The Sun.
London, England, 1869-07-01 00:00:00

TAM CITY.

duced :

paper writings.
By a Juroc--The children's clothes were lying in
a heap on the top of the drawers, near the man's
bed. The second bottle was_found on a chair near
the satin bed.
Loverage, of hosier-lane, opposite the
house of the decca=ed rersens, said that she ku. w
the family, and saw MA: children on S:ind•ty morn-
ing. will's:, the window w. s half open. They wear
at brcaLfast, but she did not see Mr. or Mil. Dug-
gan. She spoke to her she believed Mee. The
children appeared as if they were in a very roor
state. She w,mt out and returned home at eleven
o'clock at night, and at twelve o'clock she could see
a light in the room. About ten minutes before four
o'clock on Monday morning she saw a light as if a
fire was burning. It was then broad day-light. She
knew nothing of the family herself. She did not
&It Duggan go out that morning.
Wm. Vurvey, wholes,de chemise, of King-street,
Snow-hill, said he did not know Duggan, and
did nut remember having ever sold him anything.
Witness produced a book having an entry in it of
selling 2 ozs of prussic acid to a man named Fearon
on the 14th of June. He did not think the two
bottles produced were the same as he sold. Ile
had seen the body of the man Dugan, and did not
believe that be was the man he sold the acid to. On
Tuesday morning the police and Mr. Brett came to
him, and he told them that he had sold two bottles
of prussic acid to a man who had been a customer
for two years. He had not seen the dead body at
that time. Prussic acid was used by silversmith's
and clectro-platers in their trade. There was a
great quantity used by them. He never sold prussic;
acid to any one without he knew the party well, and
he then entered the sale in a book kept for that
purpose.
Mr. Stephenwright, a licensed victualler, said
that he kept the Wheatsheaf, in Smithfield, and
knew the children. Oue of the dead boys came to
his house at 11 o'clock on Sunday night and took a
stone bottle containing a pot of fourpenny ale away
with him.

Sergeant Goodeve proved finding the bottle in a
cupboard in the house which smelt of ale, but not
as if it had had any acid in it.
Dr. \Villson, of Parringdon-street, said he was
called on Monday last by the police, and repaired to
the house. Ile saw the body of the eldest boy in
bed dead, lie had been dead several hours. The
Witness minutely described the positions be found
the other bodies, which have already appeared in
this journal. The man and the woman did not ap-
pear to have been dead so long as the children. The
bodies of the man and woman were quite warm, and
had probably died about the same time. There
might be this inference, that the children might
have been poisoned whilst asleep. Ile found acid on
the lips of one of the children. His opinion was that
the man died last, and he thought that the woman
had either taken it herself or bad it administered to
her after she was in bed. The reason he believed
the man died last was, that ho died in one room and
the female in the other, and he could not have
walked from one room to the other after taking the
poison.

In answer to the coroner, Dr. Wilson said that
he was of opinion that the woman was a conser Ong
party to the poisoning of the children.
Mr. G. Wm. Adams, silversmith, 15, 16, and 17,
Hosier-lane, deposed that the deceased had given
him notice to leave his employ on the 3d of
April last. On that day he said that
he was ill and unable to continue his situation, as
his lungs were affected, and a homoeopathic doctor
had told him that he must seek other employment.
Witness wanted him to stop, and said, "Look at
me, I have lived 21 years with only one lung. Con-
sider your wife and children." Since that time he
drooped, and he lost all spirit.
The jurhafter a shortdeliberation, returned a ver-
dict " That the six deceased children died from the
effects of prussic acid, administered to them by
IValter James Duggan, and Emma Char-
lotte Duggan, and we find that they are
guilty of wilful murder in each case, and that they
afterwards destroyed their own lives while in an
unsound state of mind."

THE AWFUL MURDER AND SUICIDE IN

The following appeared in our Latest Edition of yesterday
evening:—
At half-past two o'clock this afternoon Mr. W.
J. Payne, the deputy-coroner for London and
.!::outhwark, opened an inquest in the board room
of St. Bartholomew's Hospital on the respective
bodies of Walter James Duggan, Engine Duggan,
Alice, Jesse, Robert Thomas, Edda Frances,
Emma Charlotte, and an infant named George
some particulars of whose awful death have already
appeared in this journal of Monday and yesterday.
Notwithstanding the immense size-of the room, the
same was densely crowded, and the greatest excite-
ment prevailed throughout the whole of the pro-
ceedings. The jury having been sworn and the
foreman chosen, they proceeded to the residence of
Mrs. Chawner in Hosier-lane, Smithfield, where
the whole of the eight bodies were lying in the same
state as when first discovered. The rooms showed
unmistakable evidences of great poverty prevailing
in the place. The jury, upon viewing the awful
scenes, app(ared to be greatly moved. Upon their
return to court tl.e following evidence was ad

2!r. Barba., of the firm of Wyld and BArber,
here informed the Coroner that he appeared to
watch the case for Mr. Adams, in consequence of
certain remarks having been made in the news-
papers.

The Coroner—Never mind what appeared in the
newspapers ; we will hear what he has to say on
oa h.

Mr. Inspector Everett was called, and produced
the letter written by Duggan on the morning of
the fearful tragedy, which the Coroner perused,
and then read carefully the one which he had sent
to Lis brother.
Daniel Evans, sergeant in the City Police, sta-
tioned at Smithfield, said that on Monday last he
received a letter by post at 8 o'clock in the morn-
ing, bearing the date of that day. It did not bear
the mark of where it was posted. One of the letters
the mother had not seen.
The Coroner—l will show it to her presently, for
form's sake.
The mother was called, and deposed that the
letter received at the station was in her son's

handwriting.
The examination in chief resumed.—ln conse-
quence of that letter he went to the house about
half-past eight, but could not get in. He, with
other officers, went to the next house, and opened a
back window on the first floor. A man named
Jenkin Thomas went in and came down and opened
the door, when he and Sergeant Goodeve went into
the house, and on the first floor front room on a
table be found this bottle (produced) and a Bible.
The book was not opened, but the marriage certifi-
cate was pinned on the first leaf of the Bible
There was a little fire in the room burning, and
some pieces of partly burned paper. On the second
floor back room on a bed he found a man lying un-
dressed, and dead. Ilis arms were under the clothes,
and near the side of the bed he found this bottle
and a spoon (produced.) The bottle was labelled
Shields hydrocenic acid. He then went into the
front room, and in a cot by the door he found the
body of a boy also dead. He was rather inclined
to be reclining on his left side. On the left of the
bed he found in bed a woman undressed, and also
dead. She was lying on her back undressed. On
the right side of her was a boy apparently four
years old,l dead ; and on the left side a child (a
girl) also dead, and at the foot of the bed another
child also dead. They were undressed. In another
bed he found two other children undressed and
dead. They did not appear to have struggled.
Dr. Wilson was seat for and attended. He found
another bottle in the same room. Witness did not
communicate with Bristol.
Police-constable 274 said that he went with Ser-
geant Evans to the house and assisted in searching
the place. He could confirm all that the sergeant
had stated, and added that he found the spoon
(produced) on the bed at the woman's right si .e—
-the woman's arms were under the bed-clothes—the
spoon appeared to have been placed there, and not
thrown there c trelessly. He found a desk, and in
it 10z. and 4i postage, stamps, an I somz paper