MURDER CHARGE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 123, 25 May 1908, Page 7

MURDER CHARGE.

THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER BROWN. By Telegraph.-vPreffs Assooiatlon.— Copyright, SYDNEY, 23rd May. The Government Analyst reports that though he has not fully completed th© analysis of the remains of Alexander Brown, the man whom Jane Uaikie is charged with having murdered, he has found traces of arsenic in the stomach and liver.

Brown, a widower, aged 56, and a wharf labourer by occupation, had for four years resided at the Northern River Hotel, at the corner of Erskine-streefc and Sussex-street, Sydney. He was taken ill, and confined to his room, the cause of his trouble being, it was supposed, influenza. Eventually he. left his property at the Hotel, and went to Stanmore. His health became worse, and he was compelled to go to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, where he died on 25th April. Doctors at the hospital held a postmortem examination, and cam© io the decision that death was due lv neuritis, symptoms of which are usually noticed in cases of arsenical poisoning. It was considered, however, that death was due to natural causes, and Brown was buried at the Waverley Cemetery on 27th Aprij. Circumstances which were reveale*' i later on, however, caused Detectives Joi clan and Gallagher to further investigate the matter, and in view of the nature of the information obtained, instructions were issued for the exhumation of the body. The detectives ascertained that | Brown had been fairly well off, and possj essed a considerable amount of valuable jewellery. In the ordinary course ot events, his property should have gono into the hands of the curator of intes j tate estates, until the existence of a will was proved. It was, however, discovejed that some of Brown's property was in possession of the woman Baikie. The detectives were suspicions of the woman in question regarding another matter, but they arrested her on a charge of having in her possession stolen jewellery belonging to Brown. This woman, who was acquainted with Brown, was tho last person seen with deceased prior to his removal to the huspital, and it is alleged by the police that tho woman, immediately after leaving Brown at the hospital, went to the hotel where he had resided, and "representing herself as his niece, demanded the right to remove his boxes and belongings to her house at Stanmore. [BT TeLKQUAPH.— SrECIAL tfS THB POet.l DUNEDIN, This Day. Mrs. Jane Baikie, arrested in Sydney for poisoning Alexander Brown, is believed to bo a former resident of this provincial district, who gained considerable notoriety a few years ago.

For Colds in the Head attd Influenza, Wooda' Great Peppermint Cure, Is 6a • * 2a 6d nar bottle.— Adj^fc.