The Sun.
London, England, 1868-08-19 00:00:00

ALLEGED MANSLAUGHTER OF A PUBLICAN.

Dorothy Verdenhoven surrendered to an indict-
ment charging her with the manslaughter of her
husband Conrad Verdenhoven, a licensed victualler.

Mr. Cooper prosecuted, and Mr. Metcalf de-
fended.

Mary Ann Goddard said she resided at 14, Can-
non-street-road, St. George's-in-the-East, and was
in the service of the deceased, a licensed victualler.
The sign of the house was the Duke of Wellington.
On the 11th of July the deceased returned home in
his chaise and proceeded into the bar parlour to
dinner, where the prisoner was. She heard some
words passing between them, when in a short time
after her master came into the kitchen and
proceeded to wash some blood from his side. The
prisoner came ;into the :kitchen in a very ex-
cited state afterwards, and said "Conrad, Conrad,
let me attend to you." He said " No, don't pull me
about." The prisoner then sent me for the nearest
surgeon, but before going :prisoner said, throwing
her arms round my neck, " Oh, Jane, I didn't
mean to do it." She (witness) did not recollect
hearing her mistress say what had led to the quar-
rel. She found the black-handled dinner knife
produced under the table in the bar-parlour.
By Mr Metcalf—She heard her mistress say she
did not intend to do it, but only to frighten de-
ceased. She (witness) also heard her master say
when he left the kitchen that the injury he had
received was an accident. Her mistress was a
very quiet, well-behaved woman, but her master
(the deceased) was in the habit of drinking to ex-
cess, and then he acted in a very violent manner
towards his wife. He had been drinking on the
day in question. After she saw her master in the
kitchen she perceived her mistress had a black
eye.

Charles Gee, inspector of police, said on the
Sunday following he went to the Duke of Welling-
ton, and saw the deceased in bed. He told him
that it was a very serious affair ; when Verden-
hoven said, "Yes, but it's my fault." The prisoner
said, " I will tell how it happened." She said,
" Mr. Verdenhoven returned home on the Satur-
day just at dinner time, and we had a
quarrel. He struck me a blow in the
face, and afterwards another, which blacked my
eye. I then picked up a knife and struck at him,
but I did not know that I had hurt him till I went
to the kitchen, then to my hcrror I found I had
stabbed him." The deceased persisted in saying
that ho was in fault, and in answer to questions
whether he wished to charge his wife with the
offence, he said, " No, certainly not ; it's all my
fault."

By Mr. Metcalf—The deceased from the first
said it was an accident, and that it was all his own
fault.

Mr. Morrison, the surgeon, said that very soon
after the deceased had received the injury he pro-
ceeded to the house. He dressed the wound, which
he found on the right side.

➢lr. Connelly, the surgeon, said ho had made a
post mortem examination of the deceased, and from
the appearance of the wound he should say that the
deceased had, by his own act in a great measure,
caused the injury. It appeared as if he had given
a lounge forward, and thus given force to the
blow.

The learned Judge said, after that evidence, if
the jury were of opinion that the deceased had
acted as supposed, and that the prisoner only in-
tended to alarm and not injure her husband there
was an end of the case.

The foreman of the jury said such was their
opinion, and a verdict of not guilty was returned,
and the prisoner was at once discharged from
custody.