The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1909-11-03 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

POISON BOUGHT IN THE DINNER-110UB,  On Saturday morning the Deputy Borough Coroner, Mr. A. F. Cotton, held an inquiry relative to the death of Mabel Eveline Barlow, aged 19, who had resided with her parents at No. la, Upper Beckwith-street, and whose death occurred on Thursday afternoon last from oxalic acid poisoning, under very sad circumstances. Dr. G. R. Mill deposed to being called to 380, Park-road North on Thursday afternoon, where he found the deceased, who had expired a short timo before he arrived. He found marked lividity of the featirses, and on subsequently mating a post-mortem examination he found the interior of the stomach intensely congested, and salts of lemon (oxalic acid) present. The cause of death was failure of the heart's action consequent upon corrosive .poisoning. The doctor further stated that the deceased was four and a half months gone in pregnancy. Amy Jane Barlow, wife of James Barlow, shipyard labourer, said the deceased was her step-daughtet and was 19 years old last July. For the last five weeks she had worked as a laundress at Mrs. Parry's, Upton-road. Asked by the Deputy Coroner what sort of disposition the girl had, witness said she was a bit headstrong," but was rather reserved, and never told witness any of her troubles. Witness knew she was keeping company with a young man, but she had not seen the young man. The witness went on to depose to being called to Mrs. Rirmiter's house iu Parkroad North on Thursday, when she found her step-daughter had just died. She identified a letter produced—found under the I tablecloth after dinner on Thursday—as being in deceased's handwriting. The Deputy Coroner said he did not think the letter need be read. The girl seemed to have been under an hallucination as to who was the father of the child she was expecting. Maria Smith, single woman, Myrtlestreet, who worked at the same laundry with the deceased, said the latter told her on October 21at that she was in trouble. On Thursday, the 28th, witness returned with her to work after dinner, just before one o'clock. On the way' the deceased suggested having some celery for tea, and gave witness a penny towards getting some. Witness went and got it, and the place where deceased waited was near to Mr. Snow's, the chemist. They then went on, and when they came to Mr. Hitchin, the chemist, in Mallaby-street, deceased said she was going to get some pills. When she came out she said the pills would not be ready until next day. When they reached the laundry the deceased went at once to the lavatory, A few minutes afterwards she came into the kitchen and, began to vomit. Witness called Mrs. Parry, who asked deceased if she was ill, and she said, Yes." Mrs. Parry asked witness to take her home again. On the way the deceased vomited several times. When they got as far as 360, Park-road North, which was deceased's aunt's (Mrs. Rimmer), deceased asked to be taken in there. Witness then went quickly for deceased's step-mother, and also for Dr. Mill, and when she got back deceased was dead. Witness after- , wards searched the lavatory, and could find no trace of a packet, or cup, or anything. Mrs. Rimmer, the aunt, gave evidence of the deceased being brought to her house. She asked her what had made her ill, and deceased replied, "I've taken salts of lemon." Witness said, "Oh, Mabel, Mabel! what did you do snob a terrible thing for?" She only replied, "On purpose." Then she became in terrible pain, and said .she wanted to go to, sleep. Witness held her in her arms, but in a very few minutes she passed away. Thomas Fitzgerald Reynolds, assistant to Mr. William Snow, chemist, 177, Lairdstreet, said that at midday on Thursday— near one o'clock, he thought it was—the deceased came into the shop (he had seen her in the shop on one or two previous occasions) and asked for twopennyworth of salts of lemon. He asked her what it was for, and she said, "Table linen." He said, "What do you mean by table linen?" and she replied, 'lron mould." He said, "You know it is poison, don't you?" and she said, "Oh, yes. I work at a laundry." She seemed perfectly rational, and he served her with a quarter of an ounce of the article, and labelled it "Poison." Henry Stockdale, M.P.S., manager for Mr. W. E. Hickin, chemist, 12, ILallabystreet, said the deceased came into the shop on Thursay about three minutes to one o'clock. He knew her by sight, and knew that she worked at a laundry near. She asked for two pennyworth .of salts of lemon. He asked her what it was for, and she replied, "Table linen." He told her it was poison, and she must be careful how she used it. He labelled the package "Poison." She seemed quite rational, and laundry people were accustomed to come in for salts of lemon. ' . .  --George Wright, of 245, Langdowne-road, beef porter at the Lairages, deposed to having become acquainted with the deceased about August 13th last, and he admitted that improprieties had occurred, but he was not the father of the child she was expecting. On Wednesday in last week she told him of her condition and accused him of being the father of the child, and when he told her he could not possibly be she cried. He advised her to tell her parents, but she said she would never do that. In answer to the Deputy Coroner, the witness said he would have been prepared to marry the deceased had he been responsible for her condition. The Deputy Coroner, in summing up, said the case was a/ very sad one. He wished to say that be thought the conduot of the witness Maria Smith in the oase had been very commendable. A slip of paper had been found on which the deceased had written—" Dear Father,— Sorry I am going to do this thing," and she then referred to Wright, but he (the Deputy Coroner) saw no reason to doubt Wright's word in the matter. He thought the jury would agree that the deceased's mind had for the time given way under the stress of the circumstances.  The jury returned a verdict of "Suicide during temporary insanity," and endorsed the Deputy Coroner's commendation of the witness Smith. A