The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1896-08-15 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

MORE CARBOLIC ACID POISONING.  On Monday morning Mr. Churton held an inquests at the Grapes Hotel, Bridge-street, on the billy. of Harriet Corbett, aged 30, a married woman living apart from her husband, who committed suicide by I swallowing a quantity of carbolic acid at 50, Georgestreet, on Saturday night. I Robert Formston watchman at the Woodside lairages' said deceased was a native of Manchester, but she bad been living with him as housekeeper for two years. There was only himself and hie son living in the house beside deceased. She was a married woman living apart from her husband. Her health was good, but she had been rather strange for a couple of months. She complained about headache, and had been under Dr. Dalzell this year. She had been to see the doctor about her knee last week. She was a sober woman, but took a glees of beer occasionally. He never heard her threaten to do anything to herself. He last KIIV7 her alive at 6 o'clock on Saturday night. She was in her usual health and sober when he left her. Witness was not aware that he had any carbolic acid in the house. The bottle produced was labelled "Old Irish whiskey." Elizabeth Taylor, a neighbour living next door but one to the last witness, said on Saturday afternoon the deceased was very fretful and crying. She said he was thinking about her husband. She did nob like to see other men coming home, and not hers. She WM then in the home of the last witness, sitting on the sofa. She seemed very unhappy and low spirited. The bottle produced witness saw the policeman pick up from a table in the back kitchen of Mr. Formston'e home. At 11-30 p.m. witness was going to bed,wheo the deceased knocked at her door. She handed a cup to witness which had contained carbolic acid, and said, "Here, Lizzie, I have done it. lam going." She then fell acmes the doorstep. Witness picked her up, and took her to her (deceased's) own house, when she became unconscious. There was no one in the house at the time. The cup was a large breakfast* cup, and would hold half a pint. A policeman was called in. Dr. Stansfield was also sent for. He applied the stomach pump, but could do nothing for her, and she died in about ten minutes after she gob into the house.  The Coroner said the evidence clearly indicated that the woman had gone somewhere for this carbolic acid. But the bottle bore no label, and they were in entire ignorance as to where it was bought. The jury found that the woman committed suicide while in a state of temporary insanity. Mr. Glass informed the Coroner that the foreman of the jury in the last carbolic acid Case went to Mr. Elliott Lees' house, but he had gone to London. The Coroner said he wished to see him himself, but he could not be found. This was the second case ' that had occurred recently, owing to the facilities for obtaining carbolic acid, which was one of the met deadly poisons. Mr. Churton reiterated the remarks made on the last occasion with regard to his correspondence with past Home Secretaries, and said he strongly urged that this stuff should be protected as other poisons were.  • Another inquest, on the body of a woman' who is supposed to have ended her life by taking carbolic acid, named Ann Atherton, aged 5,3, wife of William Atherton, 359, Cleveland-street, was held on Monday at the Grapes Hotel, before Dr. Churton.  WiUiam Atherton gave evidence to the effcets that his wife had good health generally, but bad , suffered from rheumatism. She was a steady, 'sober woman, and had never had any trouble with witness. He had never heard her threaten to take her Wet and he never suspected anything of the kind was going to happen. On Sunday night at about eleven o'clock he left her downstairs with a nephew, expecting her to ga tobed a bit later. There was nothing extraordinary about her not going up to bed, she was in the habit of laying on the sofa in the parlour. At five o'clock the next morning he was awakened by his son, and on going into the parlour found his wife on the sofa apparently asleep, l‘iut on looking closer he saw that something was the matter with her. He procured some salt and water, but she was unable to take it. Witness's son went out for a doctor but could not engage one, and a policeman who was called in, pronounced life to be extinct. A small bottle labelled "_poison" with a red label was found in the kitchen. It was from William Snow's, chemist, 443, Press-street.  -iie-oei:sedii son William stated that when be saw his mother on Monday morning, she was breathing, but unconscious. He found the bottle produced on the boiler in the kitchen. Nothing, to his knowledge, had happened to make her commit suicide. Inspector Glass stated that the perwm who had supplied the stuff had left the shop. It was withed to procure the evidence of the assistant, and the ip,juest was adjourned. The inquest was resumed at the George Hotelyesterday morning. Alfred Warbrick, assistant to Mr. Snow, chemist. 442, Price-street, was called, and gave evidence to. the effect that the label on the bottle was theirs, but he had no recollection of when the stuff was obtained by Atherton. He had never seen Mrs. Atherton before. Witness had been twelve months in the shop. The contents of the bottle was crude carbolic acid—the common sort—and was more deadly thart ' the unadulterated acid. The bottleful would cost about threepence. There were several other assistants in the shop and none of them recollected seemg the bottle before. About an ounce of the acid would be sufficient to poison a person. The bottle would contain, if full, about five ounces. They were not supposed to ask any questions when servinr this acid, it was not on the schedule of poisons protected by the Act of Parliament. . . . _  relative of the deceased was called, and said that he left hor in the kitchen, ,on the sofa, late on Surday night and went upstairs to bed. The last thing he expected was that she would take carbolic acid that night. The Coroner advised the jury to return an open verdict to the effect that deceased died from the effects of carbolic acid, but how or by whom administered there was no evidence to prove. The jury returned a verdict in accordance with the coroner's advice.