The Sun. — 1847-11-15 (London, England)

ALLEGED POISONING.  GRAVESEND, SATURDAY.—An inquiry, which has occupied Mr. Hinde, one of the Kent County Coroners, and a jury, for several days, was brought to a close late last evening, at the Falstaff Inn, Gad's-hill. The deceased was a healthy woman, and on Tuesday, the 19th of last month, she was delivered of a child, which is still living. Mr. Wiblin, a surgeon, residing at Stroud, attended her. He saw her on Wednesday and Thursday, and he neither saw nor heard of any, unfavourable symptoms. He considered her to be going on so well, that he did not deem it necessary to call and see her on the Friday. At this period the nurse, Ann Caush, noticed a remarkable change in her state. She retched violently, and threw off her stomach a slimy substance of different colours. During the day her mother, Mrs. Fisher, who is blind, and lives in Gravesend, visited her, and hearing the alarming turn her condition had taken, begged the husband to send for the doctor. She suffered considerably during thenight in vomiting, and on Mr. Wiblin seeing her he found her in a state of collapse. She was apparently asleep • he touched her on the shoulder, and she woke. He inquired of her whether she had any pain, and she immediately fell into a state of slumber. He ordered her such medicines as he deemed advisable, and saw her frequently during the day, when she appeared in the same state. Gruel seemed to have been her principal nourishment ; it was made either by the nurse or Mrs. Fisher, and it frequently happened that it was left on a hob in the adjoining room, with no one present, so that any person could mix anything in the gruel without the attendants knowing it. The nurse generally gave the unfortunate woman gruel when she required it, but the husband in the course of the night helped her to some, which she took. An hour or so afterwards, her state became more alarming. She was in a state of frenzy, and had jumped out of bed, and it required all in the house to prevent her injuring herself. Mr. Wiblin attended her. She was sensible to a certain extent. She complained of a burning sensation in the throat, thirst, sickness, and a pain in the region of the stomach. What was thought proper was given her, but she kept sinking very fast during the following day, and on the next (Tuesday) morning she expired, at four o'clock. Previously to this, Mrs. Fisher had written to a Mr. Holmes, an appraiser and undertaker, in the London-road Borough, London, who was uncle to the deceased, about her mysterious change, and begging that he would go down to advise her. On reaching Mrs. Fisher's residence at Gravesend, on Tuesday morning, Mr. Holmes found the husband of the deceased there, and heard that she was dead. Hearing the circumstance, he immediately proposed accompanying him to see the corpse. They accordingly went. As soon as the husband heard of the parish constable summoning a jury, he decamped, no one knows whither. The result of the post mortem examination of the body of the deceased Mr. Wiblin detailed at some length. Externally he saw nothing to cause death ; there was a large bruise on one hip, which was the only external mark of violence on the body, but it had nothing to do with death. Internally he found the throat much inflamed, discoloured and swollen • the stomach and intestines were considerably inflamed; there were recent ulcerations in the stomach. He took away the throat and stomach, and after ap• plying the different tests, he discovered the presence of oxalic acid. He was of opinion that deceased had died from oxalic acid.  The CORONER then, at some length, summed up the evidence, and alluded to the remarkable fact of the husband of the deceased leaving his family, his home, his business, his all, the moment an inquest was about being held.  The jury consulted for a considerable time, and then found a verdict of " Wilful murder against William Brown, the husband." The Coroner having made out the usual documents, the inquiry closed. By subsequent inquiries the husband was last seen wending his way to London. The infant is still alive, but it is believed it will not live.  Mr.