The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-02 00:00:00

The Case of Alleged Poisoning in Cornwall,

The examination into the charge against Richard Oke
Millett, of Penpol, near Hayle, of poisoning his brother, J.
C. Millett, was resumed at the White Hart Hctel, Hayle,
on Saturday last.
The first witness examined was Henry Bedilla, formerly ..
a servant at Penpol. He went to the house about 9 o'clock
on the evening in question. He saw Miss Davy and
William Bryant taking tea in the kitchen. The servant,
Jane Teague, called his attention to the snoring of de-
ceased, which he could hear at the bottom of the stairs.
The next morning, about 9 o'clock, he saw the copse.
Honor Johns, who had been a servant at Penpol for 10
years, but had left some years ago, said she used to attend
upon deceased, whose sight was very defective. She saw
him last August at Hayle, and had a conversation with him,
during which he twice told her that he had made ne will.
When he did make a will he should remember his brother
William, his niece Ellen, William Oliver (an old servant),
and all those who had been kind to himself and his mcther.
In cross• examination she said she remembered the late
Miss Kitty Davy, sister of Sir Humphry Davy, being at
Penpol, but she knew nothing of the present Miss Davy.
Mr. John Stephens, who farms the estate of Penpol, said
he saw the deceased nearly every day in the fields, and saw
him the day prior to his death. He knew he had been suf-
fering from a cold about three weeks prior to his death, but
deceased told him he was gettiftif better.
In cross. examination he said he had seen deceased put
his hand to his forehead and rub it, but never saw his legs
or feet twitch, i
James Williams said that in February last he was asked
by the prisoner to come to Penpo',.as the deceased was about
to make a will, and wished him so be one of the witnesses.
He went accordingly, and found the deceased and the pri-
soner there, as also Wm. Mitchell, the carpenter. A docu-
ment was brought into the room by deceased and the pri-
soner—it was signed by deceased, witness, and W. Mitchell.
Before it was signed the deceased read it. After deceased
had signed he put his finger on she seal and said, " This is
my last will."
Philip Vincent said he was a surgeon, residing in Cam-
borne. On Wednesday, the 20ti January, he made a post
mortem examination of the body of deceased after it had
been exhumed. Dr. Montgomery, of Penzance, assisted.
They examined the body very carefully, The stomach, in-
testines, and, in fact, all the contents of the abdomen were
perfectly healthy. The kidneys were algo healthy. The
lungs were a little more purple on the surface than is usually
the case, but were otherwise healthy. There was a little
clot of blood in the heart—the valves were quite healthy.
The membranes of the brain ware natural. On lifting the
lobes of the brain about a pint of fluid escaped. The brain
was next examined, and they found that the deceased had
suffered from congenital hydrocephalus—the ventricles
were enormously enlarged--the substance of the brain was
healthy, as was the windpipe and liver. There was about
a pint of fluid in the stomach, and a small quantity on the
cheek which had oozed from the mouth. There was also a
small quantity in the bladder, but the bladder was healthy.
The fluid in the brain came from the ventricles, and
he should say it would not cause death. If de
ceased had suffered from influenza and had had a harassing
cough for a fortnight or three reeks, he should have ex-
pected to find the thorax inflamed, but there was nothing
more than natural. The water, of course, must press more
or less on the brain, but it would not affect its healthiness.
ventricles
might produce headache. The
symptoms of deceased as detailed by the various witnesses
Wweareterno
nothing from the appearance of the body to account for
with effusion on the brain. Could find
death, Did not know of any natural disease which would
produce the symptoms referred to; some of them resembled
gastritis. Could not say whether deceased did or did not
in
t consistent the
die from natural causes. According to Dr. Taylor's works,
some of the symptoms resembled a ease of poisoning. If
witness had been called in to the patient he should have
given brandy as was done.
By the Bench—lf deceased had taken mineral poison
alcohol would not affect it much, but it would act as a sol-
vent upon vegetable poison, and thus cause it to be more
readily taken up by the stomach. If he had suspected
poison he should have used the stomach-pump. Had he
supposed there was effusion on the brain he might have
applied leeches to the head.
Cross-examined by Mr. Downing for upwards of four
hours. The), following is the gist of the examination :—The
room in which the poet mortem examination took place was
small. There Were several persons present, among whom
were the prosecutor, Mr. Fred. Edmonds,
--. surgeon ; Mr.
Roscorla, prosecutor's attorney; and
Mr. Cornish9 the
magistrate's clerk. Did not take notes of the examination
of the body at first, because it appeared so healthy, and he
did not think it necessary, but took notes of the appearance
of the brain, windpipe, and stomach. Saw Mr. Edmonds
writing something during the examination. Neither the
body nor the tissues were decomposed ; they were, on the
contrary, very fresh indeed. Did not notice any contraction
of the limbs, nor any especial rigidity about the head or
neck. The hands were not clinched. Did not notice
whether the thumbs were turned inwards or not. The toes
were not contracted. No fulness of feature. Everything
quite natural. The body was fat and appeared to be re-
markably well nourished. Na looseness about the integu •
ments. Eyeballs not sunk. Skin was white, except on the
back, where there had been pressure. No looseness about
the cuticle; it was not detached from the skin; it was dry.
There were no external masks. The body was very little
swollen. The fat was about a quarter of an inch thick. It
was the fattest body he ever saw; the colour of the fat was
yellowish white, Muscles firm, red, and very iresh. The
bones were very firm and not diseased. There was no swell-
ing of the eyelids, but there was a little discolouration. The
pupils of both eyes were semi-contracted ; there was no pre-
sence of the arcus senilis; no discharge of matter from the
ears. The fluid that was discharged from the mouth was
the same as that found in the stomach. Ha shaved the
fluid off along with the whiskers, and placed it in a paper to
be sent to Dr. Taylor. Could not say whether the paper was
furnished by the prosecutor; wrapped it up and laid it on
the table while he went on with the other operations. For
all he knew, it was the same as was afterwards sent to Dr.
Taylor, There was no rigidity about the jaws ; they were just
what might be expected in a corpse which had died from natu-
ral disease. The mucus membraneof the mouth was healthy.
IThe tongue did not show the slightest sign of poison. Did
not look at the uvula; an enlarged uvula would cause a
cough, which would last as long as the uvula was olougatod!