Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1883-01-20
7RxAk or HANA FOR MURDER.

7RL.4L or H4NA FoR MURDERS.
The trial Of Hama Kamaile for the murder
of her blind husband, whose death attributed
to poisoning) occurred in October last, occu-
pied the attention of the court during Wcdnes-
day, the 18th instant, and attracted an unusu-
ally large and much-interested audience. Sew
eral witnesses were examined, among whom
were Doctors Emerson and Stangenwald, who
were there simply to testify as experts--the
latter in his capacity as a neurological chem
list, and the former as the surgical operator at
for the Crown were the father and mother of
the accused and a country policeman. Doctor
Strangenwald testified to having carefully and
separately analysed the stomach and its con-
spleen of the deceased, and to have recovered
strychnia from each. The total amount of
strychnia obtained was about the twenty fifth
of grain; but as portions of the substance
brought to him for analysis had not been ex-
amned, probably more could have been ex-
tracted. He said that, judging from the guam
tity recovered, he was of opinion that the de
ceased had imbibed sufficient quantity to
account for his death. In speaking of the
physiological action of the drug, he said that
it was one of the most potent and rapidly fatal
of poisons, producing tetanic commissions in a
very few minutes after ingestion; and had been
detected in the liver and in the blood Of ami
mails experimental on, in from four to six min
utes after administration that death from its
effects, whether in man or in other animals,
was invariably preceded by convulsions affect
ing the whole body. To illustrate the jurytht
mode Of death by stychnia some lizards wer,
experimental upon with fatal effect by the adj
ministration Of minute quantities of the poison
that had been obtained from the viscera of tn,
deceased. The Doctor also stated that he ha,
received for analysis, at the same time he ha,
received the viscera of the man, the stomach
and in,estines OF (what was said to bel dog
also portions of the intestines of n smaller ami
NAL, said to be those of cat. The latter, 70
reasons which he explained, had not bee
analysed: in the former he had discovered tn
same poison as that he found in the man; bu
in addition thereto he had also found seeds an
other vegetable matter which upon compariso
gave color TO the belief that they were the pro
duct of certain poisonous plants which are il
digenous to the soil. The effects of these al:
4 pcc,ed native poisons, as well as Others of ng
/ tive origin, he had made the subject OF caref,
/ experiment.; but either had failed to produe
symptoms in any way resembling those pre-
duced by strychnia.
DIR. Emerson testified that he had made
post .mor,em examination OF the body OF tn
{ deceased; that no pathological condition
, the vital organs was dscernible sufficient
0 grave in character to support the theory tn
4 death had been occasioned thereby; that
h consequence he had seen fit to remove po
+ lions of the body for chemical analysis; the
e he had handed to Doctor 81 lgenwald, as all
. the stomach and intestines o.aa dog, and po
n tons OF those OF a cat at the time found des
c on the premises of the deceased, and said
have died in spasms about the same time
|
|. coupled with other collateral circunstanc
d and hearsay, Doctor Emerson expressed
u belief that kamaile came to his death
e poisoning.
d The parents OF the prisoner both testih
II tina, the deceased with his wife had slept
y their house the night previous to his deaf
|. that in the morning early kamaile and his "
N had gone home together, not having yei brea
10 tasted; that about an hour or so after III,
4 departure Hama returned TO the house Of
N parents with her hand besmeared with p
" saying that "her husband had again be
Is seized with one Of his conyulsiye fits I
10 mother went to the house with her daugh
20 and found kamaile in the condition describs
~ The fath1 was sent ior. In the presence
Is both parents, and OF some OF the neighb'
5. who had assembled there, kamaile stated
as was about 10 die, and that his prcsen, aiiiict
10 Was Judgment OF his sins. While sese
re persons were present cat jumped out o.
"A calabash and died in spasms; adog which
m followed one Of the neighbors To the house v
o, also soon after found dead on the same pre-
ed ises. The mother testified thai no food
IT, been given to deceased subsequen, to
en- arrival al the house; thai water alone had b
III given him from the mouth Of Hama. d
nj parents said thai Kamailc had been subj
in to ''6ts" OF spasnls similar 10 those which
he Immediately preceded hisSdea,h.