The Sun. — 1867-01-03 (London, England)

EXTRAORDINARY DEATH.  Yesterday Dr. Edwin Lankester held an inquest at the Bank of England Tavern, Pathlington, relative to the death of John Wort-All, 20 years of age, who was cohabiting with a woman, and died from Lhe effects of a knife wound inflicted under mysterious circumstances on Christmas eve.  The first witness examined was Emma Western, of 54, Great Carlisle-street, Lisson-grove, who said she was living with the deceased as his wife. The deceased was a great drunkard. He came home at a little after twelve on Christmas-eve, and was very intoxicated. Witness was in bed when he came in, and was aroused from her sleep by his getting a light from the matches. He used very bad language, and, having been fighting; he swore he would have revenge upon somebody. Witness had been picking a goose for the Christmas dinner, and some knives were on the table. He suddenly took up a knife and came to witness's bedside, when she thought he was going to murder her. She pushed his hand away, holding the knife, and he fell down. He then said, " Emma, Emma, dear; lam bloody." She found he was bleeding from the left breast, when she called for the assistance of the landlady and the police. He was taken to the hospital, and died there on Saturday.  Thomas Worrall, father of the deceased, said he did not hear of the death of his son till Saturday evening. He believed that great blame was attached to the woman Western, with whom he was cohabiting. _ _  A brother of the deceased, and a young man named Everett, were next sworn ; the effect of their evidence being, that deceased told them in the hospital that Emma Western had stabbed him, but nothing was to be said about it, or the detectives would take her into custody.  Police-constable Malt, 12 D, deposed to being called to 54, Great Carlisle-street, at a quarter-past one on Christmas morning, where he found the deceased lying on the floor near the bed. The wife was staunching the blood with a wet towel, which was flowing from the left breast of deceased. The wife said her husband was dying, and begged of him to send for a doctor. He sent a brother constable. There were two knives on the table, both being stained with blood.  The knives (table knives) were here produced, the one stated to be that with which thp wound was inflicted being very sharp and pointed. Witness, in answer to the coroner, said he had twice seen the deceased in the hospital, where he said that he was going to stab his wife, and he fell down on the bed and wounded himself. Mr. John Land, house surgeon at St. Mary's Hospital, deposed that between one and two o'clock in the morning of Christmas-day the deceased was brought in quite unconscious from loss of blood, and apparently from drink. He had a wound under the nipple of the left breast. He was at first unconscious, but when he recovered he told witness that he had inflicted the wound himself. Witness found from the situation of the wound that he could not inflict it either by the right hand or the left. A fall with the knife in his hand might have produced the mortal wound.  By the Coroner—Witness had made a post mortem examination, and externally found a wound under the nipple of the left breast, an inch and a half in length, horizontally with the skin. It then dipped downward between the fifth and sixth ribs, penetrating the pericardium and right ventricle of the heart. It was not a valvular wound, and it was surprising and a rare case that he should have lived so long. The pericardium was filled with blood and in a high state of inflammation, the external hemorrhage being small. The cause of death • was the wound of the heart, the shock to the system, and combining causes.  After some comments by the Coroner upon the law of the case, The jury ultimately returned a verdict—That the deceased died from the effects of the wound to the heart, but how this wound was inflicted there was not sufficient evidence to show.