card of
Dr. Garland's, which I now produce. I also produce
the box and key. Upon analysing the urine I found
it contained antimony in small quantity, of which I
now produce a specimen, as precipitated on copper
by Reinch's process. I also produce a specimen of
the red sulphuret of antimony as prepared from the
urine. On Sunday the bth of July inst., I received
from Mr. Smith, superintendent of police at Yeovil,
a brown basket containing two large bottles with
the intestinal viscera, stated by him to be those of
Sarah Peters (the deceased), as also a small bottle
containing grunions matter, partly fluid. On
examining the viscera I found the liver in an extra-
ordinary state, having lost its firmness, being in a
pulpy, granular state--crepitating when cut through
with the scissors. The stomach was inflamed in two
parts, which I describe as a patchy inflammation,
similar to what I have found to occur after the action
of an irritant poison. I also found two parts of the
intestines in the same state. I submittal a portion
of nearly all the matter sent to me to tests, but
could not obtain the presence of antimony, or other
metallic or mineral irritant. I have no doubt that
the in.:animation had been very much higher than it
was when the remains were sent to me, and that
such inflammation was pasting away at the time of
the death. I observed no perforation of the stomach
—no hemorrhage in the intestines. There was, if I
may judge from my past experience. sufficient in-
flammation in the stomach and intestines to cause
death. The inflammation resembled that produced
by an irritant, as being local and not &eneral. The
letter which I received from Dr. Garland, to which
have already alluded, (dated '2 th ) stated, in refer-
ence to the case, that it was a suspicious one, and
stated that I should examine it for antimony or
arsenic. A piece of the stomach and a portion of
the intestines, which I now produce, are taken from
the viscera brought to me by Superintendent Smith.
Mr. Balch—is it not strange that antimony could
L not be discover! in the body

Mr. Hempath If anyifhing has been running
away, you cannot expect to find it aferwards.
Mr. balch—la that how you account for its non-
appearance!
Mr. Ilempath—There seems to have been antimony
passing away from the body ;_ and supposing the
urine and viscera to have come freak the same body,
if sufficient time had passed for the whole to escape,
of course there would not be any found. AU I can
assume is that antimony was passing away • and from
the appearances I believe an irritant had been at
work on the intestinal canal.

A Juror—How dow you account for the liver
being so diseased?
klr. Herapath—lt must have been a lonipstanding
disease. I never saw a liver like it before, although
1 have seen hundreds. 1 have never known a case
of death fr,nn antimony, . .

By the Foreman —The mesenteric glands were
much .diseased. . . .

The. Foreman—Do you consider that that arose
from an irritant

Mr. Ilempath—l do not say that. lam not a
surgeon; you shouldask some medical gentle:Sian.
Mr. Langworthy—Althuugh you are not a surgeon
but only a chemist; I understand that from your ex.
perience you think the meiseutoric disease was quite
sufficient to account fur death.

Mr. Ilerapath—You must not ask me that ques-
tion. I am a recognised teacher of toxicology as
well as cheulistry, and in everything relating to
poisons—their natural history or their effect— I ant
an authority, but not on medical questions. I know
about these things, and perhaps have seen as much as
any man in England, but I am nut an authorised medi-
cal man.

Dr. E. C. Garland—Antimony is an irritant
poison; repeated doses of it might produce
perforation of a portion of the intestines—
the ascending colon. From my own know-
ledge I cannot give an opinion as to how long
after being administered it may he found. On toy
first attendance on deceased I found her suffering
from immense irritation of the stomach and bowels,
accompanied by vomiting. The vomiting came on,
as she told me. always after taking gruel, arrowroot,
&c., but net after eating solids. On one occasion,
when I visited deceased, I was told by her friends
that she was not quite to well—that it was thought
the medicine I had given her was had, and made her
sick. I said it was impossible, or words to that
effect, because the medicine I had given her is one of
our strongest remedies against sickness. It wad
Shcheele's hydrocyanic acid. I directly went into
the bedroom of deceased, and she complained of
having been sick the evening before, and that she
thought my medicine had occasioned it. I found
front her statement that she had taken gruel between
the time she took my medicine and her sickness.
The previous deposition of this witness stated that
he attended the post-mortem examination. He
discovered in the abdomen a quantity of semi-putrid
fluid, together with • fish bone. The liver was in
an extraordinary state. His opinion was deceased
died from pertonitis, caused by perforation of the
large intestine. A deleterious substance might pro-
duce that perforation.
l'ulice Superintendent Smith examined : On Sun-
day the lath inst. he received three sealed bottles
from Messrs. Garland and Waters, for conveyance
to Mr. Herapath. He took the bottles direct to Mr.
Herapath. They did not go out of his custody or
keeping from the time he received them till he gave
them to Mr. Herapath.
Walter Walter sworn and examined, sail: I dis-
covered three perforations at least of the large intes-
tines. My individual opinion is that the perfora-
-1 Lions were occasioned by the escape of the content&

of the abscess into the colon. I attribute the death
of deceased to periWnitis, caused by the escape of
foreign *natter into the c.ivity f peritormun —that
further foreign matter Ling probably tlilllll3 of the
contents of the abscess.

Tho mote was then ordered to he cleared of all but
the jury, and after mune time it was announced that
the inquest was .further adjourned till Saturday at
10 o'clock.