The Express. — 1847-11-19 (London, England)

AGAINST A BOY.—Before Mr. Baker, resumed for the sixth lime, at the Committee-rooms, Church-street, Hackney, as to the death of Mr. Samuel Helene, a gentleman of fortune, resident is Grove-place, Hackney. Mr. Hellentine attended as before, on behalf of the grandson of the deceased, Wm. Allnutt, who stands committed on a charge of haviog stolen the decessed's gold watch and other property. —Mrs. Allnutt, the daughter of the deceased and mother of Wm. Allnutt, deposed to having lived with her father and mother-in-law since the death of her husband, teat September two years. Her third son, Wm. Allnutt, lived with them. For eight or nine months witness had observed a great deviation on his part from a proper line of conduct. She could make no impression upon him as upon her other children. In September last he bought a pistol, with percussion caps and powder. He told witness that a man whom he met in the street had persuaded him to purchase it. When the deceased was tired at in his garden the boy was charged with it, but he said he had not then got the pistol; that he had given it the day before to the man who advised him to buy it. The pistol was subsequently found wrapped up, lying among the grass in the garden. Witness believed her son was aware of the: deadly properties of arsenic. and that be could have obtained access to the bureau in which deceased kept some of that poison. Witness further described her father's first falling sick alter taking some gruel, and corroborated at length the evidence given by her mother-in-law at the last sitting of the jury, touching the less of the sovereigns before the death of the deceased, and the watch and other property after that event. Mrs. Allnutt added that her sou had been subject to walking in his sleep, and he sometimes complained of hearing voices in his head. —ln reply to Mr. Ballantine, the witness said her husband died two yearn last September, having been subject for two years previously to epileptic fits. He was never placed under restraint, but he died quite insane.—ln answer to a juror, Mrs. Allnutt said she did not suspect any of the deceased's servants to have administered arsenic to her father. Believed her eon had said that he thought his grandfather would die suddenly.—Mr. Superintendent Waller being recalled, said : When he took the boy William Allautt into custody on a charge of stealing the watch, he said, " Pray forgive me —I was tempted to do it." I asked him who bad tempted him. He said no person : some voice had appeared to him and said, " Do it, do it; you will never be found out."— The Coroner charged the jury on the whole case, commenting at length on the circumstances, and quoting from " Ray's Medical Jurisprudence" various cases of moral mania,wher• a propensity todestroy formed an unaccountable desire even in young persons. lie did not think, looking et all the evidence, there could be much doubt that the arsenic had been mixed with the sugar by the boy Win. Admin. After reading over the whole of the evidence, the jury, after half an hour's consultation, returned into court with the folilowlag verdict: "We, the jury, are unanimously of opinion that the late Mr. Samuel Nelme came by his death by partaking of arsenic in sugar, which arsenic had been feloniously mixed therein by W. N. Allman, spinet whom we find a verdict of "Wilful murder."—