The Sun. — 1842-06-30 (London, England)

TRIAL FOR MURDER IN FRANCE. A man, named Seconds, and a female named Julie Phalipon, were tried for murder by the Court of Assizes of the Aveyron, on the 13th, 14th, and 15th inst., under the following circumstances :--On the 20th May, 1839, Jean Antoine Gauthier, a miller at Mauzet, died suddenly and in great agony, with all the symptoms of having been poisoned. ,As there was reason to believe that a criminal intercourse had existed between his wife and Seconds and as the wife had been heard to menace her husband with death, suspicion naturally fell upon them. The body was disinterred, by order of the Mayor, a few days after the death, and submitted to the examination of three medical men, who declared that the death vo.s natural; consequently no proceedings were instituted against the widow and her paramour, and in January following the widow, who had succeeded to the property of her husband, was married to Seconds. A year passed over, and the crime seemed to be covered with impunity, when the publicity given to a trial for murder by poisoning, in which the existence of poison had been discovered by analysis, when there were no external indications of its presence, led to a supposition that a similar result might take place in the case of Gauthier. The authorities, acting under this impression, had the remains of the victim disinterred, and the stomach and intestines being removed, were sent to Montpellier to be analysed by three chemists of that place, and these gentlemen, after operating with the apparatus of Marsh, having in their report declared that they had discovered arsenic, Seconds and his wife were taken into custody. On the trial the evidence as to the criminal intimacy between Julie Phalipon and Seconds, during the life-time of Gauthier, was not doubtful, and it was proved that she had .nore than once mixed a white powder in his drink; -mid had entreated the Cure of the parish to use his influence with Gauthier to make a will in her favour, observing to the Cure, that she was convinced Gauthier would not recover from his illness. The evidence against Seconds was circumstantial. It was proved that he had exhibited great alarm when he was apprised of the intention of exhuming the body of Gauthier a second time, and had been heard to reproach his wife with having poisoned her first husband. The answer of the wife to this reproach was that she had only acted under his advice. The manner in which the poison had been obtained was not clearly esta blished. It was sworn by a witness that he had been induced by a bribe some months before the death of Gauthier to purchase some arsenic- for a female whom he believed to be Julie Phalipon, and on the other hand it was shown that the father or the male prisoner had arsenic in his house, to which he had access. One witness swore that he had purchased arsenic for the brother of Second§, but this was denied by the druggist, of whom it was said to have been obtained, and no entry of the sale was to be found in his books. Another witness deposed that whilst Gauthier was ill, he heard one night near the mill a man and woman conversing together in an under tone, and the woman, say, 44 he for has am resolvedvomitu vomited ands he Shall hive f ailed escaped, bait I will this time taimgaein; die." It was not proved that Seconds and Julie Phalipon were the parties, although little doubt Was entertained of the fact. A witness deposed that Seconds, after the exhumation of the body, had called npcul a medical man and asked him whether it was le to discover traces of poison so long after arrtgehewim;houidulideehsetrolsyvashairiaspeplc; that before his ip41,301711 death, and Leing answered in the affirmative, he said, man,-* ask his now he ' was wretched and despised; that he, would wife if' she had anything to reproach herself with, and if she was guilty they would sell their property, and quit the country." ''his was before they were arrested. The jury, after a sitting of three days, deliberated for two hours, and then returned a verdict of guilty against the female, and acquitted Seconds. Sentence of death was pronounced upon the wife.  Why is Father Mathew like the flesh' and. the devil ? Because he is perpetually working against Aluinittence of the /OM.  ~~~,