Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser. — 1876-03-04 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

SUICIDE BY POISONING AT MIDDLE SBROUGH.  On Thursday afternoon, an adj armed inquiry was held at the Middlesbrough Police Court, adore Mr J. T. Belk, coroner, into the death of Mrs Jane Clough, 52 years of age, wife of a oublican, of Seaton Carew, and formerly of Middlesbrough. The depositions of the witnesses taken at the first inquest, and which have already been reported in our columns, were read over by the coroner. It will be remembered that about a fortnight ago the deceased left Seaton Carew for Middlesbrouah between one and two p.m., and during the afteznoon' while at a friend's house in this town, she turned sick and vomited, and died betweenthree and four o'clock the same afternoon. —Mary Newby, of Saltburn, formerly domestic servant at Mrs Clough's, now deposed that on the evening of the sth inst, prior to the day on which Mrs Clough left home for Middlesbrough, she had some words with her husl.and. The same evening, and also the next morning, witness saw the bottle produced full of liquid on the snug chimney-piece. Mrs Clough came downstairs about ten o'clock, and a couple of hours afterwarda witness noticed that the bottle was empty, a youog woman named Elizabeth Wade having told her she believed Mrs Clough had drunk the contents of the bottle, and witness told her it contained linement, and was poison.—Wm. Taylor, chemist, Saltburn, who prepared the mixture in the bottle produced, stated that it was for external application only, and if drunk would be sufficient to cause death. It would not be possible, however, for a person to take the whole of the contents of the bottle at once, as the mixture would be so hot. A portion of the contents might be taken with brandy or other liquor, and would ultimately cause death.— Mr Bettel, borough analyst, stated, as the result of his analysis of the contents of deceased's stomach, that he found traces of opium, chloroform, and aconite. These ingredients were spoken to by Mr Taylor as being present in the mixture.—Eliz sbeth Wade, a young woman, spoke to having seen Mrs Clough in the snug with a cup, which she put to her mouth. Witness did not know what the cup contained, nor whether dem ased drank its contents. Deceased Lad complained that her head was bad. When she left along with witness for Middlesbrough, Mr Clough kissed her, and they parted good friends, though they bad shortly before quarrelled.—Mr Clough, husband of deceased, said the bottle produced was on the commercial-room chimney piece, and not in the snug. He denied saying, while his wife was driuking something from a cup, "She might as well take the Yiottie as well," as had been declared by a previous Nvilness.—Mr Bette!, the borough analyst, stated that be was of el; maim] deceased died from drinking the mixture contained in the bottle produced, the poisonous alkalies being aconite, opium, and chloroform. Aconite was one of the most poisonous substances known except prussic acid, lie thought the reason the deceased did not die from the effects of the poison before half-past four—several hours after it appeared the mixture was taken—was because a small quantity had apparently been taken, at d the presence of the opium and the chloroform counteracted the effects of the poison and delayed deatir.—The jury returned a verdict that deceased died from t iking the contents of the bottle referred to, and were of opinion that she intended to commit suicide. They also wished the Coroner to express to the witness Elizabeth Wade their dissrdisfaction with the way in which she ha-1 given evidence. When examined at the last enquiry she swore that on the morning Ms Clough lett Seaton Carew for Middlesbrough she had nothing to drink; bat on the present occasion she swore she herself supplied the deceased with some brandy, arid said that the witness Mary Newby also .did the 68.1.1 C. The Coroner delivered the jury's recommendation to the witness, and told her she had evideutly been guilty of perjury, and it was a question in his mind tdaethsr h: ought Lot to direct proceedings to be taken against her.