The Sun. — 1853-08-15 (London, England)

ADMINISTERING POISON TO A HUSBAND. Martha Walker was indicted for having administered to Philip Walker a quantity of sugar of lead, with intent to murder him. Mr. Overend and Mr. Higgins appeared for the prosecution, and Mr. Sowler for the prisoner. The prosecutor is an operative cotton spinner at Ashton-under-Lyne, and has lived with the prisoner in comfort for about 20 years, until about 12 months ago, since which time they have had frequent quarrels. The prisoner is the mother of 11 children. On the 21st of May the prosecutor returned home at midnight, and the prisoner struck her son, upon which the prosecutor interfered. The prisoner said to him, "Hold your d—d noise ; you shall not live three weeks." He then asked if she was going to poison him, to which she replied, "No, thou may live as long as thou can." He hit her with a poker. On the evening of the 24th, upon the prosecutor returning home from work, he got some coffee, which tasted disagreeable and rough, but he did not mention this to his wife. During the night he got up to get some water, and he then told her how he felt. Upon getting up at five o'clock in the morning, he took a parcel of coffee and sugar for his breakfast. On pouring it out at breakfast-time, he saw some white grains, and he took the stuff to Mr. Star, the druggist, and requested him to analyse it. On the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, he continued very unwell, and accused her of attempting to poison him ; but she denied having put anything into his coffee. She said some sugar of lead must have fallen from a glass in the cupboard into his sugar and coffee. She said that she got the lead for the purpose of bathing her face, which had been affected by St. Anthony's fire. She recommended him to get some castor oil. The prosecutor gave information to Inspector Buckley, who apprehended the prisoner, and the coffee was analysed by Mr. Stone, of the Manchester School of Medicine, who found acetate of lead. The principal witness for the prosecution was of course the prosecutor himself, who stated the leading facts of the case and the symptoms under which he laboured. He was cross-examined at considerable length by Mr. Sowler, and admitted that he had occasionally taken laudanum at nights, but never in the day time. In this, however, he was flatly contradicted by his sons, who stated that they bad frequently seen their father take laudanum in the day-time ; sometimes with a spoon and sometimes he drank it out of a bottle. Buckley, the officer, stated the fact of his apprehending the prisoner. chemist, Mr. Geo. Stone, analytical stated that he examined two parcels from Mr. Buckley, and found a quantity of white grains, which proved to be acetate of lead. Several children were called who stated that they had been sent several times by the prisoner for sugar of lead to bathe her face. Mr. Sowler addressed the jury at considerable length on behalf of the prisoner, observing that this was a most serious case, and the motives suggested against the prisoner were—first, a quarrel with her husband about a small sum of money ; and secondly, the base motive of possessing herself of the sum of 4/. from some benefit society, in case of her husband's death. The fact was that the weakness under which the prosecutor laboured was produced by laudanum, and Mr. Steer, the druggist remonstrated with him, and then he got laudanum elsewhere. The husband denied that anything had been the matter with his wife's face, but it appeared that she was ill only three weeks before she was apprehended, and she got some sugar of lead then. The learned counsel then commented upon the conduct of the prosecutor, who just before the time of his wife's apprehension had got drunk along with her at a public-house, and now appeared to prosecute her. evi His lordship having summed up the dence, The jury found the prisoner not guilty. in  IV.