ACCIDENTAL POISONING BY STIIYCHNINE. 
309 
body before Mr. William Sheild, coroner, \vhen the following; facts were adduced in 
evidence :—Mrs. Simkiu (the deceased) had for some time suffered from ill-healtb, and 
had been attended by Mr. Spencer, who is an old practitioner residing at Ilallaton. On 
the 31st of August she complained of being unwell, and said she had pain in her back 
and shoulders, which she attributed to rheumatism. On a subsequent day she was 
taken seriously unwell at an archery meeting, and had to be taken home. On that 
occasion she had a fit, and complained of a pain in her head, which she attributed to 
neuralgia. From that attack she recovered, and on the Sunday she died she was appa¬ 
rently in excellent health and spirits, but w^as still taking medicine. On that day Mr. 
Simkin called at the house of Mr. Spencer for a repetition of the medicine. After 
taking a dose of it she was attacked with violent convulsions, her teeth being firmly set 
and the limbs rigid. An attempt w'as made to administer brandy, but it w^as found 
impracticable, and she died in about twmnty minutes from the time of being first seized. 
Mr. Spencer w^as sent for, and on being told that Mrs. Simkin had expressed a wish 
that she had not taken the medicine, he felt so convinced no mistake had been made, that 
he took up the bottle and drank some of the medicine ; a few minutes afterwards he was 
seized with convulsions, and twitchings of the limbs. He sent for Mr. Bell, another 
medical practitioner, under w’hose care he gradually recovered. A post-mortem exami¬ 
nation w^as made by Mr. Bell, and at the resumed inquiry, Dr. Alfred Taylor, having 
deposed to receiving the bottles containing the contents of the stomach and the medi¬ 
cine from Chief Constable Mitchell, proceeded to relate the result of his examination 
and analysis of the same. He said the large bottle contained 1^ ounces of liquid, 
including sediment, and the small one 2|- ounces, also including sediment, making alto¬ 
gether 4 ounces, or one-third of the total capacity of the large bottle, 12 ounces. The 
liquid was separated from the sediment. It tasted very bitter. A chemical analysis 
show'ed that the liquid contained, in a dissolved form, brucia and strychnine in the pro¬ 
portion of 1‘7 grains to an ounce, the brucia, from its greater solubility, being in larger 
proportion. The dry sediment obtained from the large bottle weighed 5'2 grains, and 
that from the small bottle weighed 3 grains, making 8’2 grains of undissolved matter 
from the two bottles. This sediment was tested, and found to be nearly pure strychnia. 
A quarter of a grain of the sediment produced tetanic convulsions in a rabbit in thirty 
minutes, and caused the death of the animal, with the usual symptoms of strychnia 
poisoning, in ten minutes more. The sediment or undissolved residue from the tvro 
bottles was examined for bismuth, but none was found in it. He mentioned that fact 
because he had seen from the prescription that it was stated to have contained bismuth. 
The liquid in the bottles contained much brucia, wnth some strychnia. On evaporation 
D7 grains were obtained from an ounce of it. Hence in the 4 ounces there would be 
G'8 grains dissolved. Hence, in the two bottles the weight of dry sediment, principally 
strychnia, was 8'2 grains ; the weight of brucia, strychnia, and other soluble matter, 6‘8 
grains ; total grains in 4 ounces of mixture, 15 grains. Three tablespoonfuls, the dose 
marked on the large bottle, are equivalent to nearly two ounces, hence such a mixture 
would contain in a single dose, if it were shaken, a fatal dose of strychnia. Half a grain 
of strychnia has proved sufficient to destroy the life of a human adult in twenty 
minutes, and in the sediment alone there was enough to kill sixteen persons. The 
stomach contained three ounces of partly-digested food, in which was starchy matter; 
the stomach was quite healthy, and its contents presented the appearance usually seen 
in the bodies of persons who have died suddenly in a state of health, and while digestion 
was going on. The application of the usual tests and processes to the stomach, duode¬ 
num, and oesophagus, as well as to their contents, showed that strychnine was present 
in a small quantity in each case. The largest proportion was found in the duodenum. 
Some powdery matter scraped from the surface of the oesophagus was by the usual tests 
found to be strychnine. Taking these facts and the statements in the depositions—• 
namely, that deceased took a dose of the mixture and died in about half an hour after¬ 
wards,—I am of opinion that her death was entirely due to strychnine. From the 
appearances, the symptoms described, and the result of the analysis, I have no doubt 
whatever that the deceased died from strychnine, and not from natural causes. It is 
possible that old samples of bismuth might be mistaken for strychnine, as they are wry 
much alike in appearance, but they are very differeut in their effect. The one is very 
simple, and the other is a very potent poison. Any human being taking a dose like the 
one alleged to have been taken by the deceased "would certainly die from the effect. 
