<h2>CHAPTER XXII</h2>
<p class="center"><small>THE HORSFORD CASE</small></p>
<p><span class="smcap">Towards</span> the close of the year
1897, a Mrs. Holmes, a widow,
was living with her three children
at Stoneley, near Kimbolton.
She had a cousin named Walter
Horsford, a well-to-do young
farmer who occupied a farm at
Spaldwick about twelve miles
away, and who frequently came
to Stoneley to visit her.</p>
<p>A romantic attachment eventually
sprang up between them,
which resulted in a too intimate
acquaintance.</p>
<p>After a while Horsford's affection
began to wane, and in
the end he married another lady.</p>
<p>Shortly afterwards Mrs.
Holmes left Stoneley and took
up her residence at St. Neots.</p>
<p>About December of the same
year she wrote a letter to Horsford,
informing him of her condition,
a piece of news which
appears to have greatly upset
him, as he was in fear the information
might reach his wife.</p>
<p>On December 28 he called at
a chemist's shop in Thrapstone,
a neighbouring town, and asked
for a shilling's worth of strychnine,
some prussic acid, arsenic,
and carbolic acid, which he
stated he required for poisoning
rats. The chemist, to whom he
was a stranger, requested him
to bring a witness, which he did,
and the chemist's poison register
was duly signed by Horsford and
a man who introduced him. He
took the poisons, which consisted
of ninety grains of strychnine,
one pound of arsenic, and
some prussic acid and carbolic
acid, away with him.</p>
<p>About a week afterwards Mrs.
Holmes received a letter from
Horsford. It was taken in by
her daughter, who recognised
his handwriting, and the envelope
is also supposed to have
contained two packets of strychnine.</p>
<p>On the evening of January 7,
1898, Mrs. Holmes retired to
bed, apparently in her usual
health, about half-past nine.
The only other persons in the
house were her daughter Annie,
her son Percy, and her infant.
The daughter noticed that her
mother took a glass of water upstairs
with her, which was an
unusual circumstance. On going
to her mother's bedroom
shortly afterwards, she found
her suffering great pain, and she<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_115" id="Page_115">115</SPAN></span>
saw the glass, now almost empty,
standing on a chest of drawers.</p>
<p>Percy Holmes ran out and
called in the assistance of some
neighbours, and then went for a
doctor. When medical aid arrived,
the unfortunate woman
was in convulsions and died
shortly afterwards.</p>
<p>The day after her death the
police searched the house, but
failed to find any trace of poison,
and an inquest was held on
January 8, which Horsford was
summoned to attend.</p>
<p>In his evidence before the
coroner, he swore that he had
neither written to nor seen the
deceased woman. The medical
evidence proved that death was
caused by strychnine.</p>
<p>The inquest was adjourned
for a week, and in the meanwhile
Mrs. Holmes was buried. From
information received by the
police, a further search was made
in the house, with the result
that two packets were discovered
under the feather bed in Mrs.
Holmes' bedroom. One packet
of buff-coloured paper was found
to contain about thirty-three
grains of strychnine in powder,
on which was written the words,
"One dose. Take as told," in
Horsford's handwriting. On the
second packet, the contents
of which had been used, was
written, "Take in a little water.
It is quite harmless." This was
also in Horsford's handwriting.</p>
<p>On January 10, Walter Horsford
was arrested on the charge
of perjury committed at the inquest,
and it was resolved to
have another examination made
of the body of the deceased woman.
On examination of further
documents and letters discovered
by the police, the charge
of wilful murder was added to
corrupt perjury against Horsford,
and he was committed for
trial.</p>
<p>The trial took place on June
2, 1898, at Huntingdon, before
Mr. Justice Hawkins.</p>
<p>Dr. Stevenson stated in his
evidence, he first made an analysis
of a portion of the body of
Mrs. Holmes on January 19, and
extracted 1·31 grain of strychnine,
but no other poison.
Subsequently he examined the
two packets discovered under
the bed, and found one contained
33¾ grains of powdered
strychnine, and the other, which
presented the appearance of
having had the powder shaken
out, a few minute crystals of
strychnine. In each case it was
the pure alkaloid. The body
was exhumed nineteen days
after death, and he then made an
analysis of all the chief organs,
and obtained therefrom a total<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_116" id="Page_116">116</SPAN></span>
quantity of 3·69 grains of strychnine.
Death usually occurred
about half an hour after the commencement
of the symptoms.
He judged there could not have
been less than ten grains of
strychnine in the body at the
time of death.</p>
<p>The jury found Walter Horsford
guilty, and he was sentenced
to death.</p>
<hr class="ruler" />
<hr class="chap" />
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_117" id="Page_117">117</SPAN></span></p>
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