POISON CASE.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 231, 29 September 1928, Page 3 (Supplement)

POISON CASE.

YOUNG BARRISTER'S DEATH. MURDER FINDING. Among the strange mysteries which have vexed the world for many years, few have been more interesting or romantic than that which began with the marriage of Charles Bravo to Florence Ricardo. The young man was a clever, promising barrister, and the only son of a wealthy mother. The girl, who was still m her twenties, had wealth, good looks, and admirers. She was a widow, and when Bravo proposed to her she informed mm that she had once been in love with Dr. Gulley, an eminent physician, who was over 60 years of age.

Bravo, who was very much smitten with the young widow, brushed aside this confession and assured her that it would be forgotten and never referred to again. The young couple were married, but, alas, did not live happily together ever after. Their house was located at Balham, on the outskirts of London, and. being young, wealthy and clever, they had many friends, but, unfortunately, the husband became seized with an almost insane jealousy of his wife. In spite of the promises he had made before their carriage, he constantly referred to his wife s Iriendship with Dr. Gulley. She repeatedly assured him of her constancy to him, ■which he never doubted, but, as often happens, the more his love for her grew, the greater his jealousy developed with it. They had been married about six months, when one spring morning Mrs. Bravo drove with her husband to his office in London. During the trip, much to her annoyance, he once again brought up the painful subject of heiv love affair with the elderly doctor. They had a quarrel, but in the end there was the usual happy reconciliation. In Agony.

Bravo took luncheon with a friend in London that day and was believed to be in the very best of health. He returned home early, took a horseback ride, and then dressed for dinner, as did his wife and a Mrs. Cox, who was a paid companion living iu the house. They all retired early that night, but shortly before midnight a voice was heard calling: "Florence, Florence, hot water, cfuick!" Mrs. Cox, who heard these words, responded at once, and found Bravo in great agony. Mrs. Bravo was still asleep in the adjoining room and came to her husband's assistance. Home remedies were applied, but in the meantime doctors had been sent for and eventually four of them were in the room.

The stricken man told one of them— Sir William Gull —that he had taken a dose of laudanum for neuralgia of the lower jaw. The physician, suspecting that something was wrong, said: "Tell me how much you have taken."

"I swear," was the response, "that I have only taken laudanum and I can tell you nothing more." He suffered for more than fifty hours and finally died in great agony. The post mortem proved that he had been poisoned—apparently by some drug other than laudanum.

There was a coroner's inquest, which returned an open verdict that left the mystery unsolved. Friends of the dead lawyer, however, petitioned the Government for a special inquiry, which was granted. This investigation lasted for weeks and cost an enormous sum of money, which was paid for by the Crown and by the families of the husband and wife.

London was very much agitated over the case and awaited breathlessly the verdict. It was given in this form:

"We find that Mr. Charles Bravo did not commit suicide; that he did not meet his death by misadventure; that he was wilfully murdered by the administration of tartar emetic, but that there is not sufficient evidence to fix the guilt upon any person or persons."