The Sun.
London, England, 1856-08-23 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORTHERN CIRCUIT.—LIVERPOOL, AUG 22.
(Before Mr. Justice Willes.)
ALLEGED POISONING BY ANTIMONY.
At the sitting of the ciurt yesterday morning, Bc'sy
M`Mullen was placed at the tar, charged, on the ceroner'a
inquisition, with the wilful murder of her husband,
Daniel M'Mullen, at Bolton, by administering to him
repeated doses of antimony.
The prisoner, who appeared in deep mourning, pleaded
not guilty, and was accommodated with a seat in the
dock during the progress of the trial.
Mr. Overend, Q.C., and Mr. Sowler conducted the
case for the prosecution, and the prisoner was defended
by Mr. Serjeant Wilkins.
Mr. Overend, in stating the case, said that the pri-
soner stood charged with she wilful murder of her own
husband, who died on Wednesday, the 2d of July last.
Tne deceased was an operative a:4ton spinner, and also
a shopkeeper, in the town of Bolton-le-Moor. The
prisoner had been married to him several years, and the
issue of the marriage was four children, all of whom
were dead. The deceased had sometimes drunken out-
breaks, but except on the occasions of these outbreaks
he was a temperate man. The last occasion on which
he bad one was on Saturday, the 7th of June, and that
continued until the 11th of June. From that day up to
lliturday, the 21st or June, he was perfectly well. At
the time that the occurrences took place into which
they were now going to inquire, the prisoner, the de-
ceased, and a servant resided in the house. On the 21st
June he began to complain of a considerable pain and
a burning about the pit of the stomach. On the fallow-
ing day; Sunday, he continued to complain of the burn-
ing pain at his stomach, and on the morning of that
day the pain was so intense that he was unalokt to sit
up; and remained in bed. In consequence of the de-
ceased thus complaining, the prisoner sent for a
medical man of the name of Dorrien, who saw the
deceased, and treated him as though he was suf-
fering from indigestion. On the following Tuesday, Mr.
Dorrien again visited the deceased, who was still suffer-
- ing from the same symptoms, and gradually becoming
worse and worse. The symptoms continued during the
whole of that day, and also on the following day, Wed-
nesday, the 24th. On that day the maid servant made
a communication to Mr. Mactaggart, the assistant of
Mr. Dorrien, the surgeon, by reason of which another
medical man, in addition to Mr. Dorrien, was called in,
and in consequence of the information communicated by
the maid servant, it was arranged that neither the ser-
vant nor the prisoner should either prepare or administer
any food to the deceased ; and he should prove that from
the Saturday up to the day of the deceased's death
neither the servant nor the prisoner could have given the
deceased any food. The deceased continued to suffer
from these symptoms for a week longer, and on the
morning of Wednesday, the 2d of July, his death ulti•
mately took place. Before his death theire were all the
symptoms of antimony having been administered, includ-
ing the continued burning pain at the stomach ; there
was also constant rambling, general insensibility, and at
length the deceased sunk from sheer exhaustion. After
the death of the deceased a post mortem examination of
the body was made, when it was found that the duodena,
the small intestines, and the rectum were very much in-
flamed. Subsequently the contents were handed over to
Mr, Watson, a skilful analytical chemist, residing at
Bolton. The liver, the spleen, and the intestines were
minutely examined by Mr. Watson, and in all of them
be found the presence of antimony. Indeed, to use Mr
Watson's own words, he found those' parts saturated
with antimony ; but on examining the stomach no anti-
mony was found. He had already stated that from
Saturday, the 28th of June, to Wednesday, the day of
his death, there %as no possibility of the prisoner or the
servant giving the deceased any food, and that the
antimony found in the intestines must have been
given to the deceased in his food before that time.
All the post mortem appearances showed that the de-
ceased had died from the effects of antimony, and he (the
learned counsel) did not think that his learned friend would
deny that his death was to be attributed to that cause. If,
then, thejary should lie satisfied that antimony had caused
the deceased's death, the next question they would have
to determine was how was it administered, and who was
the person who gave it to him. It was suggested on the
part of the prosecution that the prisoner at the bar ad-
ministered it to him; and the evidence which would be
brought before them on that point would be supported
by a variety of statements, but the main part of the case
would depend upon the statement of the young woman,
the servant girl, who made the communication to the
niedical man. This young woman had been in the service
of the deceased about 9 months, she was a girl of a to-
tally irreproachable character, and could have no motive
for misdirecting the jury in any way. Thisgirl would tell
them that the deceased sometimes got drunk, and that he
had been drunk 3 times since she went to reside in the
house, the last time on which he was drunk being from
the 7th to the 11th of June. Thegirl would speak to these
3 occasions, and 3 only, as having occurred since she had
lived with them. She would also tell them after the last
occasion, viz , the 11th of June, the deceased was per-
fectly well, and attended to his business up to the 21st
of June, when he first complained of the burnings at his
stomach. It would appear that late in the evening of the
7th of June, the deceased, the prisoner, and the servant
were in the shop, when the deceased, seeing a man out-
side the door, and hanging about the shop, said to the
prisoner, "What is that man about? is he come after
you, or after her (the servant)?" The girl said, "He
is not come to look after me." The deceased then
went to the Three Tens public-house, and afterwards
to - another public house known by the name of
the Archduke. After he had been there fur some
time the prisoner and the servant came to the Archduke,
when the phsoner and the deceased quarrelled very
much until three o'clock in the morning. During the
quarrel the prisoner fell and hurt her face, either in con-
sequence of being intoxicated, or from some other cause.
Thu c msequenceof -this was that the prisoner was un-
able to attend the shop for some days. The deceased
that morning went home before the prisoner, and when
the prisoner and the servant came home the deceased
was sitting on the doer ste=p. When the prisoner came
home she was drunk, and the maid servant, for reasons
which he would afterwards explain, thought it right to
examine her pockets, and on making this examination
she found a paper in the priioner's pocket containing a
white powder. This paper and its contents she took
cut of the prisoner's pocket and gave to Mr. Mactag-
gart, who afterwards gave it to Mr. Watson. This gen-
tleman analysed it, and found it to consist almost en-
t aa!y ref antimony. Now it would be a very suspicieus
el., _lnstance as regarded the servant girl, if it were not
explained, that she should have taken a parcel cut of
her mistress's pocket. But the girl would tell them, on
several occasions, she had seen the prisoner put a pow-
der into the food of the deceased, and that the deceased
had subsequently taken it. On one occasion she saw
bins drink some coffee into which the prisoner had pre-
viously put Borne powder, and after he had taken it he
complained of sickness and a burning pain at the pit of
his stomach. On another occasion-she saw the prisoner
take• sonic of the powder from her pocket and put it
on ~a plata on which there were souse na at and
gravy. The deceased afterwards partook of some of
the meat and gravy, and in a few minutes complained
of a burning pain at his stomach. Again, on the
2,ta of June, when the deceased was lying ill in bed,
tae servant saw the prisoner take the powder out of
her. rocket and put some of it in the medicine, and
then give it to the deceased, Again, on the fe:l.rwing
day, Friday, the 27th—the Friday before ho died—the
prisoner sent the girl cut for some tripe,-and when she
returned she f mn:l her mistress engaged in the bu
of the shop. The girl went through the house, and into
Co pantry, and there she form I a glass containing a
Frxwder. Tois was given to Mr. Watson, and oo being
avalysed it was found to consist almost entirely of
antiffizny. On the same day, about four o'clock in to
al'i.erucon, the prisoner made some tea, and told the
servant to take it upstairs to the deceased. He drank
apart of it, but a sediment which remained at the bot-
tun of the cup he did not drink. This sediment was
pteserved and analysed, and found to contain almost
exclusively antimony. Now, if the jury should baieve
all, these facts, and be eatisfied that day after day the
prisoner was giving the deceased doses of antimony, he
was afraid they would find it would be their duty to con-
vict her of the crime of which she stood charged. It was
in consequence of all these facts which he had related
that on the occasion to which he had referred the maid-
servant went and examined the pockets of the prisoner,
and gave the contents to Mr. Mactaggart, Now, he
asked them to believe the evidence of this girl, who
would be confirmed by the eviden'he of several other wit-
passes as to the terms upon which the prisoner and the
deceased lived, and amongst others by a person named
tee, who was a very material witness. This witness
Wonld tell them that he had heard the prisoner say that
she wondered how she could have married the deceased,
and that ihe ha'd consulted a wise man for the purpose of
learning how soon her husband would die. Referring to
the question of motive, the learned counsel said it
was
an important fact in support of the case for the pro-
sacotion, that the deceased had effected a piney of
insurance for 1001. on the joint lives of himself and
his• wife, and that on this policy she would be en-
titled to 1001. at his death. Mr. Dorrien, the sur-
geon, would tell them that on the very occasion of which
the servant girl spoke, when the antimony was fir-t
administered in the food, the deceased was in the habit
Of coming to him and complaining of the burning pain
t his stomach. All the symptoms up to the time of his
eeath were those of antimony, and all the facts went
etrorgly in support of the prisoner having repeatedly
administered it to the deceased. Probably his learned
friend would not contest the point that the deceased did
die from the effects of antimony, nor the fact that the
prisoner administered it; because the prisoner read al-
ready admitted, when b, fore the coroner, that sho tad
given her' husband a certain powder to cure his drunken-
ness whir h she tailed "quietness," and that contained
c iesidcrable quantity of antimony. He regretted to
eay that this mixture was sold to a considerable extent
by dsugeists in the town of Bolton. The prisoner stated
Allat she obtained it from a druggist of the name of
ahhpeonain Belton, peel Mi. Simpson himself would tell
theta, however much they may reprehend his corducif,
t tat he had sold this mixture to the prisoner, but he
z`r'u a 1 o tell 'them that what he had sold hes con;
IPcir grains of antimony and fiteen grains of
cream ort'tartar, whereas what was taken oat of her
peoliet contained coasiderably more than four grains of
"riteeny. On • Saturday, June 28, the medical men
asked the prisoner if she had given her husband any
medicine, when the replied "No, except what Mr. Dor-
rien hadsent him." After that she Wall told that a
powder containing a considerable quantity of antimony
had been found in her pocket, and then it was
that, . for the first time, she admitted that she
'had given him a powder for "quietness." The jury
would have to consider for what purpose the prisoner
gave the deceased this powder. If it was simply for the
purpose of making deceased sober, they would take
that into their consideration. If they believed that else