CHARGE OF MURDER.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 8206, 31 July 1905, Page 5

CHARGE OF MURDER.

Sentenced to Death

{Received To-day, at SJO a.m.)

London, Last Night,

After four days' trial Arthur Devereux, a chemist's assistant, was sentenced to death for the murder of Ids wife and two children, at Harlesden, near London. The demeanour of the prisoner was remarkably callous. Ho went into the witness box without hesitation or emotion, and described spending four hours packing and re-picking tho bodies in a box. He reiterated his story of his wife's suicide.

The " Harlesden trunk tragedy " as it is termed, caused a great sensation at Homo. The victims were Mrs Ellen Maud Devereux, thirty, and her twin baby sons, Lawrence Roland and Evelyn Lancelot, one year and eleven months, whose bodies were found in a trunk at a furniture depository near Paddington Green, London, on Thursday, 13th April, under circumstances already reported. The husband of the deceased, William Arthur Devereux, late of Milton Avenue, Stone-bridge Park, was charged on remand with the murder of deceased supposed by poisoning. The inquest was opened on April 17th, when evidence was given by the mother of Mrs Devereux, who identified the bodies of the children by means of their nightdresses, and the dead woman by her features and clothing. The proceedings were adjourned pending the report of the Home Office analyst, Dr. Stevenson, upon his investigations. When Dr. Gordon Hogg resumed the inquest Devereux sat between two warders and took copious notes of the evidence. Sergeant Cole stated that he found in a writing-desk belonging to prisoner some pills, which had been submitted for analysis. Mrs Gregory (recalled) said Devereux once remarked, "If I had not the lot of you to

keep I should be belter oil" The coroner's ollicer (P.C. Baker) deposed to taking certain articles from the trunk in which the bodies were found, and handing them to Sir Thomas Stevenson, including a piece of sheeting, also a handkerchief which he found in the pocket of deceased woman, and pieces of clothing, one of which was marked either "P" or "D" "2." Sir Thomas Stevenson, the Home Office chemist, said there were no signs of natural disease in any of the bodies. He discovered sufficient quantities of morphia in the bodies to account for death in each case. He examined a teat and feeding-bottle and some pills and tablets, but found nothing in them of a harmful nature. He also examined some boards found in the trunk, and discovered some boric acid and arsenic. The Coroner : Prisoner has told us a statement which he made, that somewhere in February he went out and returned and found his -wife and children poisoned, and that he missed opium and chloroform which he kept in his writing-desk, and which was broken open. Now, would anyone who took opium be sick ? Yes. Would a person much under the influence of chloroform be able to administer it to others ?—No. The person would be incapacitated in twenty minutes or even less. lam of opinion that the woman must have had four grains of morphia in her body at the time of her death. A grain of morphia would be an enormous dose for a child. Would you be able to detect the presence of chloroform or prussic acid at the end of a month? -No, not chloroform, and I should not find prussic acid as prussic acid, but the product of its decomposition. Suppose a person and children were found dying from the effects of morphia, would it be possible to complete their deaths by placing a cloth containing chloroform over the mouth ?

— Yes. Witness added that it would be possible for a person to take morphia in beer or stout without at first noticing the taste, and it would be possible for a child to take it from a bottle containing milk without detecting anything. In fact, in the case of children, the acrid tasto would not communicate itself very readily. The Foreman : Assuming that four grains of morphia were taken by an adult, how long would it be before death occurred ?—Four or five hours would be a reasonable time. Professor A. J. Pepper, of Wimpole-street, who made the ■pod mortem, said he found no marks of violence on the children On the woman there was a cut on one finger and four recent bruises, one on the left knee, the right forearm, and others on the thighs. He examined all the organs of the body, and found that they were healthy. The Coroner : Were the appearances of the body consistent with death by morphia ? Yes. Prisoner pointed out to the coroner that his statement as to the finding of the bodies of his wife and children applied to the end of January and not February. The coroner in summing up said it was well to bear in mind that Mrs Devereux was homcepath, and was a most unlikely person to meddle with allopathic drugs. In fact they had it in evidence that deceased woman was very fond of the twins, and that she had never threatened suicide. Of course, they had to bear in mind that the clothes of her brother had been found on the sea shore, the inference being that he had committed suicide, but there was no proof that he was dead any more than that he was alive. The coroner referred to accused's statement to Inspector Pollard after his arrest, that he had gone out after a quarrel, and, on returning home, found his wife and children poisoned, and his box which had contained chloroform and morphia broken open. This, the coroner said, led people to ask what they would do under such circumstances. An innocent man would naturally cry out for. the police, and the neighbours would run for a doctor. Devereux was a man of criminal instincts, who did tricky and cunning things when ho had an opportunity. He got his situation by fraud. He gave cheques without anything to back them up. His life had, with few exceptions, been a fraudulent one, and so he might say, " Good Heavens ! I shall be accused of this." He was bound to say that a man of any feeling would not have lingered over the job of disposing of the bodies as prisoner had done. The whole proceedings were callous, hard-hearted and

cruel. He had gone to the extent of disposing of all that would keep fresh in his mind the memory of a woman who had stood by him in his time of trouble. Ho had . even disposed of her music certificates, which not only was a callous proceeding, but could have done him no earthly harm. They might, had he kept them, have done him good. His bearing altogether .was quito different from that of a person who, although having done no harm, had been tyrannised into concealing something. At no time had he betrayed any anxiety for his wife and children, but, instead, indifference was shown in every way. Even when coming to London under arrest from Coventry, he ate a hearty meal and drank a glass of stout. His statement to the police was studied and in legal phraseology, and it was significant to note that when making, it he objected to the police officer using a pencil after the ink in his fountain pen was exhausted. When the jury returned a verdict of wilful murder, Devereux turned very pale and trembled considerably. He soon recovered his composure, however, and commenced reading the notes of the evidence which he had taken during the hearing." The foreman added that the jury wished to commend the police officers engaged in the case for the exceptional ability they had displayed This recommendation was heartily endorsed by the coroner. Devereux was then committed for trial on the coroner's warrant.