The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-17 00:00:00

Mysterious Case of Alleged Poisoning.

W INCIIESTER,
Thursday Night.
This afternoon Sir. J. H. Todd, the coroner for
the county, resumed the inquiry, at the Plough Inn,
Itchen Abbas, into the death of Mark Sims, aged
90, who died on the 25th of July under circum-
stances which gave rise to very strong suspicion
that he had been poisoned.
The facts of this very remarkable case have created
throughout the country, and especially in this town
and district, the utmost possible excitement, and
may be thus epitomised. Mr. John Malcolm Corrie
is a gentleman living in style at a house called " The
Cottage," at Itchen Abbas, his establishment con-
sisting of himself, his wife, six daughters, two sons,
a governess, and nine servants. On the 4th July,
at the early parlour dinner, hot baked veal, cold
bacon, potatoes, and, cabbage, were served, and the
servants afterwards partook of the same food.
Martha Tully, the cook, dressed and dished up the
meat, the kitchen-maid attending to the vegetables.
About 12 hours afterwards almost the whole family
were taken ill with symptoms of some foreign irri-
tant, causing sickness, purging, pains in the limbs,
and other indications of poison. It further appears
that Mrs. Corrie was in the habit of sending a hot
dinner daily to the grandfather of one of her ser-
vants, the old man the cause of whose death has
this afternoon been under investigation ; and on the
day in question (July 4), a portion of the dinner
referred to was taken him. He did not eat it that
day, but it was put by to get cold, the woman who
attended to him giving her children the gravy and
vegetables, after eating which they were taken se-
riously ill with the same symptoms. On the fol-
lowing day (July 5) old Sims ate the veal, and in
the evening was attacked with violent pains in the
stomach and vomiting. He continued ill for three
weeks and then died. Prior, however, to the death
of Sims, Mr. Corrie gave the woman Tully into
custody, and she was taken before the magistrates
by Mr. Superintendent Everett, and charged with
administering a deleterious drug with intent, &c.
She was remanded several times, and at last dis-
charged from defective evidence.
At the inquest an immense deal of evidenCe was
given setting out the above facts, and further, that
the woman Tully had said she would serve out any
one that offended her. It also appeared that she
was under notice to leave. Mr. John Covey, sur-
geon, of Itchen Abbas, deposed that he attended all
the persons in Mr. Corrie's family. They suffered
from pains in the bowels, vomiting, and purging.
He also attended Sims, and made a post mortem
examination. The mucous coat of the stomach was
much inflamed, and covered with ulceration. Sims
died from exhaustion, caused by the pain of the
ulcers. They
might have been caused naturally, but
the man was in perfect health till he ate the veal
from Mr. Corrie's table. Death was more consistent
with having taken something to cause all the in-
flammatory symptoms. If there had been verdigris
in the saucepan it must have been a very great
quantity to make so many people ill. He (witness)
was only just in time to save the nurse's life. He
bad preserved portions of the stomach for the pur-
pose of analysis. He (Mr. Covey) also attended the
woman Tully when she was at the Plough, where
she had been removed by order of Mr. Corrie. She
did not suffer from the same symptoms as the others
who ate the dinner.

By a Juror—She had no symptoms whatever
similar to those of the persons in Mr. Corrie's house.
Ann Hoar proved giving Sims the veal which Mrs.
Corrie sent him. He did not have the gravy. That
was given to her (witness's) children, as he did not
want it. About twelve hours after both the children
were taken ill with vomiting and purging. They had
not yet recovered, and the baby was still very ill.
A great deal of other evidence was taken, and
that given at the preiious hearing was read over in
the presence of the woman Tully, who, after being
cautioned by the Coroner, made the following
statement :—" I am a widow, 34 years of age. I was
cook to Mr. Corrie for four months. On the 2d of
July Mrs. Curie gave me a month's notice to leave.
No particular reason was given except small faults.
On the morning of Tuesday, July 3, some veal was
brought by the butcher from Alresford. I observed
nothing particular except that the knuckle was black, '
as if it had been bruised. I mentioned it to Mrs.
Corrie, who said it was all right. I partially cooked
the veal that night, taking the knuckle part for white
soup, which I boiled in a copper stewpan. After
supper I directed the kitchen-maid to pour off the
soup or gravy, but she 3mitted to do it, and it remained
in the stewpan all night. I poured it off myself next
morning, and drank about a tablespoonful, not ob-
serving any particular taste or smell about it. The
stewpan•had a tin lining, which had been a good deal
worn, but it was quite clean when I put the meat in.
After I had poured the gravy off it was put into a
basin, and on the following day was put to the veal,
which had been partially baked the day before in the
oven, on the Tuesday evening, and finished on the
following day, when it was served up to the early
parlour dinner with some mutton. The veal was
baked in an iron dish enamelled.

By the Coroner—How was it that it was cooked
partly one day and partly the next ?
The Witness—To keep it sweet. The veal gravy
was the first thing cooked in the iron pot, and it was
perfectly good and properly done. The larder whereyn
it was put was just fresh painted. The veal
ailret up at
which had been prepared as stated,
dinner for the family. Up to that tiwmasTsbera
°wrong. (The
bad not the
least knowledge or idea of anything g
given to the
dinner fami3iyil table, and said
witness then detailed the
servants after the joint left t
was takenas they
and
de
gravy, or ever had
ill
that she ate
io.f itwrhonenrsgt
most earnest manner that
were.) She denied i
she put anything
intention of injuring any one, nor had
she knowledge or suspicion of any one else hay-
ehlefin
expressed any
ing
The Coroner then said he proposed to close the
taannyipkeLd with the gravy in any Way.
inquiry by reading the report made by Professor
Taylor, of Guy's Hospital. it was then read, the
results of the learned analyst's investigation showing
the absence of either arsenic, antimony, mercury,
lead, copper, or other metals.
The Coroner, in summing up said that the case in
all its bearings was one of a very peculiar kind, still
from the evidence which had been adduced before
them it must give rise to anxious deliberation. Ac-
cording to one theory the cause of the death might
have arisen from the veal the deceased ate from
Mr. Corrie's house on the sth of July, because he
was in apparently good health up to that time. It
was stated in the medical evidence of Mr. Covey
that the poor man Sims died of inflammation, and