Deptford Poisoning Cases

Between 1886 and 1889, five suspicious deaths occurred in Deptford, United Kingdom. Amelia Winters was suspected of murder after it was discovered that she had insured the lives of twenty-two people, which allowed her to receive payments for five deaths. As part of the inquiry, three bodies were exhumed, with post-mortem findings non-definitively pointing to poisoning. Most of the alleged victims were Winters' relatives by blood or affinity who had moved into or temporarily stayed in Winter's household.

Winters died before going to trial. Her daughter, Elizabeth Frost, was suspected of complicity and was indicted, but the murder charges were dropped. However, she was convicted of forgery for falsifying insurance documents and sentenced to seven years of penal servitude. ^{[1] [2]}

Events

The victims in the murder cases were Sidney Bolton, aged 11, the son of a niece living with Winters; William Sutton, the elderly father of another relative; and Elizabeth Frost, the mother-in-law of the daughter Elizabeth Frost. The doctor's certificate had given the cause of death as 'gastrodynia, diarrhoea and convulsions'.

When Joseph Winters, Amellia's husband, discovered the insurance policies, he went to the police. Investigators determined that Winters had insured the lives of 22 persons for a total of £240 with the Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society. Five of these individuals had died by 1886, and the society had paid out for them.^{[ verification needed ]} Winters also had 14 policies with the Prudential Assurance Company, which had also paid out for the same five deaths.

There had been no checks on her relationships with the insured people. On the Liverpool Victoria's insurance form for Sidney Bolton, she had just written 'X' against his mother's name.^{[ clarification needed ] [3]}

Other deaths

Investigators identified other possible poisoning victims of Winters. No criminal charges were brought for these deaths.

• Benjamin Winters, the brother of Joseph Winters. Winters had insured him for 18 guineas. In 1885, he left Greenwich Workhouse to stay at the Winters' house for a holiday. While there, Benjamin "was taken ill with diarrhaea, sickness, pains in the stomach, and similar symptoms to those described in the previous cases. Dr. McNaughten attended the man, who expired in a few days in a fit."
• William Winters, age five, Winters' grandson; she had insured him for £5. In the summer of 1886, William was brought from the hospital to stay with Winters. William died a few days later.
• Ann Bolton, an elderly woman insured by Winters for £3 10s. In November 1886, she died at Friendly Street, Deptford, after Winters had been nursing her. ^[4]

A witness in the case, George Francis Dear, who had lodged with Winters, later committed suicide by hanging after finding out that Winters had insured his life with a Liverpool society for 19 guineas. ^{[5] [6]}

Inquest

According to the autopsy evidence at the coroner's inquest, "In Sutton's case, the appearances were quite consistent with death from an irritant poison. In the case of Elizabeth Frost the state of preservation in which the intestines were found indicated the presence of some preservative such as arsenic", ^[a] as reported in The Colonist at the time.

Evidence of motive was presented showing that between July 1886 and February 1889 five people insured by Winters had died and she had claimed and received payment against the policies she held for Sutton and Bolton.

In July 1889, at the end of the inquest, the coroner's jury delivered a verdict that the deaths were caused by "wilful murder", implicating Winters and Frost, upon which the coroner committed them for trial at the Central Criminal Court, for their culpability to be determined. ^[8]

Winters' death

Winters died before she could be brought to trial. However, she made a deathbed confession of guilt to her husband and daughter. ^[9] No inquest was held for her death; the Doctor said it was the result of 'marasmus' – a general wasting away.' ^{[10] [11]}

Winters was buried in Brockley cemetery in Lewisham on 22 July 1889 in unconsecrated ground. The burial was kept secret with police present to deter demonstrations. ^{[12] [13]}

Frost's trial

Elizabeth Frost was indicted for murder, but the charges were dropped. She was tried at the Old Bailey in July 1889 on charges of forging a document for the payment of money, with intent to defraud, and was found guilty. ^{[14] [15]} Frost was sentenced to seven years' penal servitude. ^[16]

Effects on life insurers' practices

The coroner for Surrey, Athelstan Braxton Hicks, had written a letter to The Times on 14 February 1889 listing eleven proposals for combating the dangers of child life insurance. The Deptford Poisoning Case was influential in tightening up the 1875 Friendly Societies Act. ^[17]

Notes

1. During this period, arsenic's preservative properties led to its use in taxidermy and embalming. ^[7]

References

1. "The Deptford Poisoning Cases". Times [London, England]. 10 July 1889. p. The Times Digital Archive – via The Times Digital Archive.
2. "The Deptford Poisoning Case". Greenwich & Deptford Observer. 7 June 1889. p. 5.
3. Rose, Lionel (2015). Massacre of the Innocents: Infanticide in Great Britain 1800–1939. Routledge. ISBN   9781317370635.
4. "Deptford Poisoning Cases Further Revelations". South Wales Echo. 26 July 1889. p. 3. hdl:10107/4411522.
5. "Yesterday's Inquests". Reynolds's Newspaper. 21 July 1889. p. 8.
6. "The Deptford Poisoning Case". South Wales Echo. 19 July 1889. p. 3 – via Welsh Newspapers Online - The National Library of Wales.
7. • Marte, Fernando; Pequignot, Amandine (2006). "Arsenic in Taxidermy Collections: History, Detection, and Management". Collection Forum. 21 (1–2): 143–150. hdl:10088/8134.
   • Quigley, Christine (2006) [First published 1998]. Modern Mummies: The Preservation of the Human Body in the Twentieth Century. McFarland. p. 6. ISBN   978-1-4766-1373-4.
8. "Female Poisoners at Deptford". The Colonist. Vol. XXXII, no. 5588. 2 September 1889. p. 4 – via National Library of New Zealand. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
9. "Deptford Poisoning Cases: Confession of the late Mrs Winters". Illustrated Police News. 27 July 1889. p. 2.
10. "The Late Mrs Winters". St James's Gazette. 19 July 1889. p. 8.
11. "The Deptford Poisoning Cases". Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper. 21 July 1889. p. 5.
12. "Deptford Poisoning Case: Burial of Mrs Winters". Croydon Guardian and Surrey County Gazette. 27 July 1889. p. 7.
13. "Deptford Poisoning Case. Burial of Mrs Winters". The Pontypridd Chronicle and Workman's News. 26 July 1889 – via Welsh Newspapers Online - The National Library of Wales.
14. "651. Elizabeth Jane Frost". The Proceedings of the Old Bailey. July 1889.^{[ dead link ‍]}
15. "The Deptford Poisoning". London Evening News and Post. 2 August 1889. p. 4.
16. "Spirit of the News". Lloyd's List. 26 October 1889. p. 11.
17. "Child Life Insurance". Times [London, England]. 19 July 1890. p. 10 – via The Times Digital Archive.