The Sun.
London, England, 1861-07-30 00:00:00

THE EXTRAORDINARY WILL CASE.

David Griffiths Jones, who was described as a
surgeon, of 42, Woburn-place, was placed at the bar
of the Gaildhall police court yesterday, before
Alderman Hale, for further examination on the
charge of feloniously forging and uttering a certain
document, purporting to be the last will and testa-
ment of Mr. Sophia Bellis, now deceased.
Mr. Sergeant Ballantine, instructed by the At-
torney-General, and Mr. Humphreys, jun., of the
firm of Humphreys, Son, and Morgan, conducted
the prosecution on behalf of the Crown, and Mr.
Sleigh, instructedby Mr. Lewis, jun., appeared for
the defence.
Mr. Martin (tle Chief Clerk), having read over
the evidence taken on two former examinations,
Mr. Sergeant liallantine said—Before calling any
further evidence I will briefly state the course I

propose to pursue and the facts I am in a position
to prove. The hdy whose name has been so often
mentioned in these proceedings, it appears, was a
natural child, and if she died intestate her property
would, under auth circumstances, go to the Crown.
At the time refe:Ted to she was suffering from an
affection of the heart and dropsy, and certainly in
an unfit state to make a will. The question, there-
fore, is, whether Dr. Griffith Jones, having got
her into his pcwer, prevailed on her to make a
will or not, and inllefault, if he had or had not ma-
nufactured a will himself. It will also be a ques-
tion for a juai Whether the signature which
I shall put in skidemlif is in Dr. Jones's hand-
writing, or the:, Dr. AVM used her hand, she being
in a state of total inability at the time to sign the
will which has been produced, but whether he
actually wrote that signature with his own hand or
with her hand is immaterial if it was done without
her authority and against her wishes. The crimi-
nality was the same, and the offence in either case
would be one of forgery. There is no doubt that
she desired Dr. Jones as her medical attendant, or
that he visited her on the 13th, when she was not
in a fit state t) be removed. However he seems to
have got an attorney of the name of Fitch, whom
he previously took to the house of the deceased lady,
and there is no donbt they both endeavoured to
induce her to make a will ; for among the papers
found in the prisoner's possession is an unexecuted
will, by which the whole of her property was be-
queathed to Dr. Tones. If such endeavours were
made they proved unsuccessful while she was sur-
rounded by respectable people, and they therefore
contrived a plan to get her into their own power,
and with the assistance of two persons who are
attesting witnesses to the will in question, they re-
moved her at two o'clock in the afternoon of the
13th. Among her acquaintances was a person
of the name of Sharpe, to whom she was at one
time engaged to be married, but he got into difficul-
ties and left the country. Mrs. Bellis was exceed-

ingly anxious to find him, and although hewas also
acquainted with Dr. Jones and visited his patients
for him Dr. Jones did not inform him that he was
attending Mrs. Bellis, and in fact Dr. Jones did not
even know her right name, as she was then passing
as Mrs. Capell, and he had, through his wife, to
apply to Sharpe for her real name. One remark-
able circumstance is, that although Sharpe was
living in Jones's house at the time Mrs. Bellis
died, he was kept in ignorance of her being
there. Neither was Mrs. Bellis aware

that Sharpe was under the same roof.
1 will produce the two wills referred to, and
call Sharpe in support of the facts I have men-
tioned with regard to himself. I may mention
here that neither Fitch nor the attesting witnesses
are included in the present charge, so that the pri-
soner may call them if he thinks proper to prove
the signature of the will. If he be able to establish
it as a genuine will, there will be an end of that
case ; but there is another matter in which I shall
be able to show that Dr. Jones committed wilful
and corrupt perjury in the Court of Probate, upon
which I shall also ask for his committal. The simple
question at present is—Did Jones with his own,
hand, or by the hand of a woman past all capa-
bility of acting for herself, procure her signature to
this will, at a time when she was not in a state of
mind to enable her to dispose of her property.
Dr. Murphy was then called, and said—When I
saw Mrs. Beilis on the morning that she died I did
not observe any writing materials in the room,
neither did I hear anything of her having made, or
being about to make a will.
Cross examined—l did not look about for writ-
ing materials, but they might have been there with-
out my noticing them.
Mr. Rodman, a clerk in the Court of Probate,
was called to produce an affidavit made, and pur-
porting to be signed, by David Griffith Jones.
Mrs. Mary Lyne Calvert said—l keep a board-
ing-house at 31, Fitzroy-square. The deceased
lady came to live at my house on the 13th of last
December. She passed by the name of Mrs. Capell.
She was in a very bad state of health, and could
scarcely see to write, and when she did she used to
.place the paper close to her eyes. She used to
write letters which were scarcely intelligible, and
I used to copy them for her. She was always
calm and collected until Dr. Jones came to attend
her. I called him in at her request, and the
first time he came was on the 11th of February
last. Mrs. Jones came first, and after being
some time with the deceased, she went away, and
returned in the afternoon with Dr. Jones. They
left between five and six o'clock, and I then found
Mrs. Capell in a very excited state, much more ex-
cited than I had ever seen her before. On the 12th
of February he came again and I saw him about
nine o'clock. Ile said in her presence that she was
better, but she said she was sure she was worse. I
told him she had had a dreadful night, and he said
he expected it. I saw Dr. Jones about one o'clock
the same day. He and Mrs. Jones were there all
day alternately. During the afternoon two strange
men were introduced into Mrs. Capell's bedroom,
which was on the ground floor. I heard no men-
tion made of a will. She was removed in my ab-
sence between twelve and one o'clock on the 13th
of February. She was deaf and nearly blind.
The signature of Sophia Bellis is not in her hand-
writing.
Cross-examined—On the 3d of February last she
asked me to write to Dr, Jones. At that time she
was in a sinking state. She did not say he was a
friend she could confide in, but thinking she was
dying, her doctor having told her that she could
not recover, she wished to try some other system of
medicine, and therefore directed me to send for Dr.
Jones. I wrote the letter word for word to her dic-
tation, and remonstrated with her for stating in the
letter that she was not expected to live from hour
to hour; as 1 knew she was not so near death. But
she said, " Oh, I know him ; if I do not write so
be will not come." She never told me she bud
e e 3
i shall
Dr. Jones and had quarrelled with him. She
asked him as a Christian and a friend to come. The
letter produced is the one I wrote for her :
" 31, Fitzroy-square.
" Sir,—At the request of Mrs. Capell, who is at my
house,
and
calling, iem ved to be in a dying state, allow me tb
request
shequet from her that you will call upon her immediately,
as_.has something up(m. her mind to communicate to you,
which she thinks will relieve her in her present state. She
,bags that nothing that has taken place heretofore may pre-
vent
place aosstitsaitsisafaractaorttileyr of life atp, nld adneadtlai
m, andple
assures you that any misunderstanding that has ever taken
p