The Express. — 1849-06-30 (London, England)

MURDER AT WESTBURY, WILTS.  Another of those cases of poisoning which have of late been bef• re the public with such psinml tr. opener has just occurred atWestbuey,Wilts. Rebecca Smith, wife of Philip Smith,labourer, standscharged on very grave evade nee with the murder of ter i.tfant, Richard Smith, who was born on the 16th May, and died on the 12th inst. The accused has been married 18 years, gad has given birth to 11 c, i dren, all of whom, except the eldest, have (lied in their hifancy. Some suspicions having been created on the death of the last child, the body was exhumed, under a coroner's warrant, on Saltaday last, when a post morton examination was made by Mr. G Shorland, in the presence of Mr. Gibbs, another surgeon. On Monday a jury was sworn before Mr. 0 Sylvester, one of the coroners for Wiltshire, when evidence was given as to the identity of the body of the deceased Prudence Mead also deposed that on the 7th of June (five days before the child died), the mother came to hr r, and requested witness to accompany her to the shop of Mr. Tsyl,r, druggist, of Westbury, to purchase some arsenic, which she said her sister, who lives at Breton' near Westbury, wanted to destroy some rats which infested her house. The sister, who was subsequently ailed, denied the' she had ever requested Rebecca Smith to purchase any poison for her for such a purpose, as she had not rats or mice in her house, nor had she ever heard her sister complain of having any. The purchase of the poison by the mother of the deceased was proved by Mr. Taylor's apprentice, who served her with it properly labelled, and, at the time, warning her of its deadly properties. Mr. G. Shorland, surgeon, and reetstrar of births and deaths ter Westbury, deposed that the child's death was registered on the 15th of Julie, the day following that on which it died. The prisoner said she hardly knew the cause of death ; the child had been ailing for a little time, and that Mr. Britten, the surgeon, had seen it once. Finding that no satisfactory cause could he assigned, the cause of death wee registered as " unknown." A post nicrtem examination of the body was made on Saturday by witness, in the presence of Mr. Gibbs, surgeon. There were no remarkalce external appea-ances. The brain was healthy, and the lun;ss and heart entirely free from disease. On opening the abdomen the covering of the stomach was found to be in all illfillned state. Some teats were applied by Mr. Shorland, which convinced ' him that arsenic caked in the contents of the stomach ; and finding no disease to account for death in the coulee of his examination, he gave it as his opinion that the cause of r death was the adintr.istration of arrenic. The viscera snd  its contents were staled up and delivered to Mr. litrapath, who completed the snalysanan. Mr. W. Herapath, chemist, of Bristol, deposed to having received the contents of deceased's stomach from Mr. Shoe. land on the 24th inst. On subjecting the contents of the stomach to analysis, I found it to co• sist princ.pasly of milk and arscni, us mid in solution, and txecedingly slight trace of arsenic not tlksolyed.  After some other evidence, the Coroner recapitulated the facts to the jury ; and the court having been cleared for a short time, they returned a verdict of " Wilful muruer against Rebecca Smith, who was committed to take her trial at the ensuing Wilts assizes. The prisoner, who is about 45 or 50 years of age, maintained the most indifferent behaviour throughout the whole proceedings, and was removed from the jury-roem in custody apparently less excited than any of the parties who had been engaged in the inquiry.