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 was natural ; consequently no proceedings were instituted against the widow and her paramour, and in January foll Owing the widow, who had succeeded to 'the property of her husband, was married to Seconds. A year passed over, and the crime seemed to )._)e 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 lie 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 takeit into custody. On the trial the evidence as to the criminal intimacy between Julie Phalipon and Seem&' 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, and had en-. treated the Cure of the parish to use his influence. with Gauthier to make a will in her favour, observingto 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 tie intention of exhuming the body of Gan-. second time, and had been heard to reproae:ol his Wife with having poisoned her first husband. The, answer of the wife to this reproach was that she had onlyl acted under his advice. The manner in which the poison had been obtained was not clearly esta Wished. 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 othe hand it was shown that the father of the male prisonere e e to he Ahvandiephurheehahseadd arsenic for the brother of Seconds, but this was dead Onear';erintnicessin swore that nied by the druggist, of whom it was said to have be found in his books. Another witness deposed been: obtained, acrd no entry of the sale was to that whilst Gauthier was ill, he heard one night near the mill a man and woman conversing to, ether in an under tone, and the woman say, " have failed this time ; he has vomited and escaped, but I will try again, for I am resolved he shall' 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 upon a medical man and asked him whether it was possible to discover traces of poison so long after death, and being answered in the affirmative, he said, " That he would destroy himself ; that before his marriage with Julie he was a happy man, but noW he was wretched and despised; that he would ask his wife if she had anything to reproach herself with, and if she was guilty they would sell their property, nd quit the country?' This 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 Secopds. Sentence of deall was pronounced upon the wife.  Why is Father Mathew like the flesh and the devil ? Because he is perpetually working against the influence of the spirit.