The Sun. — 1846-11-10 (London, England)

EDINBURGH HIGH  COURT OF  JUSTICIARY. CHARGE OF MURDER.  Janet Campbell or .111‘Lellan was on Thursday last placed at the bar, charged with the murder of her husband, James M‘Lellan, by means of arsenic or other poison. The prisoner, who was dressed in deep mourning, and appeared to be about forty years of age, pleaded not guilty. Hugh M'Grgor Mason, who lived in the same house, proved that on Sunday, the sth July last, the deceased was taken ill immediately after taking his breakfast of tea, which had been prepared by the prisoner, but of which she declined to partake at the time ; that when requested by the deceased to go for a doctor the prisoner excused herself, and the witness went instead, and that the sick man died the same evening. Margaret Drew gave evidence of considerable illfeeling baying subsisted between the husband and wife for some length of time before the death; and another witness spoke to threats uttered by the prisoner against the deceased.  Two females deposed to having purchased poison for the prisoner, at her request, shortly before the husband's death; and evidence was also given of expressions used by her prognosticating the death of her husband, which took place on the following day. Dr. Young, Dunning, deposed to having been sent for on the Sunday, to see deceased, and said—l have heard a report of deceased having been poisoned, and the symptoms were quite in accordance with such a thing. I took away some of the stuff which deceased vomited, to which I applied the liquid tests, and one of them indicated the presence of arsenic. Mrs. M‘Lellan, three weeks before the death of her husband, applied to me for poison to destroy rats; but I did not give it to her, because of the reports that were current, and also because of the way in which she aske for it; she said, " Will you give it to me?" Remember selling poison to Helen Aitken (a person employed by the prisoner to purchase it), upon either the Monday or Tuesday before M'Lellan's death. She got as much for a penny as would kill at least four men. She also said it was to kill rats.  Dr. Thompson, Perth, read a report on the postmortem examination of the body of the deceased, made by witness and Dr. Malcolm, of Perth, on the 6th of July, and also on an analysis of the contents of the stomach and other parts of the body. In the latter they gave it as the result of their repeated analyses, that they had found arsenic to a considerable extent in the stomach, also in the liver, a much smaller quantity in the lungs, but none in the leaves or in the tea-pot. They gave it as their opinion, taking the symptoms of the disease which led to the death, and the result of the analyses, that James M'Lellan died of poison, and that the poison was arsenic.  For the defence evidence was given of the deceased having applied to a medical man for poison, and having threatened to poison himself. After a charge from the Lord Justice Clerk, The jury retired, and after deliberating for fifty minutes, returned a verdict, finding, by a large majority, the charge Not Proven. The prisoner was then dismissed from the bar. During the whole of the trial she sustained herself with wonderful composure. The verdict appeared to excite considerable surprise in the minds of the large assemblage which crowded the court-room.