TIMARU POISONING CASE

Marlborough Daily Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1950, 4 September 1886, Page 2

TIMARU POISONING CASE

HOW THE BEDROOMS WERE OCCUPIED. PRANKS IN THE DAIRY. HE WAS SO SORRY. NOT SICK SINCE THE ARRESTS. Per Press Association, Tim a kit, Sept. 3. After Messrs Joynt and Hay had crossexamined Jane Turnbull this morning tho prosecution led to fur,her evidence in tho Hall and Houston attempted wife murder case. Mary Has on, deposed : I am a domestic in the employ of Mrs Hal . When I first went there Mr Hall and his wife occupied the samo bedroom, and afterwards lie occupied a room on (he verandah. I have seen Miss Houston take tea into that room in a morning. She had a Massing gown on. She remained about 20mins. Mr Hal subsequently occupied a different bedroom upstairs. 1 have seen Miss Houston go to I ha! room between seven or eight in a morning. She had a dressing gown on. I saw her coming down the stairs from Mr Hull’s ro.»in one morning. I h vc seen Mr Hall and Miss Houston in the dairy. Miss Hous’on went in first. Mr Hull did not ask me anything beforo he went in. I saw Mr Hall ‘'pulling ’’ Miss Houston in the dairy. He was pulling her by the arms, and had his arm round her neck.

Nothing of importance was elicited in cross-examination.

After the luncheon adjournment, tho nurse, Mrs Hannah Ellison was called. The p’incipal parts of her evidence were of vital importance. She said : I went to nurse Mrs Hall on a Thursday. She was cm,fined on the foTowing Suturd y. There \v ; s nothing unusual about the confinement/ Until about the third or fourth day she showed no unusual symptoms. Mary Has on, tho servant, used to bring the first cup of tea in 1 lie ni 'ruing to .Mr; Hall, Sometimes Mr H ill Drought in the breakfast, somelini"S Misi Houston, and s oineli nis I did. F r the first few days I generally brought in the meals, and after that Mrs Hall used to ret her meals from the table in the dining lonn, and they were brought in sometimes by the girl, sometimes hy .'Miss Houston and sometimes by Mr Hall. 1 fetched them in sometimes myself. Tin sickness would cease fora little while,a id ill nit would come on ngiin. It ceased .sometimes for a day or two. On Sunday morning, a fortnight after b.i ig laid up, she went into the dining t 'o:u. She was pretty well, but she was very sick that evening. Mr Hall mostly hr aught the breakfast in. He asked to he allowed to fetch it, as ho wished to see his wife Indore leaving. I generally Id t the room whin Hall came in, but somotim s remained. The sickness fn quently returned, some i liei after meals, an 1 sometimes w hen she had not taken anything. After the stomach got relieved of i;s contents the vomiting eease h linmedia'cdy before the sickness came on her lace lo Iced yellow, with a bluish tint round Ur lips and under hor eyes. Mrs HM I , on returning from a drive s ine lime abler this sho seemed pro ty we 1 al h nigh rather tired. She was sick that evening and through the night. There w;s a great deal of retelling nil ibis sickness at all limes' The prisoner J la!! always said how sorry be was to see hs wif ■ retching, and when be lmard it ! o came ait > the room. After the consultatio i I gave Dr Mclntyre some urine and some v-unit.. After another consultation among the doctors Mrs Hall was order (l lo drink ice 1 water, and suck ica. Mra II :1 ! used s one of the ice from a jug in the b droom d iriog the night. On th " Sunday morning Ilall came into the mom and I vent out while lie was there. Nobody ere was in tfi* room when I went out, Wlrm I cune hack Hall had gone out .and Mrs Hall was alone. Mrs Hall made a complaint to me immediate 1 )’ after I went inti the room. Owing to v. hat she to'd me I tasted some of the ice water out of the cup, and it lisle 1 bitter. 1 di 1 not examine it so see if there was the same amount o water in the cup as when I went out. Hal! ea iio into tho room aft-rwarih, and Mrs Hall asked him to tike the iceua'er away, at i. was so nasty, and be di I so. She told him that she didn’t know what was io it to make it so nasty. He said that some mistake must have been made in putting the vvatir out of the jug. .Miss Houston curie into the room whMe the conversation w ,s going on. Miss Houston sryd tint if it wi*(* nasty Mrs Hall should not (Link i , airl she took the cup out. The female prisoner brought it back with a c can piice of musl nan 1 some more ice. Before Miss Houston took away ili« cup I took it away from the dressing tilde as far a< the washstand and ponre 1 p •rt of the contents into a ciem cup. I mean': to tike the whole tut Mr Hall cal el me hack, and Had tasted the water. I took tli; cle.n cup with the icewater in it into Ihe kitchen and put the canton's into a clean bottle. I pat a cork into the bottle and put it into my pocket, and afterwards gave it to Dr Maclntyre. Mrs Had was very iff on the Sunday, after she took the icewater, which she complained of as bitter. She was sick very so n after I came back into the room I should say about ten minutes, Tni.i Sunday was the day on which the prisoners were ar. rp-teh I gave Dr Mclntyre the ieewiter on the sun ■ Sun Ity mor ling. I know Constable ivgae, ami I gave him a bottle on the Sunday, at the time of the arrests. There w s b andy in the bottle. The brandy was use I for is j-c in is, and was given to me by Halt on Sunday evening between ti and 7 o’cLck, Mrs Hall has not been sick since the night of the arrests. She fetched on that night, but was nit sic':. Smo then there has been no more retelling. The two | riB'ners appeared t > be ' n go d terms with each other, so fir as J sivv. Heca’lel her '* Megrims,” an i she caffe.l him Mr Hall, Luc I li. ard her cad hi in ‘ Torn'” The servants used to go lo ; ed at ten, so far as I knew. 1 used to go to bed at eleven, and sometimes before S mietinies Mj-s Houston went l> bed I e’ore us (tint-is, Mrs Hull an iro j, and sometimes not. On tin- u'glits when \ve wept lo bed r.eforc the prisoners 1 left them in the (lining room. Th: Cour; adjourned at 4,30 till tomorrow.