The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-01-20
EXTRA ORDINARY Poisoning CASE
A British Army Surgeon Administers
Arsenic TO His Wife.
Prom the lancet.

The trial OF Surgeon Gla)Or Cross Tor the
willful murder OF his wife by poison COM
menced on Dec IA, and, after lasting the
whole of three days aud the greater paat of
a fourth resulted in verdict Of guilty, the
| prisoner being sentenced to be banged on
Jan 10.
! The accused, Philip Henry Eustace Cross,
was retired army Surgeon Major, having
obtained the l.. r. c. S. l. in lS4S, and be-
| ing now about 63 years of age. He was
married 10 the deceased lady Whose maiden
name was Laura Mary MARRIOTT i'll 1869,
she being at the time of her decease 40
/ years of age, Soon after their marriage he
| left the army, and they went to live at
Shandy Hall, near Cork, being III COM
| Portable circumstances, having family of
five children, and they would appear to
have lived happily together until the close
of 1886.
At that time the prisoner began to treat
| his wife with indifference, and having
! formed an adulterous intimacy with Miss
! Skinner, a lady who had been governesS in
| his family for three months, lie began TO
| treat his wife with cruelty, threatening and
curslng her. He left home last March, and
was prov d to have stayed at hotel III
| Dublin with NJ IS skinner, they living as
| man and wife under the assumed name OF
! Os orne. Up till the end of April last the
deceased though somewhat delicate, had
! fairly good health, and was seen by Il gen
| tleman who had known her for twelve
/ years. walking about a field looking well,
and expressing herself Us feeling well. On
May she was at church; on May gshe
was out visiting; and ON May
10 she was first attacked With-to use the
words of a lady friend, Miss jefferson, who
was on Visit-"Spasns of the heart,
| cramps, vomiting and diarrhRa." On the
| following day she remained in bed, whore
| she continued several days, suffering from
! the same symptoms. On the 18th she was
| better, and had walk with Miss Jefferson:
! the next day she went TO church, 1t beng
Ascension Day, but drove back. On the
| 22d Sunday she was out for tine last time
i'll her life On the 9th she was again III
! bed, suffering from the same symptoms as
| before. On that day she was seen for the
| first time by medical man other than her
| husband, this being DIR. Thomas Godfrey,
near neghbOr, and an uncle by marriage OF
the prisoner.
He saw her in bed, Cross being present,
| his visit lasting about fifteen minutes. He
! had been told by Gross that his wife was
suffering from diarrhna, and the impression
conveyed to his Or Godtreys) mind was
| that she was suffering from bilious attack.
| He suggested that she should have three or
| four grains of calomel and an aperient on
the following morning. 1t is always easy
to be wise after the event, and cases of
criminal poisoning generally come to the
notice of medical practitioners in SO in
! sidlous- q manner as to escape notice
Had DIR. Godfrey pushed his inquiries
| further than he appears to have done, its
| true nature might perahapS then have been
! diagnosed, possibly even in time TO save the
| poor lady's life. She had a wet cloth round
! her head, and when asked 10y him the reason
| why she made no reply. The Intermittent
character of the symptoms and Cross state
ment that the vomiting and diarrhoea were
much better that day were suspicious. DIR.
| Godfrey'S evidence would appear to have
surprised both the learned Judge and coun-
| sci for the defense while the Attorney Gen
eral did not re-examine him. He was never
asked to see her again, but, living so near,
| it is remarkable that he should never have
| called
! No other medical practitioner saw her, no
nurse was procured, and all the evidence as
| to symptoms came from non-proiessional
witnesses. Miss Jefferson's being especially
valuable. This lady kept diary, from
which most of the Preceding facts have
been given, and Oh the 26th she began to be
alarmed On the 9th and 2Sth she noticed
that the deceased's eyes seemed irrltated
and infamed; the latter also complained
| that she could not see distant objects, read
the paper or write. On the goth
she was getting weaker and was
drowsy; she was constantly vomit-
ing. On Wednesday, June I, Miss
jefferson saw her alive for the last time;
| she was quite intelligent, able to express her
wishes give orders, and to describe her
state The exact time Of death could never
be aScertained, as only the prisoner was
! present; but according to his statement
made to the servants it occurred about l a.
m. on Thursday, June ,. The daceasei was
not dressed in the usual grave clothes, and
| the prisoner assisted two of the servants in
| laying her out: The Clergyman who had
| Wis ted her was not allowed co see her when
| he called a second time, and other friends
were kept away from her from alleged
| reasons which were not correct
! On June the prisoner registered the
| death as due TO typhoid fever" he being
! both the informant and the certifying med
| jcal attendant. Next-and this is still more
| remarkable-the body Of the unfortunate
| deceased was buried ON the Saturday after,
at o'clock in the morning, the prisoner
! having tried to arrange for the burial an
! hour earlier. He now stated to a neighbor
| that she had died from heart disease. On
! June II he married Miss Skinner in London,
and. the police having obtained information
! iustifving an inquest, the body Of the do
! ceas d was eyhumed on July 2l in the pres
ence of Dr. Crowley (who identified it, and
DR.. Charles Yelverton Pearson Lecturer
on Medical Jurisprudence III Queens Col
! lege, Cork.
| The result Of the post norton examina-
ton elTectualy disproved thattyphoid fever
was the cause Of death. The body was re-
markedly we'll preserved, considering the
time of year and the excessive heat; the
heart was found healthy and al the APP
pearances we're consistent with death from
irritant poisoning. DR.. Pearson found
crystals of white arsenic in the contents of
the stomach, and obtained LA grains of
arsenic from this organ alone. he obtained
LIS grains of arsenic from the liver, and
found it IN the spleen aud kidneys In the
small intestiAes he found strychnile, the
quantity of which he estimated ut less than
one -hundredth part of a grain. He was
subjected to a very severe oss-examlnation
by the prisoners counsel, and was recalled
to be questioned by the jury just before
they found their verdict, Mr.. Justice Murphy
in Charge to the jury paid DR.. Pears. II
very high compliment, which was well de-
served. 1t would appear to be the first oc-
cas- on on which Dr. Pearson has been re-
quired to make a post norton insp 'ction,
and to chemically examine the viScera in
case of arsencal poisoning. While his evil
dence leaves nothing TO be desired, it would
have been more comfortable for him, and
would have strengthened the case for the
Crown, had there been u second analyst
with previous experience Of such work,