THE NEWCASTLE POISONING CASE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1747, 7 June 1888, Page 3

THE NEWCASTLE POISONING CASE.

The charge against J. W. Porter, alias "William Henry Dare, an exconstable of police, of attempting to poison his wife at Newcastle, has caused much sensation there. Dare or Porter was arrested at Brisbane, and was charged with maliciously administering prussic acid to his wife at Bondi. The prisoner's wife said they were married at Port Adelaide in 1880, and had three children. Her father provided them with money to start them in a public house, but this not succeeding her husband deserted her, and she traced him to Newcastle. Finding that he had joined the police force there under the name of Dare, Mrs Porter insisted on stopping as his wife, though he tried hard to dissuade her from doing so, promising to return to Adelaide. Matters became still more complicated when it was discovered he was paying attention to another woman, Miss Larton, and on the strength of a threat to reveal the truth, the wife at length persuaded him to go with her to Sydney to live. The wife's story as to what occurred when the husband tried to poison her was quite as strange. It was on the sands at Bondi, where they had gone for a walk. He asked her if she was tired, and she replied that she was, and he told her to rest her face on his left arm. He asked her if she had any sweets; he asked her for %ome, and she gave them to him. He then kissed her on the eyes, and told her to shut them. He ate some of the sweets, andjtold her to open her mouth, which she did, and he dropped some in. Whilst she was eating them she thought they tasted strange and smelt peculiar. She felt sure that he was drugging her. As she moved she observed in his hand a email bottle about 2in long. She felt horribly afraid for a moment, and she put her hand on bis containing the bottle, and said, "Have you brought me down here to murder me?" He replied, " Well, why don't you go away and love me ?" She told him he had no right to murder her or to throw her aside for the woman he was carrying on with. She then endeavoured to ] take the bottle from him, and she said, j " I will take it myself." He then' made a slight resistance to prevent her from taking the bottle, but she got it, and said, " Bather than let you murdor me I will take it myself." She placed the bottle to her lips, and, he said, " Don't," but made no attempt to prevent her from doing so. She told him that as he would let her take it she would not do it for him. He pushed her down, put his foot on her chest and forced another bottle to her lips. The contents went on to her tongue and over her gums, lips cuffs, and hands. She struggled, and the result was that the bottle got completely emptied, and defendant threw it away. The wife also interviewed Miss.Larton, at Newcastle, and exposed her husband to her as a married man. The accused has been committed for trial.