The Sun.
London, England, 1845-01-04 00:00:00

THE SUSPECTED MURDER AT

SALT-HILL.
SLOUGH, FRIDAY EVENING. - This extraordinary
affair, which is wrapped in the greatest mystery, still
continues to excite the most intense interest throughout
this extensive neighbourhood. A great number of per-
sons, anxious to have a view of the interior of the house,
and especially the room in which the supposed murder
took place, and now containing the body of the deceased
(upon which an inquest was held yesterday), visited the
house during to-day ; but the constable, with whom is
deposited the key of the house, has received strict in
junctions from the Coroner, before wh=ms the adjourned
?roceedings will be resumed to-morrow morning, not to
suffer any one to enter the premises, and these orders
have been strictly attended to.
The deceased had two children living with her at the
time of her death—Frederick, the eldest. aged five
years, and Sarah, an interesting little girl, one year
younger. They had been put to bed by their mother
about half an hour before the discovery of the murder
of their unfortunate parent. Mrs. Ashlee, who gave
evidence before the coroner and jury at the inquest yes •
Enday afternoon, was the first person who entered the
house, after the prisoner, John Tawell, had left. Both
the children, who were then asleep, were immediately
taken by Mrs. Ashlee to her own house, which was ad-
joining. The boy was -afterwards asked by Mrs.
Ashlee if the gentleman "tad given his mother any
money before he was put to bed. The child said he
saw no money ; but he heard his mother say to the old
gentleman, " You are a very naughty man, and very
cruel," when the gentleman remarked that he should never
come to see his mother again. It may be observed, as a
somewhat remarkable circumstance, that the boy of the
deceased bears a close resemblance to the prisoner, John
Tawell. During the proceedings yesterday before the
coroner, the boy was taken into an adjoining room,
where the prisoner was in custody, and instantly recog-
nised him as the person who was with his mother on the
preceding afternoon. As soon as the prisoner saw the
child he turned his head away in apparently considerable
agitation.
The room in which the deceased met her death is Rot
more than about ten feet square. Her head, when her
body was discovered by Mrs. Ashlee, was lying near the
door, and her feet towards the fireplace. It was stated
at the inquest yesterday that her clothes were in great
disorder, her cap off her head, and one of her stockings
pulled down and torn. Her shoes were also off her
feet, and lying in another part of the room: From the
general appearance of the body, and the state of the
clothes of the deceased, it was very evident that she had
been engaged in a desperate struggle. Her eyes were
open when Mrs. Ashlee entered her apartment, and she
breathed her last within about ten minutes afterwards,
and just as Mr. Champnes, the surgeon, arrived. The
deceased, who was about 40 years of age, was considered
by her friends and neighbours to be a very quiet and
respectable person.
A. postmortem examination of the body of the deceased
took place yesterday in the presence of Mr. Champnes
and Mr. Norblad, surgeons of Slough, and likewise of a
surgeon from town. The whole of the contents of the
stomach were taken away for the purpose of being care-
fully analysed, there being strong reasons for supposing,
in the absence of any external marks of violence, that
the deceased's death was occasioned from the effects of
some potent poison. The contents of the stomach were
taken to London this morning by Mr. Norbald, followed
by Mr. Chanipnes. A phial, partly filled with some
light-coloured liquid, was found this morning thrown
over the rails of Mr. Botham's garden, at Salt-hill, ad-
joining the high road, along which the prisoner passed
on Wednesday evening after leaving Bath-place to pro-
ceed to the Slough station. The contents of this phial,
and also the remainder of the porter found in the tumbler
and bottle on the table at the time the deceased was dis-
covered in the agonies of death, have likewise been
taken to London to be analysed.
It will be remembered that when Mrs. Ashlee entered
the room, the deceased was lying on the floor on her
back, foaming at the mouth.We have since been informed
that a quantity of froth, the same in appearance to that
which issued from the mouth, was on that part of the
table near which the unfortunate woman generally sat.
At the adjourned inquest, which will commence to-
morrow morning at ten o'clock, some important evidence
is expected to be brought forward.
The prisoner, John Tawell, who is in the custody of
Mr. Perkins, the superintendent of the Eton police, is
extremely taciturn, maintaining
a sullen silence on the