MURDER

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17027, 12 August 1929, Page 11

MURDER

WAS IT AFRICAN SEQUEL? POISON MYSTERY LONDON'. July 31. One of the most intriguing poisoning mysteries in the history of crime ’--this sums up the three deaths in the Sidney family, all due to arsenical poisoning. The inquest, alter an inquiry lasting several months resulted in the sinister verdict- of murder by some person or prisons unknown. Arsenic had previously 1 eon found in the o.xhumed bodies of .Mr. Edmund Duff, former Commissioner of Nigeria, .Mrs. .Sidney, his mother-in-law, and Vera Sidney, his sister-in-law. The bodies of Air. Duff's two young daughters had also been exhumed. Nothing was produced to indicate whether the murders were a sequel to Mr. Duff's administration in Africa.

The Coroner, Dr. Beecher Jackson, summing up, pointed out that it was impossible to separate the three inquests which were runninging concurrently, although the present . verdict concerned only Vera Sidney. Nevertheless, the cases presented extraordinary coincidences. The deaths occurred within a year, and each was due to arsenic. Karh victim was suffering from a slight illness when he or she was poisoned, and the poisoner chose a vehicle appropriate to each victim. Vera, Sidney had partaken of poison in soup, which she alone usually took : Mrs. Sidney, her mother, in .medicine; and Mr. Edmund Duff in beer, which lie alone consumed. Hut. said the coroner, although the evidence suggested that the murderer was an intimate member ol the family, there was not the slightest evidence to single out, the poisoner. Turning to Vera Sidney’s case, the coroner pointed out that the soup in which the poison was suspected to have been given was made by the cook. Mrs. Noakes, who was attached to her. Airs. X,lakes also ate the soup, resulting in an illness. Apparently a fresh and fatal dose had later been added to the soup, of v-lih-h Vein’s uunt. Mrs. Creomvoll. partook, causing a week’s illness. The coroner, emphasising that there was not a tittle of evidence against the family. recalled that all lived on terms of mutual affection. Mrs. Sidney was passionately fond of Vera, and it was most unlikely that, she administered the poison. Moreover, she died of the same poison within three weeks. THREATE-NINO LETTERS. '['he evidence? also showed, he said, that Vera's sister, Mr*. Duff, whose husband died last year, was not in financial difficulties. Site was not aware that she had been bequeathed L2CRO by Vera, who also helped her financially. The coroner added that V era s brctlier Thomas had 'benefited by ElOup under the will, but he was not previously aware of this. Moreover, he was already in comfortable circumstances. The coroner announced that the police inquiries were continuing. The Daily Mail, in a leading article, entitled “The Mystery of _ Mysteries,” describes the Croydon affair as, the most mysterious since the Rugelev poisoner, William Palmer, who murdered 14 persons 70 years ago before lie was brought to justice.” The unusual features of the Croydon case were recently augmented by anonymous threatening letters to witnesses. the police inspector in charge of the investigation, and to the coroner and his wife, who was told that she will bo a. widow soon.