The Sun. — 1844-09-28 (London, England)

CASE OF POISONING AT BETHNAL GREEN. Yesterday Mr. William Baker, deputy coroner for the eastern division of the county of Middlesex, resumed and concluded the inquiry touching the death of Jane Gregory, aged 27, whose death, it was alleged, had been occasioned by the administration of some poison by a young man, named Alfred Edwards, now in custody on the charge. The inquest was adjourned on Monday last for the purpose of the contents of the bottle, as well as the fluid found in the stomach of deceased upon the post mortem examination, being analysed by Dr. Leeson, of St. Thomas's Hospital. On the reassembling of the jury yesterday, Dr. henry Beaumont Leeson was sworn.—lle deposed that he is assistant physician and lecturer on chemistry and forensic medicine at St. Thomas's Hospital. He had examined the contents of the stomach, but found no poison therein. The stomach itself witnees had boiled in distilled water, and then filtered. He then added a solution of sulphurretted hydrogen gas. He again boded it, and obtained a black precipitate, which by reduction with the blowpipe and charcoal yielded a globule of metallic lead, which he produced to the court and jury. Witness thought that, if any preparation of lead had been swallowed, it must have been vomited out of the body, except that portion produced. The solution obtained from the stomach also indicated the presence of prussic acid, probably arising from bitter almonds having been made use of in flavouring the so-called brandy bitters. There was trace also of prussic acid in the contents of the stomach. The liquid in the bottles submitted to him by Mr. Smith, the surgeon, neither of them contained sugar of lead or any preparation of lead, but both contained a very large proportion of spirit, being above one-half absolute alcohol. They appeared to be coloured with saffron, and flavoured very strongly with bitter almonds, as well as other vegetable extracts, which rendered the application of chemical tests almost impossible. The inference he drew from the examination was that he thought it improbable that so large a portion of the load should have been found combined with, and adhering to, the stomach itself, unless a quantity of some preparation of lead had been swallowed, and could only attribute the not being able to detect any satisfactory trace of lead in the stomach from its having been removed by vomiting or purging. If sugar of lead had been added to the liquid in the bottle, there would have been no difficulty in detecting it. If administered, it must have been mixed in the cup at the time it was given to deceased, or given to deceased separately. The appearance of the stomach was similar to that produced by any irritant poison. The brandy and bitters itself, containing so large a portion of alcohol and the essential oil of almond being very deleterious, would, if taken in sufficiently large quantities, produce serious illness, and even death. The presence of the lead detected in the stomach appeared to be a most remarkable indication of poison having been purposely administered. Mr. Smith, surgeon, who had made the post mortem examination of the body, re-examined—ln his opinion death was occasioned by inflammation of the stomach, caused by the introduction of deadly poison. Four drachms of sugar of lead would be sufficient to destroy life. On the part of the accused, it was shown by the evidence of three witnesses that they had drank a portion of brandy bitters, similar to that which had been given to the deceased, without its having any injurious effects ; but one of them admitted that he and another had been very ill subsequently, but attributed it to having drank an immoderate quantity. A sister of deceased accounted for the sugar of lead being in her possession, by stating that she wanted to set the colour of a dress which she had been washing, and that the accused had procured it for her. The Coroner summed up the evidence in a clear manner, commenting upon those parts which bore more immediately upon the question, and explained the law as applicable to the case. The jury retired at six o'clock, and after a consultation of Ready three hours' duration, returned a verdict of " Wilful murder against Alfred Edwards."