“SUICIDE AND INQUEST.

Dunstan Times, Issue 879, 21 February 1879, Page 3

“SUICIDE AND INQUEST.

■ ; —o—(Condensed from Cromwell Argus.) An inquest was held at the Solwav Arms Hotel, Bendigo, on Monday last, 17th inst., ? before W. L. Simpson, Esq., Coroner, on 1 the body of Ellen, the wife of John Saul, Grandview Hotel, Clutha Valley, who on the previous Saturday died from the effects ' of poison administered by herself. From ' the evidence of the husband it appears that he and deceased had not lived for setae time previously on the most amicable, 1 terms, and that a day or two previous to the '' sad occurrence it had culminated in blows, ' the cause,of disagreement- bein£ a Snspioidti on the husband’s part of his wife’s infidelity ' with a man named, fitzgerald. , On the! Saturday morning deceased was seen by her; 1 husband to leave Fitzgerald’d room and go * to her own. Shortly afterwards Fitzgerald d-ame out and said, ‘ 1 What's the matter 1 with the woman ? ” He and I went to the 1 bar to have a drink, and we then heard a, 1 scream from my wife’s rodm. ’ We tried tlife door of the room; but fouhd' it locked. ’ When we got into the rqnnj I asked what ■ was the matter, and she said she had taken, 1 poi.on, and warned us putt,quae a certain! I cup on the kitchen table-, (My wife was. 1 erving when I fi'-st went jnto her room, | Fitzgerald and I remained in ihe room three - or four minutes. ’ I did hot believe my 1 ’ wife’s statement about poisoning. We left : and went to the bar, remaining there three = or four minutes. My.wife-thqn began to cry out very much,- and seemed-' to go imo convulsions or fits until half-past nine , p’clock, when sbeqhed. * £heiji the , talked ken- ibly 4 between the fits, , espeoially about the child, requesting me to be bin a | to it. My wife during her fits prayea tb|l s God wrtuldforgive her. and said that she liad doue me no harm and had been faithful, and that 1 had wronged her in suspecting her,, She used tpudrink whisky, gin, ( and rum, but I never saw- her drunk. My wde and, Fitzgerald wsre very .thick, and he was the man 1. suspected of leading her astray. On the Friday beftwd- her death she and Fitzgerald had some words, became he said he would / have nothing more * to do wil-b her. After p)y. said she * had taken poison I fottnd<tihcbox in which ■ the poison had been on a shelf in the kitchen. There was, no more in it then than there is now. The p.oison was while * like sa'ta and 1 obtained it from Dr Corse, Cromwell, for the killing rats. * j He wrote nothing on the box to indicate it | contained poison. The evidence of JfiJzgerald was ! similar to Saul’s as to the -incidents, con- • nected with the poisoning, although it dlf-fe'-ed in some degree in other respects. It was brought out that deceased and Fitzgerald were criminally intimate without ' Saul’s knowledge, but Fitzgerald denied * that he hail said he would h„ve nothing , more to do with her. Dr Stacpole deposed to having made a po:t mor'rm examination of ihe body, from 1 the appearances of which, and tests of the sediment found in the cup from which de-‘| i I eea-.ed diank, he came to the conclusion that Mrs Saul had died from the effects of i ' poison. ■•it- 1 The jury having retired for cV&nd->r.Tion, brought in a verdict to ihe effect that de- j [ cased, Ellen Saul, killed herself by taking | 4 poison while Buffeting from "temporary in- ! sanity on the morning of the loth in~t. A ; rider was added cen uring Dr Jatnc Coi e, I of Cromwell, for having c-relc sly vended deadly poirou without due precaution in prominently labelling same. 'V 1