The Sun.
London, England, 1860-10-05 00:00:00

TUE WAKEFIELD POISONING CASE.

WAKEFIELD, OCT. 3.

This morning Emma Stringer, a young woman
about 26 years of age, and her two sisters, Matilda,
about 22, and Abigail Stringer, 16 years or age,
were brought befere the magistrates at the Wake-
field Court-house, the eider prisoner charged with
murder of Miss Adamson, by the administrat;on, in
small doses, of arsenic, and the two younger pri-
sorers as being accessories.
The magistrates present were Mr. E. Tew (chair-
man), Mr. W. Tew, Mr. Foljambe, and Mr. Earff.
The court was crowded during the proceedings, the
greatest interest being manife-,ted.
Mr. Shaw, barrister, of Wakefield, instructed by
Mr. Fernandez, appeared to prosecute, and Mr.
Wheelhouse, barrister, of Leeds, instructed by Mr.
Stringer, for the defence.
On the prisoners being called up Mr. Shaw said
that, after reading the whole of the evidence which
had been taken, the prosecution had come to the
conclusion that there was no case against the two
younger sisters, and they were discharged on un-
dertaking to appear if called on. Emma Stringer
was then placed at the ber, and formally charged
with the murder.

Mr. Shaw, in opening the case, called the attention
of the Court to the fact that Mr. Waddington, the
surgeon who attended Miss Adamson for some
years before the prisoner went to live with Miss
Adamson, was not called in during the repeated ill-
nesses of the deceased, and which illness the evi-
dence of the witnesses would prove exhibited all
the symptoms of poisoning, such as vomiting and
purging, and that Mr. Hirst, the medical attendant
of Emma Stringer, was only called in a short t' me
before the death of the deceased. The medical tes-
timony of the analyzation of the contents of ti2e
stomach and viscera showed distinctly that the de-
ceased had been poisoned a short time before she
died, and not only that, but the appearance of the
intestines and other parts of the body was conclu-
sive as to the fact that small doses of poison had
.been administered at intervals during two or three
years. Having proved that the old lady was
poisoned, he should connect the prisoner with the
poisoning by proving that she alone prepared the
food of the deceased, and a variety of other circum-
stances indicative of the motives which actuated
the prisoner. He would also mention the fact that
the deceased kept a medicine chest, but no arsenic
had bees fcund in it ; so that it was extremely im-
probable that the old lady had poisoned herself,
and there was the additional fact that a packet of
powder alleged to be arsenic was found in the
kitchen.

Dr. E. Waddington, of Wakefield, deposed that
he was formerly the medical attendant of Miss
Adamson, and after her death he made a post mor-
tem examination of the body. He saw Dr. Nun -
neleytake away a portion of the contents of the
body for analyzation.
Cross-examined by Mr. Wheelhouse—l have my
degree of M.D. from the Royal College of Physi-
cians in Edinburgh, not from the University. Some
time before portions of the brain, the heart, the
liver and the diaphragm were taken away by Dr.
Nunneley, I had myself analyzed a portion of the
contents of the viscera for the " discovery of
arsenic, and I then discovered none. lam a
member of the College of Surgeon's, in Lincoln's-
inn-fields, London. It is not more than the duty
of a surgeon to make analytical examinations than
that of a physician, but it is more his duty to make a
post mortem, to do the work of the knife. If arsenic
had been given in small doses for some time, I should
not have expected to find a residium of arsenic in
that portion of the stomach which I examined, or
in any portion of the stomach, but I should have
expected to find traces. I employed Reinkhe's tests
and the liquid tests. I found by Reinkhe's test a
suspicious appearance on the copper, but I would
not undertake to swear it was arsenic. I did not use
Marsh's test, because I could not rely upon my
zinc being pure, and it might contain arsenic itself
in an insoluble form. I did not boil the copper in
muriatic acid before using it to test the presence of
poison, but rubbed it bright and made it perfectly
clean. I met Dr. Nunneley at my own house some
time in September, the day the body was exhumed.
This was on the 20th of September, and it was the
second time the body had been taken up. The coffin
was taken into the chapel of the cemetery, and the
lid taken off. The body had been sewn up with a
steel needle after the post mortem examination.
Mr. Nunneley took away from the body what he
wanted for an analysis. I did not see him make the
analysis, and I had no orders for interfering with
any analysis that he might make. I did not reserve
any portion of the viscera when Mr. Nunneley took
away a portion of the region of the stomach. I had
reserved a jar of a portion of the stomach which I
had analysed; that jar was analysed by Mr. Nunne-
ley, and I myself examined it. I saw no arsenic.
We found traces on the metal.

By the Chairman—We found suspicious appear-
ances on the metal. I staid till nearly 10 o'clock on
Saturday night, and I resumed it on Sunday. We
found suspicious traces on the copper.
Mr. T. Nunneley said—On the 19th September
last I was present at the exhumation of the body of
the late Miss Frances Adamson. I assisted in open-
ing the coffin. The body had apparently lain in the
1 grave some time and was partially decomposed.
The body had been previously opened as far as the
abdomen was concerned. The greater portion of
the stomach had been removed with a portion of
the liver and the right kidney. There was no effu-
sion or adhesion of any of the parts together.
There was no sign of disease in the parts I saw.
The intestines were empty, with the exception of
about half an ounce of solid matter. The state of
the peritoneal surface was quite healthful ; the
bladder was quite contracted. The intestines were
very little changed. I took away some portions of
the body. I removed nearly the whole of the vis-
cera, with the chest and the brain. I subsequently
made an analysis of the whole of the parts. I found
the lining surface of the gullet and a portion of the
membrane thickened and covered with mucus. On
one portion was a white thick patch.
Mr. Nunneley was proceeding with his evidence
when our parcel was despatched.
OCTOBER 4.
The prisoner Emma Stringer, charged with hav-
ing caused the death of her mistress, at Aggbrigg,
by the-administration of arsenic in sma.'l doses, was •
again brought before the county magistrates of the
%Vest Riding this morning.
The prisoner looked pale and dejected, and a
lace in hex
marked change seemdd to have taken p