Читать книгу WEST PORT MURDERS (True Crime Classic) - Various Authors - Страница 37

Q. You saw a woman’s body at the Police Office? A. Yes.

Q. Did you examine it? A. Yes.

Q. Were there any marks on the body? A. None.

Q. Were there any on the face? A. Yes, there was blood.

Q. What appearance had the face? A. It was much swollen.

Q. Any thing remarkable about the eyes? A. They were swollen and the face black.

Q. Did you think that she came by her death by violence? A. My private opinion was that she had, but I could not give a decided medical opinion on the subject.

Q. What was your opinion the moment you saw her? A. I formed the conclusion that she came by her death with violence.

By the Dean of Faculty.—Q. Have you any medical diploma? A. No; but I am a regularly bred surgeon, and have been surgeon to the police for twenty years.

Q. Did you go with the police to the house of Burke?

A. Yes.

Q. What did you see there? A. The thing I took particular notice of was, from fourteen to sixteen ounces of blood mixed with saliva, and having been told the woman had lain in that place, I was able to judge it came from the mouth and nose.

Q. Do you mean now to state you have formed a medical opinion in regard to the body? A. I am really afraid to hazard an opinion.

By the Court.—Q. Were the appearances you have seen on people brought into the police-office who have been suffocated from drink like this case? A. Yes.

Q. If you had seen this body lying in the place where you saw the saliva and blood, would you have hesitated in your opinion? A. I have seen several corpses that died by suffocation, and taking the entire circumstances into view, I think the appearances identical.

By the Dean of Faculty.—Q. Have you had any case of simple suffocation lately? A. No.

Q. Were the symptoms here the same, or nearly the same, as in cases of suffocation from drink? A. The eyes were nearly started from the sockets.

By the Lord Advocate.—Q. Have you seen such saliva and blood in cases of drink, unless some injury was done?

A. No.