The Sun.
London, England, 1842-10-06 00:00:00

CAPTURE OF THE MURDERERS.

Two men have been taken into custody at
Belper, and we understand the evidence against
them is clear. We shall endeavour to obtain
full particulars, and publish them in a Second
Edition.

SHOCKING MURDERS BY
POISON.

BOLTON -LE4I/ °ORS, TUESDAY.—No recent event
has produced so deep a sensation as the crime which
we are about to describe.

The prisoner, whose name is Betty Eccles, the wife
of a man in humble circumstances, was brought into
Court in the custody of the police.
The evidence adduced on the present occasion was
to the folloWing effect :
The first witness called was Henry Eccles, the
husband of the prisoner. He said he first
became acquainted with her in 1840, and married her
in 1841, in the latter part of the year. She had then
three daughters, who all appeared very healthy.
Shortly after that witness had a dispute with her, and
did not go near her for about a month. When he
returned he found the two youngest children were
dead and buried. She informed witness the youngest
died of the measles, but did not say what the other
died of. In June last the prisoner had a child be-
longing to James Heywood to nurse, and witness
left home in the day, and on his return next morning
found the child dead. On Sunday, the 4th of Sep-
tember, witness saw his daughter Alice go to bed
well. Next morning he left home, and returned on
the following Saturday, when he found her dead, his
wife informing him that she had been taken
ill on the Tuesday with fits, and died on
Saturday at noon. Last f.-lunday but one witness
saw his son William alive and well on his going to
bed. lie went to work on the following morning,
and afterwards heard he was dead. Witness returned
home on the Friday evening, and found it was so. A.
little boy, aged twelve years, gave evidence respect-
ing the leath of Heywood's boy, and his brother
William, both of whom were well shortly before.
The apprentice to Mr. Mosscropp, druggist, deposed
to supplying the prisoner with a pennyworth of
arsenic, which she said she wanted to destroy mice

with.
Mr. John Denham, surgeon, of Bolton, deposed to
examining the whole of the bodies in question. The
stomachs and bowels of these bodies were given to Mr.
Watson. _ _ _

Mr. Henry Hough Watson, analytical chemist, de-
posed to testing the contents of the stomach of Wil-
liam Eccles, from which he produced no less than
twenty-eight grains of arsenic. The contents of the
stomach of Alice Haslam he found to contain about
thirty grains of the same poison. The stomachs, or
their contents, of Nancy Haslam, the boy Heywood,
and Hannah, were also subjected to similar tests, and
arsenic was produced, with the exception of the cases
of Hannah Haslam and Heywood, whose bodies were
much decomposed.
James Harris, police inspector, deposed to taking
the prisoner into custody. She denied having pur-
chased arsenic at Mr. Mosscrop's shop.
The CORONER then briefly summed up the case to
the Jury, who, after a consultation of about ten
minutes, found a verdict of wilful murder against the
prisoner, for having caused the death of William
Eccles, Alice Haslam, and Nancy Haslam, by the
administration of arsenic.
She, on being committed, coolly turned to the
Jury and thanked them for their kindness, and was
then removed amid the hootings of the crowd.