The Sun. — 1841-06-10 (London, England)

CURIOUS TRIAL. (From Galignani's Messenger.), A trial of much interest, on account of the circumstantial character of the evidence, and particularly the conflicting opinions of the medical men who were called as witnesses, took place, a few days ago, before the Court of Assizes of the Loiret. It appears that more than a year since M. Souesme, a wealthy landowner in the environs of Montargis, whilst superintending two workmen who were trimming his trees on the bank of a ditch, suddenly quitted the spot at which one of them, named Corbasson, was at the moment making up the several branches into faggots, exclaiming that this workman, whilst M. Souesme was stooping down, had attempted to destroy him by striking several blows with the chopper which he had in his hand. M. Souesme had received some severe wounds, and was bleeding profusely. Several persons came up on seeing the • condition of M. Souesme, and hearing his exclamations, and found Corbasson in the ditch, with several wounds on his throat and head, and almost dead. He was unable to speak, and in two hours he died. The account given by M. Souesme was corroborated by a man named Cherry, who was acting as foreman over the wood-trimmers, and it was inferred that Corbasson. who had surrendered a lease of six or seven acres of land to M. Souesme on lower terms for himself than he had been subsequently offered, had, in a fit of disappointment and anger, attempted to destroy the life of M. Souesme, and then committed suicide. Several months had elapsed, when an individual named Deflou, got up an accusation of murder against M. Souesme, and excited the widow and daughter of Corbasson to prosecute. Three medical men, who had examined the body of Corbasson immediately after his death, had declared that the wounds were inflicted by his own hand ; but another medical man, named Doquin, had declared subsequently to Deflou that they could only have been inflicted by M. Souesme. On the trial of this gentleman it was shown, however, that he was a man of violent passions, and a woman named Pensuet swore that she had witnessed the affair between Souesme and Corbasson, and that words having arisen, Souesme had struck Corbasson several blows with his cane • that Corbasson having struck M. Souesme a blow on the back with the flat part of his chopper, the latter had drawn a dirk from his cane and stabbed Corbasson in the throat. It was attempted to show that M. Souesme had inflicted upon himself the wounds in his head, in order to conceal the real nature of the affair, and bear out his account of it ; and that the witnesses for the defence were suborned by him, and unworthy of belief. For the defence, however, it was clearly demonstrated that the witness Pensuet had deposed falsely, for the cane which 11.• Souesme carried on the day of the event, and which she identified, was shown to have no dirk. It was then proved that Cor-basson was subject to insanity, and that he had on a former occasion made an attempt upon his own life. Previously to the trial the law-officers of the Crown had called upon three medical men, MM. Orfila, Duvergie, and Roger de l'Orme, to deliver their opinion as to the origin of the wounds received by Souesme and Corbasson, and for this purpose the vertebrae of the deceased, the chopping knife, and a dagger, and cane-dirk, found at the residence of M. Souesme, were sent to them. At the trial M. Orfila declared in his own name, and in those of his colleagues, their opinion that Corbasson had been murdered, and that the wounds of Souesme were inflicted by himself. On the other hand, the medical men who had been called in immediately after the occurrence of the event persisted in the opinion which they had previously expressed, and three others, Doctors Gartner, Lavielle, and Boyer, positively contradicted the statement of M. Orfila, Dr. Gamier adding, that he had attended M. Souesme for his wounds, and that they were very severe ; one of them, he said, had been fistulous for several months. The Jury pronounced a verdict of acquittal, but the Court awarded to the family of Corbasson 5,000 f. damages, to be paid by M. Souesme.  On Saturday morning, about half-past six o'clock, a waterman named Thomas Tagg, while in his boat on the river opposite Kingston bridge, discovered the body of a young female very handsomely dressed floating in the water. tie immediately conveyed the body to the Fox and Hounds public-house, where it was examined. The deceased was dressed in black silk, with other articles to correspond, and in her pocket were nine shillings and fourpence in a purse, and round her neck was a piece of ribbon to which was attached a gentleman's gold guard-ring. The deceased's veil and shawl were found at a distance of about twenty yards from the spot where the body was found. On Saturday evening Mr. Carter, the coroner, held an inquest upon the body, when it appeared that the name of the deceased was Louisa Wade, and that she was lady's-maid in the family of a gentleman residing in Richmond Terrace. No satisfactory evidence could be obtained as to how the deceased came into the water. She had left her friends about eight o'clock on the previous evening, saying that she would shortly return, and at that time nothing particular was remarked in her appearance, and she seemed in very good spirits. Upon an examination of the bank of the river, near the spot where the body was found, there were marks as though some one had been struggling to get out of the water, and it is therefore conjectured that the deceased had accidentally fallen into the river. The Jury having minutely inquired, so far as they were able, into the circumstances, returned a verdict of " Found drowned," thus leaving the matter open to further inquiry, should additional evidence be brought forward.