The Express. — 1866-12-31 (London, England)

EXTRAORDINARY DEATH P KHO US ROM POISON IN ,ST. UKE'; WOR E.  INQITE'ST..-(TIIIS DAY.) This morning Mr. John Humphreys, the Middlesex coroner, resumed an inquiry at r.he Green Gate Tern, City-road, respecting the death, under very singularav circumstances, of Henry Pepler, aged 55 years. The deceased had been for several years an inmate of St. Luke's Workhouse. He expired on the sth inst., and was found dead in a water-closet. Dr. Henry Letheby's report of the analysis of the stomach and intestines of the deceased was read to the court. It tated that on December 13 he received from Dr. s Edmunds a heart, two kidneys, and a stomach. The heart was quite healthy. The kidneys were large and much congested. The stomach was unoened. It was of a deep violet colour, and it copntained three drops of an alkaline liquid of a deep colour having the odour of prussic-acid. The mucous coat of the stomach was inflamed and was of a violet colour it from the action of poison. On analysis, he found that contained nearly two grains of prussic-acid, and about ten grains of carbonate of potash. There was no doubt, therefore,that the death was occasioned by cyanide of po. There tassium, of which about 12 grains remained in the stomach was no other poison present. Joseph Pepper, 31, Fleet-lane, Old Bailey, said that be was a cheeeetnonger. The deceased was his brother, and he had been a French polisher. His death was a very sudden one, and witness had taken the matter up. because he thought by so doing he might do good to others who were in workhouses. If he had not done so his brother would have been buried as a person dying a natural death. The Coroner said that he should have known nothing about the case only for the hro'her. He hoped that he time would come when the officials of workhouses would be compelled to give notice to the Coroner of every death that took place in a workhouse. That course was adopted with respect to deaths in lunatic asylums, and from his experience it appeared to be very necessary with regard to deaths in workhouses. Dr. C. H. Harris, the medical officer at the workhouse, said that the deceased had been ill since the 4th of 'November. Witness ordered him to the sick ward of the workhouse. He asked for sick diet, but ho declined to go into the infirmary of the workhouse. He was therefore granted permission to go and see a doctor. He had, during the course of his illness, been under the care of three doctors, at three hospitals. Witness had made inquiries since the deceased's death, aLd he had been informed that none of those doctors' prescriptions included any medicine containing prussicaciiL The deceased bad permission to leave the workhouse two days every week to see an hospital oloctor, as lie preferred their treatment. A juror asked whether there was any evidence as to how the decaLsral became poisoned. Was there any suspicion The Coroner said that it was not suspected that any person had administered poison to the deceased for the purpose of killing him. It was conjectured that the deceased had cow:nitwit suicide in consequence of his illness, but that was a mere supposition. The case was a very mysterious ono, for there was no evidence as to when ho was piisoucd. The jury, after some deliberation, returned the following verdict, " That the deceasal was found dying in St. Luke's workhouse, :rail did there die from the mortal effects of haa takeu and swallowed down a certain poison known as cyanide of potassium, and the jurors do further say that under what circumstances he swallowed down t'ae said poison there is no evidence to prove."