The Sun.
London, England, 1844-10-24 00:00:00

EXTRAORDINARY CHARGE

AGAINST A MEDICAL MAN.

On Tuesday afternoon Mr. Carter, coroner for Surrey,
held an inquest at the George, Lambeth-walk, on the
body of Mrs. Mary Fullet Turner Brenton, aged 35,
the wife of Mr. Brenton, an apothecary, residing at
No. 14, Newport-street, Lambeth. The jury w a
highly respectable, and the inquiry excited unusua
interest, from a prevalent rumour that deceased met
her death from violence on the part of her husband,
under peculiar circumstances.
The case was partly investigated on Monday at
Union-hall, and Mr. Brenton was remanded by the
magistrates to await the result of the present inquiry.
Mr. John Houston, surgeon, of No. 5, Thavies-
inn, Holborn, examined—Deceased was my daughter,
and I believe it was an unfortunate marriage. Mr.
Brenton, an apothecary, residing at No. 14, Newport-
street, was her husband. On the 4th instant I was
called to see her, and told she was dying. I found
her in bed insensible, and Elizabeth Lee, a nurse,
with her.
Cow:muss—From what cause did the state you
found her in arise ? Witness—Why, from personal
violence.
Coaoilms—How do you know that? Witness—l
understand from—•
CORONER—I cannot take anything you have heard
in evidence. Witness—l did not examine her person
at the time. I was told she had taken opium, but
her disease had no characteristic of her having done
so. I found he had concussion of the brain, lock-
jaw, and paralysis of the right arm, which I attribute
to acts of violence and to nothing else.
Coaorma.--I cannot take your opinion in evidence.
I cannot take it down. When you found her in the
state you describe what took place ? Witness—l did
nothing medically then. I waited for Mr. Sanders,
her medical attendant, and we treated her conjointly
for concussion of the brain and injury to the spinal
marrow. These two diseases arose from two causes,
and if she had not been my daughter, I could very
easily explain to you the cause of one of them. Ido
not believe the lock jaw was connected with the con-
cussion of the brain. I saw her twice a day from the
4th instant until Saturday last, the day of her death.
From time to time she became partly sensible, and
about four days previous to her death she became
conscious enough to answer questions.
CORONER—Do you believe she had a knowledge of
what she was speaking about ? Witness—She had ;
decidedly so. Seeing her dying, I threw myself upon
her, crying, " Oh, my dear Mary !" She replied,
" Oh, papa, papa, it was Henry that did it ; he beat
me about the back." There were three other wit-
nesses present at the time, the nurse, Mrs. Fisher,
and Mrs. Barber, the landlady.
This witness was exceedingly excited whilst giving
his evidence, and afterwards became so much so that
the Coroner ordered him to be removed from the room.
Elizabeth Lee, the nurse, said deceased was con-
fined on the 20th of August, and attended by Mr.
Laver,sfdcrceaous;neisetnight.of S
dino ngwni.eat
.s et
weakly, Stamford-street.
Deceasedhmfo
Deceased
abeoku rdatpna
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havingll rthseoeavue eleven
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been
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You shall
ewdukipsts
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e4aeo
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together
t de-
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die
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before I give into you." They scuffled for an hour,
and then ceased, and recommenced, and continued
scuffling until one o'clock in the morning. She heard
no blows struck, and in the morning found deceased
in a state of insensibility, in which she continued
until the time of her death, so far as she knew; and
was never able to answer questions rationally.
By a Juror—Besides the words above-mentioned,
I heard deceased also say, whilst in bed with her hus-
band, " If I had married Cobbey, he would not have
served me so." She used often to tell him the same
thing.

Air. H. W. Laver, surgeon, of 38, Stamford-street,
proved delivering the deceased, on the 20qi of August,
of a healthy female child, still alive. Ile attended her
until she became convalescent. She afterwards had
rheumatism, and witness going out of town left her
to the care of Mr. Sanders, and did not bee her again
until the 10th inst.

Mr. :Sanders proved finding marks of pinching
under each ham, and also the marks of an injury at
the bottom of the spine. If the latter were the effects
of violence, as deceased was a weakly person, it
might affect the spinal marrow and brain. She made
no statement about her husband in his presence,
though she was partially conscious up to the time of
her death.

Mr. Laver re-examined--He opened the body,
the head, chest, abdomen, and spine, and found the
whole of the former congested. On examining the
spine, he found the sacrum, the last bone of the spinal
column, in a softened state, v thich might be caused
by a blow. The lowest part of the spinal cord was in
a state of congestion, and there were small coagula
all along from the dorsal to the cervical vertebrae, and