The Sun. — 1842-10-19 (London, England)

CORONER'S INQUEST, HORRIBLE DEPRAVITY.  Yesterday, at 12 o'clock, an inquiry was instituted before Mr. Wakley, M.P., at the Crown Tavern, Ed,geware-road, on view of the body of Elizabeth Bell Woodroffe, aged 32, who committed suicide by taking poison, under the circumstances subjoined : Mr. Richard Keene, surgeon and chemist, No. 17, Crawford-street, Bryanston-square, deposed to being called, and having found the deceased lying in bed, her extremities quite cold, and she evidently in a dying state. She had been vomiting very much, and was almost beyond the power of speech. Witness asked her if she had taken poison, to which she made no reply ; but on his again putting the question and whether it was arsenic, she by a movement of her head signified in the affirmative. Witness then administered to her two scruples of sulphate of zinc ; but she never rallied, and died in less than 20minutes. He had since made a post mortem examination of the body, and found the whole internal surface of the stomach discoloured with red patches, indicating that she had taken arsenic, which, by subsequently using tests, he had proved beyond doubt to be the fact; the arsenic he had ascertained to have been purchased at his shop by the deceased. William Woodroffe stated that the deceased was his wife. On Saturday morning last she placed a cup out of which she had been drinking on the table, and throwing down a piece of paper, said, " There, that's poison. I have done it." Witness said you are always up to some of your tricks, and taking up the paper, threw it 'into the fire. About half an hour hour afterwards she began vomiting, when witness fetched her half a quartern of gin, part of which she only drank. Subsequently getting worse, Mr. Keene was sent for, shortly after whose arrival she died. Sarah Blanchard (who cohabited with the husband under the same roof) corroborated this statement. A respectable-looking mechanic here stepped forward, and stated to the Jury that he was acquainted with the deceased, who was of very respectable family. She had been married for some years, and had had a family of eleven children, all of whom with the exception of one (who was living with her up to the time of her death) were dead. About two years ago her husband, who was a zinc-plate worker, deserted her, leaving her in Yorkshire entirely destitute. She had since lived on the bounty of her family and friends, who at length, being wearied out with her importunities, refused her any further assistance. She then sought fter her husband, whom she at length found living as described. She was at first repulsed, but refusing to quit the place without him, an offer was made to her to lodge with them, to which truly revolting proposition she was induced, through fear of actual starvation of herself and child, to accede. Since then she had been subjected to constant illusage from her husband, for protection against whom she had more than once applied to a Magistrate ; and while he and the female Blanchard occupied tlae bed, she had been forced to submit to lie on a piece of old carpet on the floor. Mr. WAKLEY remarked that the case was one which ' _ _  disclosed facts of a disgraceful and immoral nature, and one which could not have been supposed to exist in the present enlightened age. The Jury, however, had only met fur the purpose of inquiring into the cause of the death of the deceased ; and although the conduct of certain parties might have led her to commit self-murder, such parties were not answerable there for the manner in which they had acted. The Jury, after some consultation, returned a verdict, "That the deceased had destroyed herself while in a state of temporary insanity," at the same time expressing their opinion that she was driven to the commission of the crime by the base and cruel treatment of her husband William Woodroffe. On the husband of the deceased making his appearance in the street after the inquiry he was greeted with the groans and hisses of about 100 women, who had assembled round the house, and who would, had it not been for the protection afforded him by the police, have proceeded to the infliction of personal chastisement.  ....