Bridget Murray, confirmed the statement of Mary Duffy, relative to the angry conversation which had taken place between her and the prisoner when the child was first missed.
Mr. Smith, the apothecary, who examined the child between nine and ten o'clock, deposed that the child, to the best of his judgment, must have been dead at least an hour and a half when he saw it; the body at that time was not quite cold, with the exception of the arm, which had been exposed without covering.
On being further questioned by the Court, he stated, that he could not give a positive opinion as to the length of time which might have elapsed; it might have been only half an hour, the retention of warmth depending, in a great degree, on the temperature of the atmosphere; nor could he say that a child put to a violent death would become cold sooner than one that died by the ordinary course of disease.
Mr. Leeson, a surgeon, living in Chiswell-street, stated, that he also saw the body about ten o'clock; the extremities were cold, but the body itself was warm; the warmth was as high as 83 degrees. He should have supposed that the child was dead about an hour, but it was possible he might be mistaken a full hour in his calculation. He found discolouration on the neck, which seemed to indicate violence, and the jaws were very firmly clinched. The father of the deceased was present at the time. On the same night, at nearly one o'clock, he saw the body again, and there was no perceptible alteration in the appearances. On neither occasion did he strip the child.
Mr. Justice J. Parke observed, that he ought to have done so, and thoroughly examined the whole person.
On Tuesday morning the body was stripped, and underwent further examination, internally as well as superficially; other surgeons were present: the vessels of the brain were turgid from excess of blood; but the action of the stomach appeared to have been healthy up to the time of death. There were certain marks apparently caused by the pressure of fingers upon the neck, and he came to the conclusion that the child died by violence,—in his opinion by means of suffocation.
Mr. Rance, a surgeon, residing in the City-road, stated, that he had made a post mortem examination of the body of the deceased on the 6th of December, in the presence of Mr. Brooks. Decomposition was then rapidly taking place, owing to the warm state of the weather: nearly the whole surface of the body was discoloured. There was a slight mark of pressure on the left arm, but on account of the discolouration, witness could not undertake to say whether there were any other marks of violence on the body. The tongue protruded about three-eighths of an inch between the teeth, which were firmly closed upon and had indented the tongue. The muscles were rigid and firm, with the exception of those of the neck, which were in a flaccid state. The stomach was in a perfectly healthy condition. Digestion was going on at the time of death. On examining the thorax, he found the lungs collapsed to a degree that proved that the last act of respiration was that of expiration. The heart was healthy, but nearly void of blood. On opening the right auricle of the heart, a small quantity of blood issued from it. A portion of blood also flowed from the pulmonary veins leading to the left auricle of the heart. The vessels of the neck contained a little serous fluid, and a quantity of fluid blood escaped on dividing the jugular veins. The head exhibited no external marks of violence, but on removing the scalp and bone, the blood-vessels of the brain were found to be distended. These appearances must have been caused by pressure on the neck, preventing the blood from flowing back to the heart. On removing the bandage with which the jaws had been tied up after death, a quantity of serous fluid escaped from the nostrils. There was no appearance of fracture or dislocation of the neck, or laceration of the tendons. The death of the deceased was, in all probability, caused by external pressure, which produced suffocation.
Mr. Brooks gave a similar account of the appearance of the body; adding, that, in his opinion, considerable violence had been used towards the child; and that no reasonable person could entertain a doubt that the cause of death was suffocation.
The last witness examined for the prosecution was Martin Lee, who swore that the prisoner was not at his house on the 3d of December, as she alleged to the officer she had been.
This closed the case on the part of the prosecution.