The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-12 00:00:00

HORRIBLE MURDER AAD SUICIDE.

This morning an inquest was held at the Wheateheaf
Tavern, Thornton-hea-h, before the coroner for Surrey,
Mr. Carttar, on the bodies of Mrs. Mary Smithers, ahoy
of independent property, and her two sons, William, aged
33, and Charles, aged 18. The death of Mrs. Smithers and
her youngest son, Charles, had been caused by poison, ad-
ministered by Williaro;who afterwards committed suicide
by the same means.
_

The facts of the melancholy and distressing affair wore
as follows :—For some years past the deceased lady and her
two sons occupied the house 49, Thornton-heath, and the
family were remarkable for the love and affection which
seemed to subsist between them. William Holton,
the elder son, has been a clerk in the Bank of England,
and Charles has been engaged in the factory of Mr.
Burnett, engiueer, at Deptford. William had boon remark-
able for his steadiness and general deportment, until very
recently, when, unfortunately, a total change came over
him, and recently he had been known to drink bratly to
excess. This change, there can be no doubt, has been oc-
casioned by his becoming a speculator on 'Change, and the
ill-luck which attended those speculations. His losses
were considerablo, and from some papers found it appeared
that assignments were prepared for the disposal of some
life policies, and also a bill far five bundled pounds
for acceptances. It had been his (William's) custom
to sleep down stairs, but for some cause or other, ha
for several nights preceding the unfortunate ocourr" cc,
slept with his brother on the first floor—a proceeding ob-
jected to by his mother, who insisted on his resting in his
own bed. On Wednesday night the unfortunate lady
called out to her younger son; and asked " if William had
gone to his own room ?" and the answer, though not true,
was in the affirmative. Nothing, however, occurred orb
that night to excite suspicion or alarm ' • the mother and
brothers went to bed as usual, and on the following morn-
ing, about seven o'clock, the female servant, having waited
some time beyond the usual period at which the family
came to breakfast, went to the bedroom of Charles, and
listened for a moment or so, but hearing no noise, she
pushed the door open, and the first thingiwhich caught her
view was the face of her young master, with a dark froth
about the mouth and nostrils. The sight so alarmed her
that she returned from 'the room, and at once ran to the
house next door for assistance. Returning with the servant
mail, they entered the bedroom, where they found both
the brothers perfectly lifeless, and a phial and a wire-glass
on the foot of the bed. The servant of Mrs. Smithers sum-
moned resolution and proceeded to her mistress's bed-room
on the same floor, and on entering it she found the unfor-
tunate lady quite dead. She lay on the bed with her head
resting on her right hand, the bed perfectly unruffled.
It also appeared from the evidence that Mrs. Smithers
had been ailing for some days, and that her son William
had been in the habit of giving her the medicine prescribe el
for her illness, and by this means had been enabled to give
her the fatal dose which must in a moment have termin-
ated her existence, and that tho fatal drug must have been
poured into the mcuth of the youth Charles while he
lay on his back, and that the sudden shock to the circula-
tion had caused the froth about the mouth and nostrils.
The quantity of Prussic acid taken by the unfortunate
murderer himself was so groat that his death was imme-
diate. The inquiry had not terminated when our reporter
eft.