THE WELLINGTON POISONING CASE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 8305, 11 July 1890, Page 5

THE WELLINGTON POISONING CASE.

EVIDENCE AT THE INQUEST. [BY TELEGRAPH. —PRESS ASSOCIATION.] Well.', , Th ay. An inquest was held to-day on the body of Alice Maud Bennett, who died on Tuesday night from, it is alleged, medicine supplied to her in mistake. Drs. Collins, Kemp, and Pollen were examined. The latter saw Mrs. Bennett immediately after death, and said, from the symptoms he observed, he was satisfied it was a case of strychnine poisoning. Dr. Pollen was at Mr. Fitzgerald's chemist shop when the prescription was being made up. Fitzgerald drew his attention to the largeness of the dose, but witness replied it was all right, as the patient had contracted a morphia habit. Later on in the evening witness observed Fitzgerald tasting something, and from a conversation which followed he gathered that there was a suspicion that a mistake had been made in mixing up what had been sent to Mrs. Bennett. Witness gathered from what Fitzgerald said that there was a probability that strychnine had been sent instead of morphia. After procuring a bottle of the right solution witness obtained a cab and went off at once to Mrs. Bennett's house. On arrival there he was told that she was dead. Witness was informed that Mrs. Bennett had taken two teaspoonfuls from the bottle. Wm. Skey, Government Analyst, said a small bottle marked " half teaspoonful when in pain : Mrs. Bennett," handed him by the police, contained hydro-chlorides of strychnine, dissolved in weak alcohol and water. Measuring with an ordinary teaspoonful, lie found the solution contained one grain of strychnine salt. Tho second bottle, from which Mrs. Bennett's dose was dispensed by Mr. Fitzgerald, was labelled " liquor tnorph." It contained a few drops of strong solution of hydro-chlorides of strychnine. The large bottles "described as Mr. Fitzgerald's stock bottles," labelled " morphia hydro-ehlor., B. P. poison," were correctly labelled, lie considered that a teaspoonful of any of these solutions of strychnia would be a fatal dose for a healthy adult. From the evidence of Mr. Fitzgerald and his assistant (Mr. Inglis) there was no doubt that the morphia dispensing bottle had been filled from the liquid strychnine stock bottle, and hence the mistake in making up tho prescription. The mistake was only discovered by Mr. Inglis when about to replenish the dispensing bottle, and he then found that the liquor morphia stock bottle was intact. Mr. Fitzgerald, who courted the fullest inquiry, attributed the mistake in tilling the bottles to a former assistant engaged by him, and the inquest lias been adjourned until Saturday to procure the latter's attendance.