Northern Times. — 1857-12-12 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

DOUBLE MURDER AND SUICIDE.  On Thursday morning, at an early hour, a murder and suicide of a most tragical and distressing character teak place at Thornton Heath, about a mile distant from the town of Croydon. For some years past, Mrs. Mary Smither, a lady of some property, and her two sons, one William nelton Smither, aged 33, and the other. Gam.les Smither, aged 18, occupied the house No. 49, Thornton Heath, and the family were reroarkablo for the love and affection which seemed to. subsist between them. William Helton, the eldtr son, has been a clerk in the Bank of England, from which establishment he received a salary of £2OO per annum; and Charles has been engaged in the factory of Mr. Bunnitt, engineer, Deptford, preparatory to his entcring the Bank of England also, which he expected to do in a few weeks. William has been remarkable for his steadiness and general  eportment, until very recently, when, unfortunately, a total change came over him, and kr some days preceding the awful tragedy in which he was the principal actor, he was known to drink a bottle of brandy. This change, there teen be no doubt, has been occasioned by his bee eming a speculator on 'Change, and the ill luck which attended these speculations. On one bargain alone he is said to have lost as much as £7O, and this sum he borrowed from a friend in the beginning of the week, to pay over to his stockbroker. His losses, it would seem, were considerable, for, from some papers found, it appears that assignments were prepared for the disposal of some life policies, and a bill for £5OO for ecceptance from a geetleman in the city, were found amongst them. It had been his, William's custom to sleep down stairs, bat for some cause cr other, he for some nights preceding the unfortunate 'occurrence slept with his brothers, on the first floor, a proceeding objected to by his mother, who insisted on his resting in his own bed, and on Thursday night the unfortunate lady called out to her younger sane and asked " if William lead gone to his own loom," and the ens wer,:though not true, was in the affirmative. Nothing, however, occurnal on 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 servant, Eliza Morgan, was awoke, as she thought, by a noise in her mistress's room, and she at once got up end commenced her domestic work. In about a quarter of an hour afterwards she heard a knocking at the bed room of Mr. Charles, and on going there, Mr. William asked her for a wine glass, which she took to hire, and returned to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Henry having waited some time beyond tjie usual time at which the family came to breakfast, she went to the bedroom of Charles and listened for a momect or so, and hearing no noise, she pushed the door open, and the first thing that caught her vices, was the countenance of her young master, with a quantity of coloured foam about the mouth and nostrils. The sight so alarmed her that she retired from the room, and at once ran to the house next door for assistance, and returned with the servant men. Both persons then entered the bedroom, where they found both the brothers perfectly lifeless, and a phial and a win glass on the foot of the bed. The first exclamation of the servant was, that she was sure the shock would kill her mistress, and hesitated for a few moments as to how she should break it to her. In a few moments, however, she summoned resolution, and proceeded to her mistress's bedroom, on the same floor, and on entering it shocking to relate, found the unfortunate lady numbered amongst the dead also. She lay on the bed with her head resting on her right hand, the bed perfectly unrufff ad, and it was evident the potent and deadly poison had instaataneous effect and she died without a strug;le. Though no human aid could have been of the slightest avail, medical aid was sought after, but it was quite an hour before it could be procured, and at the end of that time Mr. Bottomley, of Croydon, made his appearance, and pronounced all three dead. Inspector Alexander Frezer, of the P division of pollee stationed at Croyden, was soon on the spot, and took charge of the house at:d the property, and on learning that Mr. Bottornley had taken away a letter written by the deceased, and also the phial which had contained the prussic acid, lie expressed some astonishment and dissatisfaction, par ticularly as he had not been able to ascertain whether the label on the battle bore the name of any chemist. It appears that Mrs. Smither had been ailing for some days, and that her son Willi tm had been in the habit of giving her the medicine prescribed for her illneas, and by this means had been enabled to give her the fatal dose, which must, in a moment, have terminated her existenc... It is the opinion of these who had seen him, that the fatal drug must have been poured into the moath of the youth Charles while he lay on his back, and that the sudden shock to the circulation had caused the foam about the mouth and nostiile. It is also believed that the quantity of prussic acid taken by the unfortunate murderer himself was so great that his death was iastanten,ous. Information of the tragical event has been forwarded to Mr. Crater, the Coroner, but no time is yet mentioned for the holding of he inquest.  " I have lived to know," says Adam Clarke. " that the greatest secret of human happiness is this—Naer .suff r your energies to stagnate. The old adage of too many irons in the fire conveys an untruth. Yon car not have too many—pokers tongs, aad all—keep them all going." A labourer, named Turner, standing in the street of Bishop Auckland, on Saturday evening week, during a disturbance between some drunken pitmen, was knocked by a blow on the head with a coalrake, which was wielded with frightful force by one of the rioters. Turner died the same night. The murderer escaped.