Kentish Gazette, 14 April 1857.

ALLEGED CASE OF POISONING BY AN ARTILLERYMAN.

Much excitement prevailed in Woolwich on Thursday, and the police-court was crowded in consequence of a report that one of the artillerymen was to be brought up on a charge of having administered poison to a girl named Ellen Smith. A little after four o’clock George Heatherley, aged 32, a gunner and driver in the Royal Artillery Barracks, was placed at the bar before Mr. Trail, charged on suspicion of administering poison in some beer to a girl of the town named Ellen Smith.

Ellen Mallocs deposed that she was an unfortunate girl, and that last Sunday fortnight she was in company with Smith and the prisoner at the "Alma" beer-house. The two appeared as if they were quarrelling. They talked about poisoning: prisoner said he had put many a brighter girl than her under the turf; and said he could put it in an orange or a cake. He did not appear much in liquor, but he had been drinking. She did not see him give her any thing; since then (on last Tuesday week) she became ill. On the day before Smith was taken ill prisoner and the girl were both in the same room together.

R. D. Walker, M.D., said he was called in last Monday to attend Ellen Smith. He found her in a very low state. It was named to him yesterday that poison had been administered to her, and he was labouring under symptoms of having taken poison. She had a tingling of the skin, or itching, and vomited, and now remained in the same state. He thought it would be important to take the girl’s evidence, as he considered her life in danger; she was fast sinking.

His Worship, having disposed of the other remaining cases, adjourned to the residence of the girl, accompanied by the medical gentlemen, the clerk of the court, our reporter, two or three officials, and the prisoner, who was placed at the bottom of the bed.

The woman appeared in an emaciated and exhausted state, and immediately upon catching sight of the prisoner she called out loudly, pointing, "That’s the young man." As soon as her excitement was over she said her name was Mura Bassnm, and that she was married. Upon being asked her husband's name, she became so visibly affected that no answer could be got from her. After a time she resumed — that she knew the prisoner well; she had seen him in the London Hospital, in the Mile-end-road, four years and a half ago. She had met him at the "Alma" beer-house several times. They were there one night when Eliza Mellows was there, and had some words last Sunday fortnight. He was in liquor. I said to him, "Be quiet, or I shall say things you don’t like to hear." He said, "I’ll cook your goose before another week;" he said he would knock my ------ brains out. He asked me to drink out of his pot, which I did; and the next night after that I saw him put something into a pot of ale down stairs. That was the Monday night. I drank some of it, and so did he. Here the witness became confused and exhausted. She afterwards said she did not know there was anything in the ale; she said she afterwards found bad effects from taking it on Thursday week, hut did not know the cause. At this point she evidently became unconscious, and apparently swooned away.

The magistrate found that there was no coherence in her answer, and that she now became perfectly sensible. Some stimulant was administered, but she did not revive. The doctor gave his opinion that she was getting from bad to worse. As the examination could not be continued, the prisoner was taken back to the court and remanded till Saturday, to wait the issue of the woman’s illness.

On leaving the house it was asserted by some person present that the prisoner and the victim were man and wife.