The Sun.
London, England, 1844-08-21 00:00:00

THE STEPNEY POISONING CASE.

CRIMINAL COURT.—(THIS DAY.)
OLD COURT`
[ Mr. Commissioner; Bullock took his seat in this
• Coin t shy rtly after nine a'clock, when the prisoners for
, trial during the day were arrainged at the bar. Among
- them was James Cockburn Belaney, the surgeon, who
. pleaded Not Guilty, in a firm voice, to the charge of
; poi oniug his wife, Rachel Belany. The prisoner is by
, no means a good-looking man, but has a morose and
t sullen appearance.
At ten o'clock the Judges, Mr. Baron Gurney and
Mr. Justice Wightman, took their seats on the bench,
when Belasey was again placed at the bar, and given
I in charge to the jury by the Clerk of the Arraigns. He
t was accommodated with a seat, and appeared to view
the whole of the proceedings with great apathy.
• The Solicitor-General, Mr. Bodkin, and Mr. Cham-
bers conducted the prosecution on behalf of the Crown ;
and Mr. Erie and Mr. Clarkson appeared for the pri-
soner.
, The SOLICITOR-GENERAL, on opening the prosecution,
said that it now became his duty on the part of the
Crown to state the serious and grave charge which
existed against the prisoner at the bar, and in making
• that statement he could not but feel the great respon-
sibility that devolved upon him. The prisoner at the
bar was charged with occasioning the death of his wife
by poison. New, in stating this important and solemn
charge to the jury, he must take care on behalf of the
• Crown that every fact, and the conclusions to be. drawn
from those facts, should be fairly and fully stated to the
jury, in order to enable them to form a correct and deli-
berate judgment on the case; and, on the other hand, he
must be cautious that no facts and no circumstances
should be unfairly pressed into the case against the
prisoner, that no inferences should be rashly drawn to
his prejudice, and that, in short, the whole trial should
be conducted in that fair and impartial manner which
always characterised the proceedings of the courts of
I justice in this country. The case that he had
now to lay before them was strictly one of
circumstantial evidence. There was no doubt of'
the death of the wife of the prisoner, and that
, it was occasioned in consequence of her taking a quan-
• tity of prussic acid ; but the important question for the
, jury to determine was, whether it was taken by mis-
take, in consequence of the prisoner having incautiously
and inadvertently left it within his wife's power ; or
• whether he was guilty of the serious offence of wilfully
1 administering it to her. The jury on coming to a con-
- elusion upon the facts submitted to them, must apply
• their minds and exercise their reasoning powers pre-
cisely, on this most important occasion, in the same way
as they would in the ordinary concerns of life, they
would draw those conclusions from the facts which the
facts ordinarily brought to their minds, and if upon
the consideration of those facts they entertained any
doubt, they would give the benefit of it to
the prisoner. They were not, however, to be
ingenious in suggesting doubts which would not
occur to them in judging of the ordinary concerns
of life. Having made these preliminary remarks, he
would now proceed to state the circumstances of the
case shortly to the jury. The prisoner at the bar was
for some three or four years before the year 1843 in
practice as a surgeon in North Sunderland—he was not
practising under any diploma, and he was net able to
state whether he had an extensive practice. The de-
ceased was the daughter of a Mrs. Skerrett, a widow lady.
residing in North Sunderland. She was possessed of
copyhold property, and had also a leasehold interest in
some lime-works. On the Ist of February, 1843, the
prisoner married the deceased, and he then gave up the
practice of a surgeon, and went to reside with his mo-
ther-in-law, carrying on, and managing for her the
business of the lime-works. Mrs. Skerrett did not long
survive the marriage of her daughter ; she died in the
July following. Upon the death of the mother the pri-
soner's wife came into possession of the copyhold.
property, and also of the mines and lime-works, and
the prisoner entered into partnership with a person
named Robson in the mines. In 1843 Mr. and Mrs.
Belaney attended a Court of the Lord of the Manor.
She was admitted to the copyhold land, and surrendered
it to the use of her husband, the prisoner. They con-
tinued to reside in North Sunderland till May in the
present year. In the course of that month Mr. De-
laney signified his intention of bringing his wife up tg.
London, leaving her there, and proceeding himself on
an excursion up the Rhine. On the 31st of May two wills
—mutual wills, were drawn up ; one by the wife, leaving
her property to her husband in case she should die
first, and the other by the husband, the prisoner, leav-
ing his property to her in case he should die before
her. The execution of these wills were witnessed
by a farm steward, and a shoemaker. The
prisoner and his wife came up to London on the 3d
of June, and on the following day they went in company
with a person named Hobson to the house of a Mrs. HeP
pingstall, in Green-street, Mile-end, and hired for three
weeks two rooms, a front and back parlour, one of
which was made into a bed-room. At about half-poeS
four o'clock on that day, Mrs. Belaney appeared to be ie
perfect health. She and the prisoner dined together, tval
friends dining with them. They went out in the evenings;
stating they were going to the Pavilion Theatre, an
they did not return till twelve or' one o'clock on the fol.-
lowing morning. On Wednesday, the next day, Mr.
; Belaney ordered his wife a black draught ; the persons in
the house shortly afterwards heard Mrs. Belaney
sick, and she remained in the house ill the
whole day. On Thursday she seemed to be
perfectly recovered ; she went out with her husband at
ten o'clock in the morning and did not return till fivo
o'clock ; they remained up till twelve o'clock ; she
ap-
peared extremely cheerful and amused herself by playing
the piano. On Friday she was also apparently in ex.-
• cellent health. It might be right here that he should
stop the thread of his narrative for the purpose of stating
that on Thursday the prisoner at the bar went to a mir-
k geon of the name of Donoghue, at Stepney, whom he
had known for three or four years. He told hin: that
, he was in the habit of taking prussic acid medicinally,
, and he requested him to get him some, as he himself
could not get it genuine ; besides that he ordered some
ascitate of morphine and some other drugs. An ounce
bottle of prussic acid, together with the other things he
had ordered, were sent to him accordingly.
He (the Solicitor-General) now came to the fatal day,
Saturday, the Bth of June. Between six and seven
o'clock in the morning of that day Mrs. Heppingstall,
the landlady of the house, heard the prisoner and his
wife conversing cheerfully together. About seven o'clock
the prisoner rung the bell, and ordered a tumbler of hot
water and a spoon to be brought to his room. About
half-past seven o'clock he was in the parlour ; the ser-
vant was then dusting the room. He desired her to leave
off, as he wanted to write some letters, and stated that
he would ring when he wanted breakfast. In about *
quarter of an hour afterwards the prisoner called for
assistance. Mrs. Heppingstall ran up stairs; and she
there found Mrs. Belaney on the bed lying on her back,
insensible, with her eyes closed, and something like foot'
coming from her mouth. Mrs. Heppingstall said to the
prisoner, "For God's sake, do something !" the
desired the servant to go for hot water ; and
the feet of Mrs. Belaney were put into st
pan of it. Mrs. Heppingstall said she had seen
her own girls in fits, but she had never seen onn
like that, to which the prisoner replied, " It is no fit--u':,.
is a disease of the heart, of which her mother died twelve
months ago." He had a lancet in his hand, and observed
that he would have bled her, but there was no move-
ment merit of blood in the heart. Mrs. Heppingstall then said
" Won't you send for a doctor 2" to which the prisoner
replied that he was one himself. Ultimately, however,
medical man of the name of Garratt was sent for, bu
upon his arrival Mrs. Belaney was no more. When Mr'
Garrett came the prisoner asked him the cause of death,
to which he replied, that it might be a disease of the
heart. The prisoner said, " Very likely, as that was the
disease of which her mother died 9 months before. Mr- G*
then said that there must be a coroner's inquest, and tll
prisoner at once assented to it. That inquest was he I,`:
on the 10th of June, but it was adjourned in order the,
a post mortem examination might take place. That
examination was made by Mr. Garratt and a gentleman
named Furney, and from that examination it was ascer-
tained that in the stomach there was a sufficient quell:
tity of prussic acid to occasion death. The heart, he%
ever, was found to be in a perfectly healthy state. 10(:),,70
nine on the evening of the post mortem examinatiocn:Al
prisoner, in company with some other persons, wins
upon Mr. Garrett, to ask the cause of death. That we
tleman gave him an evasive answer, the parties I!,v.at
away, and the prisoner called again. He then said
_;i„,
he had been in the habit of taking prussic acid sae.%
einally ; that he had had a bottle out of which he CO
not get the stopper, that in endeavouring to do so ii
sh
broke the neck off; that upon doing so he pouren
the prussic acid into some water in a glass that sve,ssiee
the bed-room, and that while he went into the osS
room to get a bottle to put the acid in, be helo,
shriek, and that upon hurrying into the bed-room,
_ale
Belaney said to him, " Oh, dear, I have taken
of that hot driek, give me some water." The peisoEsnsera
upon being asked what he had done with the bottle,
001,3.
that he had got rid of it in some vacant gams
Such was this sad transaction, and such the i!e_e:ao,
given of it. Now, if he was correctly informed,
etinreJt of
would hear from the medical men that the
irg that
prussic acid was to cause a shriek, and ti;:it w,arna the
shriek volition ceased altogether ; and if tha. seineey
case, it would have been impossible for Mrs. pa
to have said what the prisoner had stated se'i
after she had taken the prussic acid. Added te !tt:
he was informed it was the opinion of medical menrg
if proper remedies had been employed, the liceil,
weser.
Belaney might have been saved. The Cases nisre into
was not to be left here—there were other partiCtus-enable
which it was necessary he should go, in order ton, case.
the jury to form a just conclusion in this imports :seer.
After the apprehension of the prisoner, it wash Sun,'
tamed that he had written to his friends Nort
read.
derland, and some of those letters he would now. a$
The first was dated on the sth of June, and Iv°
follows :
"Euston Hotel, London, June 5, 18445'50
"Dear Sir, —We arrived here yesterday evening Mrs-
and sound, although to-day, I am sorry to
„e,fp:'s suele
Belaney is rather unwell. The fatigue of travcl.l.,nn
a distance, no doubt, to a constitution delicate live
was sure to tell a little upon her ; and I think her
_sl;ater
to bear up and carry all before her, has been g'
than her strength was equal to. However, I
in a day or two, after a good rest, she will allberi 7'o
again, and we will be able to proceed to Ar.li what,
my brother's. She does not think very meet'
to be en.
as yet, she has seen of London. That is easy hand, to
on the one _nzi
counted for, she not being over well,. seen al °b.:"
enjoy anything ; and, on the other, having
5,
A to.day,
nothing of
lessintert but crowded streets..
about fro °1
trustlbhiat
leave this hote nd as I will be
place to place, you had better direincrroni
with to rev.
bookseller s who I hayea arranged - lett.eir:otoonact