The Sun. — 1865-11-22 (London, England)

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 22. 1865.  therefore, no doubt from the inflamed state of the stomach that the person died from the effects of one or more irritant poisons. (Sensation.) Arsenic and strychnia were the poisons in this case. He could not bring the proofs, of the presence of strychnia, owing to the colour of the tests being of a vanishing character. Having found poison in the stomach, lie wished to discover whether it had entered the system. He therefore took from jar No. 3 a portion of one of the lobes of the liver. He treated for arsenic, and found undoubted proofs of it. He took a larger portion of the lobe, and treated for strychnia, and found undoubted evidence of that poison. As he therefore had found both poisons in the stomach and in the liver, he did not think it necessary to analyse the smaller intestines or the kidney. He then proceeded to analyse the last vomit, and in the sediment he found arsenic, and on evaporating it downfoundstrychnia. In No. 6, marked " Hunter's vermin powder," on which was a printed label describing it as poison, he found starch and strychnia, slightly coloured with Prussian blue. The next packet contained the sediment from a wine glass in deceased's bed-room. The sediment he found to be white arsenic with a small quantity of black colouring matter. The next packet was the bed' sheet, which he did not analyse, as he thought it unnecessary. The packet No. 5 contained some powder given to constable Butt by Mrs. Butt. The powder contained a very small quantity of white arsenic coloured by Prussian blue. Another parcel, no number,was composed of white arsenic and Prussian blue. The other packets were numbered in a fresh series. The first was a purse taken from Mrs. Ashford's pocket by constable Butt. Under the catch he saw a little dust, andthemicroscope showed him the starch grains of the same character as he afterwards found in the pocket. The next packet contained a pocket and a pocket-handkerchief, but nothing could be seen on the surface of either. On introducing each separately into a conical glass containing water, and allowing deposition to take place, he found in the sediments arsenic and strychnia. After describing other articles which had been forwarded to him, but on which he found nothing suspicious, Mr. Herapath said that No. 8 contained four pills of about a grain each, in which he found a metal that he could not yet identify, but certainly it was not arsenic. No. 9 was marked " Found in Mrs. Ashford's house." In the packet he found a vermin powder, composed of strychnia, starch, and a black powder. The other package was sent by post from the police authorities, and contained the powder that Mrs. Butt found in the room of the deceased on Nov. 10. It was marked outside by a printed label " poison," and was entirely white arsenic, coloured with Prussian blue.  By the Coroner—Did you find enough poison to destroy life ? Witness—That is another matter; in all the cases I have had I have not found enough poison to destroy life, but the effects of poison. lam confident that the man died from an. irritant poison. The symptoms described by Agnes Ashford and Mrs. Brewer are those attendant upon poisoning by arsenic and strychnia. Police-constable Butt, who resides at Clyst Honiton, gave evidence of various conversations which he had had with the accused concerning the illness of her husband.  The Coroner having carefully summed up, The Jury retired, and on returning into court, after a quarter of an hour's consultation, said that they had decided unanimously to return a verdict of " Wilful Murder against Mrs. Ashford." The prisoneron hearingthis announcement fainted away.