The Sun. — 1857-12-12 (London, England)

HORRIBLE MURDER AAD SUICIDE.  This morning an inquest was held at the Wheateheaf Tavern, Thornton-hea-h, before the coroner for Surrey, Mr. Carttar, on the bodies of Mrs. Mary Smithers, ahoy of independent property, and her two sons, William, aged 33, and Charles, aged 18. The death of Mrs. Smithers and her youngest son, Charles, had been caused by poison, administered by Williaro;who afterwards committed suicide by the same means. _  The facts of the melancholy and distressing affair wore as follows :—For some years past the deceased lady and her two sons occupied the house 49, Thornton-heath, and the family were remarkable for the love and affection which seemed to subsist between them. William Holton, the elder son, has been a clerk in the Bank of England, and Charles has been engaged in the factory of Mr. Burnett, engiueer, at Deptford. William had boon remarkable for his steadiness and general deportment, until very recently, when, unfortunately, a total change came over him, and recently he had been known to drink bratly to excess. This change, there can be no doubt, has been occasioned by his becoming a speculator on 'Change, and the ill-luck which attended those speculations. His losses were considerablo, and from some papers found it appeared that assignments were prepared for the disposal of some life policies, and also a bill far five bundled pounds for acceptances. It had been his (William's) custom to sleep down stairs, but for some cause or other, ha for several nights preceding the unfortunate ocourr" cc, slept with his brother on the first floor—a proceeding objected to by his mother, who insisted on his resting in his own bed. On Wednesday night the unfortunate lady called out to her younger son; and asked " if William had gone to his own room ?" and the answer, though not true, was in the affirmative. Nothing, however, occurred orb that night to excite suspicion or alarm ' • the mother and brothers went to bed as usual, and on the following morning, about seven o'clock, the female servant, having waited some time beyond the usual period at which the family came to breakfast, went to the bedroom of Charles, and listened for a moment or so, but hearing no noise, she pushed the door open, and the first thingiwhich caught her view was the face of her young master, with a dark froth about the mouth and nostrils. The sight so alarmed her that she returned from 'the room, and at once ran to the house next door for assistance. Returning with the servant mail, they entered the bedroom, where they found both the brothers perfectly lifeless, and a phial and a wire-glass on the foot of the bed. The servant of Mrs. Smithers summoned resolution and proceeded to her mistress's bed-room on the same floor, and on entering it she found the unfortunate lady quite dead. She lay on the bed with her head resting on her right hand, the bed perfectly unruffled. It also appeared from the evidence that Mrs. Smithers had been ailing for some days, and that her son William had been in the habit of giving her the medicine prescribe el for her illness, and by this means had been enabled to give her the fatal dose which must in a moment have terminated her existence, and that tho fatal drug must have been poured into the mcuth of the youth Charles while he lay on his back, and that the sudden shock to the circulation had caused the froth about the mouth and nostrils. The quantity of Prussic acid taken by the unfortunate murderer himself was so groat that his death was immediate. The inquiry had not terminated when our reporter eft.