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Murder by Poison in Scotland During the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries

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Murder by Poison in Scotland During the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries Merry, Karen Jane (2010) Murder by poison in Scotland during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/2225/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Murder by Poison in Scotland During the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries Karen Jane Merry Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Law Department of Forensic Medicine Faculty of Law, Business and Social Science Faculty of Medicine © Karen Jane Merry July 2010 ABSTRACT This thesis examines the history of murder by poison in Scotland during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, in the context of the development of the law in relation to the sale and regulation of poisons, and the growth of medical jurisprudence and chemical testing for poisons. The enquiry focuses on six commonly used poisons. Each chapter is followed by a table of cases and appendices on the relative scientific tests and post-mortem appearances. The various difficulties in testing for these poisons in murder and attempted murder cases during the period are discussed and the verdicts reached by juries in poisoning trials considered. It is argued that murder by poison during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries raised particular legal and medical problems, as not only were symptoms often not recognised by doctors, but chemical testing was inadequate, and juries as arbiters of fact often did not understand the evidence that was presented to them in court during trials for poisoning. Further, the ease with which these poisons could be purchased for very small sums of money, the rise of the insurance industry, and the prominence of burial clubs all contributed to providing opportunity and motive for murder. Since poisons were easy to obtain and difficult to detect, it seems probable that poisoning was much more common than is usually accepted. i Table of Contents Page Number Abstract …………………………………………………………………………....i Table of Contents …………………………………………………………………ii Abbreviations ………………………………………………………………….....vi Dedication ……………………………………………………………………… vii Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………… viii Declaration ……………………………………………………………………….ix 1. Chapter 1 ~ Introduction.........................................................................................1 1.1 Introduction............................................................................................................1 1.2 Research and Methodological Issues....................................................................4 1.3 A Crime of the Poor: Trends and Lacunae in Scholarship................................7 2. Chapter 2 ~ Arsenic, A Poison For Rats Or An Excuse for Murder ………....14 2.1 Introduction......................................................................................................... 14 2.2 Typicality of Arsenic Poisoning Cases and Diagnostic Procedures................ 17 2.3 Case Histories: An Overview..............................................................................22 2.4 Earliest Records: 1800-1826................................................................................25 2.5 Three Doses: The Cases of 1827..........................................................................27 2.6 Mid-Century Profusion of Arsenic Cases......................................................... 31 2.7 The Arsenic Act and Reluctance to Convict......................................................41 2.8 Trends and Conclusions.......................................................................................46 Appendix 1, Table of Arsenic Poisoning Cases ……………………………...........51 Appendix 2A, Historical Tests for Detecting Solid Arsenic ………………..........57 Appendix 2B, Historical Liquid Tests for Detecting Arsenic ……………...........59 Appendix 3, Arsenic Post Mortem-Appearances....................................................61 ii 3. Chapter 3 ~ Vitriol Madness ……………………………………………………63 3.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................63 3.2 Case History: An Overview…………………………………………………….67 3.3 Early Cases of Sulphuric Acid Poisoning...........................................................68 3.4 Mid-Century Lenience and Juridical Failures..................................................74 3.5 Late Cases: Nitre and Carbolic Acid..................................................................82 3.6Conclusions............................................................................................................88 Appendix 4, Table of Corrosive Acid Poisoning Cases ……………………….....90 Appendix 5, Historical Tests for Detecting Sulphuric Acid …………………......91 Appendix 6, Historical Tests for Detecting Oxalic Acid ……………………........93 Appendix 7, Historical Tests for Detecting Nitre …………………………….......95 Appendix 8, Historical Tests for Detecting Carbolic Acid …………………........97 Appendix 9, Sulphuric Acid Post-Mortem Appearances ……………………......99 Appendix 10, Oxalic Acid Post-Mortem Appearances ………………………....101 Appendix 11, Nitre Post-Mortem Appearances …………………………….......103. Appendix 12, Carbolic Acid Post-Mortem Appearances ……………………...104 4. Chapter 4 ~ Strike Up A Light, Or Lucifer’s Element ……………………...105 4.1 Introduction........................................................................................................105 4.2 The Uses and Abuses of Phosphorus................................................................107 4.3 Phosphorus Poisoning Cases ............................................................................111 4.4 Conclusions.........................................................................................................115 Appendix 13, Table of Phosphorous Poisoning Cases …………………….........117 Appendix 14, Historical Tests for Detecting Phosphorous ……………….........118 Appendix 15, Phosphorous Post-Mortem Appearances ………………….........119 iii 5. Chapter 5 ~ Prescriptive Poppy Or Pestilent Poison ………………………..120 5.1 Introduction........................................................................................................120 5.2 Profile of Opium Murder Cases....................................................................... 122 5.3 Cases of Opium Poisoning In Adults................................................................124 5.4 Cases of Opium Poisoning In Children............................................................129 5.5 Conclusions.........................................................................................................138 Appendix 16, Table of Opium Poisoning Cases ……………………………....... 142 Appendix 17A, Historical Tests for Detecting Morphine ………………............144 Appendix 17B, Historical Tests for Detecting Meconic Acid ……………..........146 Appendix 18, Laudanum Poisoning Symptoms ……………………………........147 Appendix 19, Opium Post-Mortem Appearances …………………………........149 6. Chapter 6 ~ Strychnine, A Beneficial Nostrum Or Bitter Bane ……………150 6.1 Introduction........................................................................................................150 6.2 Aspects of Criminal Negligence........................................................................154 6.3 Unsatisfactory Verdicts: Judgements of Insanity...........................................159 6.4 Further Unsatisfactory Verdicts...................................................................... 164 6.5 Contemporary Contrasts and Conclusions......................................................167 Appendix 20, Table of Strychnine Poisoning Cases …………………….........…170 Appendix 21A, Historical Tests for Detecting Strychnine Before 1915 ….........171 Appendix 21B, Historical Tests for Detecting Strychnine After 1915 …............173 Appendix 22, Strychnine Post-Mortem Appearances ………………………......174 7. Chapter 7 ~ Prussic Acid, A Popular Paregoric Or Pernicious Potion …… 175 7.1 Introduction........................................................................................................175 7.2 Prussic Acid As A Poison.................................................................................. 176 7.3 Prussic Acid Poisoning Trials in The Mid-Nineteenth Century....................178 7.4 Conclusions.........................................................................................................188 Appendix 23, Table of Prussic Acid Poisoning Cases …………………………..190 Appendix 24, Historical Tests for Detecting Prussic Acid ………………...........191 Appendix 25, Prussic Acid Post-Mortem Appearances …………………….......194 iv 8. Chapter 8 ~ Conclusion ………………………………………………………. 196 8.1 A Hazardous Market For Poisons....................................................................196 8.2 Conditions For A Mid-Century Surge in Poisoning.......................................200 8.3 The Development and Limits of Forensic Medicine.......................................202 8.4 Final Verdicts.....................................................................................................209
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