The Barrow Herald and Furness Advertiser. — 1871-12-23 (Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England)

ALLEGED POLIONINC BY A MOTHER OF TRREE CHILDREN.  At Bilston, South Staffordshire, on Tuesday, a coroner's jury returned a verdict of" wilful murder" of her three children against a woman named Eliza Griffiths, the wife of a puddler, living off Highstreet, 'Elston. She had been the mother of twelve children, only one of whom survives, and that one has just recovered from a serious illness attended with the symptoms that accompanied the decease of the three child•cu for causing whose death Mrs. Griffiths is in custody. At previous inquiries it was shown that a daughter or-about eleven yerzs had died at the end of September of vomiting and purging, in so short a time after the surgeon was called 41 that in his certificate of death he entered "cholera" as the cause, believing that from no other cause could death, with such symptoms, have been occasioned. When first consult:Al by the prisoner, he was told that he was only wanted "to watch the case." It was only when he declined' such a connulssion that he was allowed to prescribe. His madicine, which the mother got at his surgery, ,r,e, not seem to do the patient any good.. Ile did not feel certain that it had been administered. The local authorities stopped the funeral by a coroner's wan-.-nt, and a post marten examination was made, which showed that death had not resulted from "cholera." An analysis of the stomach and intes4nes were made by Dr.,Alfred Hill, Birmingham. Dr. Hill found unmistakable traces of antimony in the tissues. The mother denied having given the child any powders in which antimony is found --tartar emetic or antimony wine. Before the authorities stopped the funeral, however. she threw away something that had been contained lit a bottle, and asserted that this was the remains of the medicine that had been prescribed by the surgeon. - . _ _  The Cormier Ore.erea the disintermentof a brother named Thomas, who died en the 16th September, and whose death was registered on the 20th of that month. The register was subscrlbed to by the mother as the person inescnt at death, and she assigned " coosuraption of the bowels" as the cause given by Mr. Best. sargeon. The child was assured in a burial club ;- but, as it had not bean assured a year, only 30s. was due at death. Before this money could be pi from the office a surgeon's certificate had to be obMined. After much pressing, Mr. Best's assistant gave a certificate assigning " atrophy" as the cause. In the body of Thomas, also, Dr. DM found antimony. Previous to this stage the Mother had been arrested, and she again denied hav'ng given anthuony in any shape whatever. _  The Coroner further ordered the exhumation of the body of another child of the prisoner, named William, who died on the 10th of October, in his sixth year. The death was registered on the 13th of that month, upon a medical certificate attributing death to "gastric fever." In this ease Mr. Larkin was the surgeon. On Tuesday, he deposed that he did not believe that the mother carried out his instrtictions in respect of the diet he ordered; and that his medicine had nothing lace antimony in it. The Coroner said thoagh the result of the analysis was that antimony was found in the stomach, the physician could not Jay that antimony caused death. Ills evidence, huweter, was that antimony threw itself out of the system. Large doses might therefore be given, though only small quantities were found in the system. The same symptoms thm; preceded the death of the girl were observed in the illness of the boys Thomas and William; and' antimony having also been found upon an analysis in the disinterred bodies of these children, the affair had an extraordinary suspicious appearance.. One of the surgeons said that issues such as had taken place in these eases would ensue upon frequent small doses of tartar emetic. In one case, in which no certificate was at first given, one was afterwards granted by the surgeon's assistant, in order that the life assurance money might be obtained from the burial club.  The jury rehired a verdict of wilful murder against Mrs. Griffiths in respect of all the tb-ee children, r-ul she was committed by the Coroner for trial at the next Staffordshire Assizes.  The pri.mner wag subsequently taken before lie Stir.mdary Magistrate ard remanded.