The College of Physicians being assembled at the desire of his Majesty’s Advocat, to consider a report made by some Chirurgeons, concerning the body of the late Sir James Standsfield, and to give their opinion, whether by the said report, there is any just ground to believe that the said Sir James Standsfield was strangled or drowned? And they have accordingly considered the said report. They are of opinion, supposing the verity of the said report or declaration that there is sufficient ground to believe, that the said Sir James Standsfield was strangled, and not drowned. In testimony whereof these presents are subscribed by

Sir Andrew Balfour, President of the said College.

A. Balfour PCRM

(From Howell’s State Trials).

Extract from Medical Evidence in the Case of Spencer Cowper, Esq. for the murder of Sarah Stout.
(13 Howell’s State Trials)

Page 1126. Mr. Coatsworth a Surgeon sworn

My Lord in April last I was sent for by Dr. Philips to come to Hertford to see the body of Mrs. Stout opened, who had been six weeks buried; and he told me that there was a suspicion she was murdered, and that her relations were willing to have her taken up and opened. I came down I think on the 27th of April, and lay at Mrs. Stout’s house that night; and by her discourse I understood she wanted to be satisfied, whether her daughter was with child? I told her, it was my opinion we should find the parts contained in the abdomen so rotten, that it would be impossible to discover the uterus from the other parts; however, if she would have her opened, I could not discover whether she was with child, unless the infant was become bony. Her face and neck, to her shoulders, appeared black, and so much corrupted that we were unwilling to proceed any further: but, however, her mother would have it done, and so we did open her; and as soon as she was opened, we perceived the stomach and guts were as full of wind as if they had been blown with a pair of bellows; we put her guts aside, and came to the uterus, and Dr. Philips shewed it us in his hand, and afterwards cut it out and laid it on the table, and opened it, and we saw into the cavity of it, and if there had been any thing there as minute as a hair, we might have seen it, but it was perfectly free and empty; after that we put the intestines into their places; and we bid him open the stomach, and it was opened with an incision knife, and it sunk flat, and let out wind, but no water; afterwards we opened the breast and lobes of the lungs, and there was no water; then we looked on each side and took up the lobes of the lungs too, to see if there was no water in the diaphragm, and there was none, but all dry. Then I remember I said, this woman could not be drowned, for if she had taken in water, the water must have rotted all the guts: that was the construction I made of it then; but for any marks about her head and neck, it was impossible for us to discover it, because they were so rotten.

Edward Clement (a seaman) sworn. In the year 89 or 90, in Beachy fight, I saw several thrown over-board during the engagement, but one particularly I took notice of, that was my friend, and killed by my side; I saw him swim for a considerable distance from the ship; and a ship coming under our stern, caused me to lose sight of him, but I saw several dead bodies floating at the same time; likewise in another engagement, where a man had both his legs shot off, and died instantly, they threw over his legs; though they sunk I saw his body float: likewise I have seen several men who have died natural deaths at sea, they have when they have been dead, had a considerable weight of ballast and shot made fast to them, and so were thrown overboard; because we hold it for a general rule, that all men swim if they be dead before they come into the water; and on the contrary, I have seen men when they have been drowned, that they have sunk as soon as their breath was out of their bodies, and I could see no more of them. For instance, a man fell out of the Cornwall, and sunk down to rights, and seven days afterwards we weighed anchor, and he was brought up grasping his arm about the cable: and we have observed in several cases, that where men fall overboard, as soon as their breath is out of their bodies they sink downright; and on the contrary, where a dead body is thrown over-board without weight, it will swim. * * * Men (that are killed) float with their heads just down, and the small of their backs and buttocks upwards, * * * why should government be at that vast charge to allow threescore or fourscore weight of iron to sink any man, but only that their swimming about should not be a discouragement to others.

Robert Dew sworn—* * * (Question by the Prisoner) After she was taken out, did you observe any froth or foam come from her mouth or nose? Dew—There was a white froth came from her, and as they wiped it away, it was on again presently.

—— Young—(another witness to a similar question)—* * And when they had taken her up (out of the water) they laid her down upon a green place, and after she was laid down a great quantity of froth, like the froth of new beer, worked out of her nostrils. * * * It rose up in bladders, and ran down on the sides of her face, and so rose again.