The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-07-03 00:00:00


A FAMILY OF EIGHT PERSONS

POISONED.

On Monday morning a dreadful cue of poisoning of
a family, by prussic acid, was discovered in a small
house in Hosier-lane, Smithfield, London; and there in
no doubt that the act was not only premeditated, but
that tke perpetrator of the dreadful crime was the
father of the family.
It appears that early on Monday morning a letter
was received at the Smithfield police-station, dated
Sunday, and signed W. J. Duggin, telling the police
that they were required to attend at No. 15, Hosier-
lane, and they would see an unexpected sight, and that
further particulars might be obtained of the writer's
brother, who, he stated, herein Bristol. Sergeant Good-
eve andanother police-officer at once proceeded to make
inquiries, and found that &man, named Duggin, lived at
No. 15, Hosier-lane, with his family, and ascertained
that up to the last week he worked at Messrs. Chaw-
ner's, manufacturing silversinitha, in Hosier-lane, but
that he last week gave notice to leave, complaining
that the rooms of the workshop were too low, and that
the closeness affected his head.
The p -lice, finding the door locked, with the assis-
tance of one of :Jesters. Cliawner'n workpeople obtained
an entrance from the back of their premises, and a
dreadful and horrifying sight presented itself. In the
back room lay the man Duggin. quite dead, and in the
front room was discovered the wife an] six children,
all dead. The whole of the family were in bed. The
loan lay by himself in the back room, whilst ir the
front room were the mother with two sif the children,
one on either side of her, and another child at the foot
of the bed. Two other children were in another bed
in the room, and a sixth child in a cot in a corner of
the room.
Dr. Wilson was at once called in, and made an
examination of the bodies. He stated that the
children and motner hail been dead some time, but
that the father had not been dead many hours. The
children appeared as if in sleep, anti in all cues the
deaths ,out have been almost instantaneous. In the bed
where the mother lay was found aspoon, and in the other
room were two bottles which had contained prussic acid.
Dr. Wilmn has nodouht that the deaths were occasioned
by the administering of prussic acid. The man had been
some time in Messrs. Chawner's employ, but of late
it was notices] that he had complained of his head,
but there was nothing noticeable m his manner to lead
to the belief that he contemplated the rash act which it
is feared he has committed.
There appears to be no room for doubt, from the
letter addressed by Pugin to the police, that be
was, if not the sole, the prime agent in the destnic-
tins of his family, but it is generally believed that the
wife is likely to have participated lathe crime either
actively or by consent. It is also probable thtt the tra-
gedy was enacted on Sunday night or early on Monday
morning, for in addition to the medical opinion in favour
, of that notion, noggin was seen out walking on Sun-
day with his children, and some of the neighbours say
that they observes] lights burning in his rooms up to a
late hour. The bodies of the children appeared to have
been washed and laid out. Their ages ranged from
infancy up to 12 or 13, and their namvs were Emma,
Walter, Alice, George, Herbert, and Ada, the latter
being a baby. Duggin was a man of about 40 years of
age, or under.