The curious case of poisoning by oil of bitter almonds
at West Mailing resulted on Wednesday in a verdict by the Coroner's jury of manslaughter against Mr. Timins, the -clergyman who administered the teaspoonful of oil from which, as it is alleged, Sarah Ann Wright died. Neither of the -doctors employed in the investigation seems to have had any -doubt as to the cause of death, and both of them declare their -disbelief that Mr. Timins did, as alleged, swallow a teaspoonful of the same oil himself, the result of which must have been, as they say, his own death also. The curious thing is that Mr. Timins, a clergyman of sixty-nine, for thirty years Vicar -of West Mailing, and of unblemished character, himself asserted that he had swallowed this teaspoonful, and that the mother of the dead girl,—a hostile witness,—gave it in evidence that she saw him take a teaspoonful from the same bottle as that from which he had previously given the dose to her daughter. The Coroner's jury., while returning the verdict -of manslaughter against Mr. Timins, expressly declared their belief that he had administered the poison with no evil intent.
Previous page
