The Express. — 1846-10-24 (London, England)

ESSEX.  THE ALLEGED POISONINGS AT CLAVERINO. —WILFUL Yesterday the adjourned investigation concerning the deaths of Joseph and James Chesham, the children of Sarah Chesham, now in Chelmsford Gaol, on a charge of administering poison to S. Taylor, the illegitimate offspring of Lydia Taylor and Mr. Thomas Newport, farmer, of Clavering, was resumed for the fourth time. James Clare said he resided at Clavering, and knew the deceased children. During the beginning of last summer, he was passing by Chesham's house, and saw the accused, Sarah Chesham, standing at the door, scolding her boy, now at home. He heard her Pay to him, "Hold your tongue, you aces dog, you ought to be where the others are." Did not hear her say anything else.—By the coroner : I do not remember telling any one I heard her swear at the child, and say, with an oath, "You want to be put to sleep like the other two." I spoke to Mrs. Taylor and Lydia Taylor, the mother of the child poisoned at Menutlen about it. Richard Chesham, Sarah Ch,wham's son, threatened I should have a lawyer's letter for bringing the news that Lydia Taylor's child, which had been poisoned by Sarah Chesham, was dead.—By the Jury : I remember hearing of the death of Philip Chesham's dog just about the time the two children died, but I did not hear the accused, Sarah Chesham, state the dog haul died from eating what site did not intendit should cat. Lydia Taylor proved that the last witness called at her mother's house, at hlanuden, on the Sunday before the child died, and that he stated he heard Chesham say to her boy, " You want putting to sleep for half an hour like the other two."—By the coroner : Mrs. Chesham came four times to Manuden to see my child. On the second time she told me about her son Philip's dog dying. She said there was a mesa made at her house, underneath the table, and the dog came and ate part of it, but she frightened it away twice, first with her apron, and secondly with an umbrella. That immediately after she had frightened it away with the umbrella, it ran under the bed and died in less than five minutes. She did not tell me who made the mess, but she said " either the dog died from eating the mess or from her fluttering its heart with the umbrella, just as Thomas Newport fluttered the hearts of her two children."—John Chipperfield was culled, and proved that at the time the children died he was at work in a barn belonging to Mr. The*. Newport, and that their brothers, Philip and John Chesham, came there and complained of being ill, with great pains in the stomach, and that they also told him about the dog having died. The witness was severely examined by the foreman of the jury, in whose employ he now is, as to whether he did not say, in a conversation with him, that the Cheshams told him the dog died on the day which elapsed between the deaths of their brothers, Joseph and James, which he ultimately admitted was the case.—The Coroner, in his address, observed that the evidence clearly proved that the deceased children had died from the effects of arsenic administered to them by some one, and the question for the jury was, who was that party. It was true that, in this case, they had failed to prove the connexion of the woman, Sarah Chesham, with Thomas Newport, a circumstance which he (the coroner) must say he believed was attributable to the fact of two men who could give evidence on that point haling been most unjustifiably kept out of the way. Another failure was not being able to trace the possession of arsenic to the woman Chesham; but, at the same time, he begged to observe that the possession of that poison had been clearly traced to Thomas Newport.— After a short consultation, the jury returned a verdict of " Wilful murder" against Sarah Chesham.