Part 3

On this point, however, Palmer offered no explanation. He was himself a defaulter, and could not show at Tattersall’s. He produced a piece of paper which he said contained a list of the sums which Cook was entitled to receive, and he mentioned the names of the different persons who were indebted to Cook, and the amounts for which they were respectively liable. Herring held out his hand to take the paper, but Palmer said, “No, I will keep this document; here is another piece of paper, write down what I read to you, and what I have here I will retain, as it will be a check against you.” He then dictated the names of the various persons, with the sums for which they were liable. Herring observed that it amounted to £1,020. “Very well,” said Palmer, “pay yourself £6, Shelly, £30, and if you see Bull, tell him Cook will pay him on Thursday or Friday. And now,” he added, “how much do you make the balance?” Herring replied that he made it £984. Palmer replied that the tot was right, and then went on to say, “I will give you £16, which will make it £1,000. Pay yourself the £200 that I owe you for my bill; pay Padwick £350, and Pratt £450.” So we have it here established, beyond all controversy, that Palmer did not hesitate to apply Cook’s money to the payment of his own debts. With regard to the debt due to Mr. Padwick, I am assured that it represents moneys won by that gentleman, partly from Cook, and partly from Palmer, but that Mr. Padwick held Palmer to be the responsible party, and looked to him for payment. The debt to Pratt was Palmer’s own affair. Such is the state of things as regards the disposition of the money. Palmer desired Herring to send cheques to Pratt and Padwick at once, and without waiting to draw the money from Tattersall’s. To this Herring objected, observing that it would be most injudicious to send the cheques before he was sure of getting the money. “Ah, well,” said Palmer, “never mind--it is all right; but come what will, Pratt must be paid, for his claim is on account of a bill of sale for a mare.” Finding it impossible to overcome Herring’s objection to send the cheques until he had got the money at Tattersall’s, Palmer then proceeded to settle some small betting transactions between himself and that gentleman amounting to £5, or thereabouts. He pulled out a £50 note, and Herring, not having full change, gave him a cheque for £20. They then parted, Palmer directing him to send down word of his proceedings either to him (Palmer) or to Cook. With this injunction Herring complied, and I shall prove in the course of the trial that the letters he wrote to Cook were intercepted by the postmaster at Rugeley. Not having received as much as he expected at Tattersall’s, Herring was unable to pay Padwick the £350; but it is not disputed that he paid £450 to Pratt.

On the same day, Palmer went himself to the latter gentleman, and paid him other moneys, consisting of £30 in notes, and the cheque for £20 which he had received from Herring, and a memorandum was drawn, and to which I shall hereafter have occasion to call attention. So much for Palmer’s proceedings in London. On the evening of that same day (Monday) he returned home. Arriving at Rugeley about nine o’clock at night, he at once proceeded to visit Cook, at the Talbot Arms; and from that time till ten or eleven o’clock he was continually in and out of Cook’s room. In the course of the evening he went to a man named Newton, assistant to a surgeon named Salt, and applied for three grains of strychnine, which Newton, knowing Palmer to be a medical practitioner, did not hesitate to give him. Dr. Bamford had sent on this day the same kind of pills that he had sent on Saturday and Sunday. I believe it was the doctor’s habit to take the pills himself to the Talbot Arms, and intrust them to the care of the housekeeper, who carried them upstairs; but it was Palmer’s practice to come in afterwards, and evening after evening, to administer medicine to the patient. There is no doubt that Cook took pills on Monday night. Whether he took the pills prepared for him by Dr. Bamford, and similar to those which he had taken on Saturday and Sunday, or whether Palmer substituted for Dr. Bamford’s pills some of his own concoction, consisting in some measure of strychnine, I must leave for the jury to determine. Certain it is, that when he left Cook at eleven o’clock at night, the latter was still comparatively well and comfortable, and cheerful as in the morning. But he was not long to continue so. About twelve o’clock the female servants in the lower part of the house were alarmed by violent screams, proceeding from Cook’s room. They rushed up, and found him in great agony, shrieking dreadfully, shouting “Murder!” and calling on Christ to save his soul. He was in intense pain. The eyes were starting out of his head. He was flinging his arms wildly about him, and his whole body was convulsed. He was perfectly conscious, however, and desired that Palmer should be sent for without delay. One of the women ran to fetch him, and he attended in a few minutes. He found Cook still screaming, gasping for breath, and hardly able to speak. He ran back again to procure some medicine; and on his return Cook exclaimed, “Oh dear, doctor, I shall die!” “No, my lad, you shall not,” replied Palmer; and he then gave him some more medicine. The sick man vomited almost immediately, but there was no appearance of the pills in the utensil.

Shortly afterwards he became more calm, and called on the women to rub his limbs. They did so, and found them cold and rigid. Presently the symptoms became still more tranquil, and he grew better; but the medical men will depose that the tetanus that afflicted him was that occasioned by strychnine. His frame, exhausted by the terrible agony it had endured, now fell gradually into repose; nature asserted her claim to rest, and he began to dose. So matters remained till the morrow, Tuesday the 20th, the day of his death. On the morning of that day, Cook was found comparatively comfortable, though still retaining a vivid impression of the horrors he had suffered the night before. He was quite collected, and conversed rationally with the chambermaid. Palmer meeting Dr. Bamford that same day, told him that he did not want to have Cook disturbed, for that he was now at his ease, though he had had a fit the night before. This same morning, between the hours of eleven and twelve o’clock, there occurred a very remarkable incident. About that time Palmer went to the shop of a certain Mr. Hawkings, a druggist, at Rugeley. He had not dealt with him for two years before, it being his practice during that period to purchase such drugs as he required from Mr. Thirlby, a former assistant of Mr. Hawkings, who had set up in business for himself. But on this day Palmer went to Mr. Hawkings’s shop, and, producing a bottle, informed the assistant that he wanted two drachms of prussic acid. While it was being prepared for him, Mr. Newton, the same man from whom he had on a former occasion obtained strychnine, came into the shop, whereupon Palmer seized him by the arm, and observing that he had something particular to say to him, hurried him into the street, where he kept talking to him on a matter of the smallest possible importance, relating to the precise period at which his employer’s son meant to repair to a farm he had taken in the country. They continued to converse on this trivial topic until a gentleman named Brassington (or Grassington) came up, whereupon Mr. Newton turned aside to say a few words to him. Palmer, relieved by this accident, went back into the shop, and asked, in addition, for six grains of strychnine and a certain quantity of Batley’s liquor of opium. He obtained them, paid for them, and went away. Presently Mr. Newton returned, and being struck with the fact of Palmer’s dealing with Hawkings, asked out of passing curiosity what he had come for, and was informed.

And here I must mention a fact of some importance respecting Mr. Newton. When examined before the coroner, that gentleman only deposed to one purchase of strychnine by Palmer at Mr. Salt’s surgery, and it was only as recently as yesterday that with many expressions of contrition for not having been more explicit, he communicated to the Crown the fact that Palmer had also bought strychnine on Monday night. It is for you, gentlemen, to decide the amount of credit to be attached to this evidence; but you will bear in mind that whatever you may think of Mr. Newton’s testimony, that of Mr. Roberts, on whom there is no taint or shadow of suspicion, is decisive with respect to the purchases which the prisoner made on Tuesday at the shop of Mr. Hawkings. I now resume the story of Tuesday’s proceedings with the observation that Cook was entitled to receive the stakes he had won at Shrewsbury. On that day Palmer sent for Mr. Cheshire, the postmaster of Rugeley. He owed Cheshire £7 odd, and the latter, supposing that he was about to be paid, came with a stamped receipt in his hand. Palmer produced a paper, and remarking “that Cook was too ill to write himself,” told Cheshire to draw a cheque on Weatherby’s in his (Palmer’s) favour for £350. Cheshire thereupon filled up a piece of paper purporting to be the body of a cheque, addressed in the manner indicated to the Messrs. Weatherby, and concluding with the words, “and place the same to my account.” Palmer then took the document away, for the purpose, as he averred, of getting Cook’s signature to it. What became of it I do not undertake to assert; but of this there is no question, that by that night’s post Palmer sent up to Weatherby’s a cheque which was returned dishonoured. Whether it was genuine, or like so many other papers with which Palmer had to do, forged, is a question which you will have to determine. And now, returning to Cook, it may be observed that in the course of that morning coffee and broth were sent him by Palmer, and, as usual, vomiting ensued and continued through the whole of the afternoon.

And now a new person makes his appearance on the stage. You must know that on Sunday, Palmer wrote to Mr. W. H. Jones, a surgeon, of Lutterworth, desiring him to come over to see Cook. Cook was a personal friend of Mr. Jones, and had occasionally been in the habit of residing at his house. It is deserving of remark that Palmer, in his letter to Jones, describes Cook as “suffering from a severe bilious attack accompanied with diarrhœa,” adding, “it is desirable for you to come and see him as soon as possible.” Whether this communication is to be interpreted in a sense favourable to the prisoner, or whether it is to be taken as indicating a deep design to give colour to the idea that Cook died a natural death, it is at least certain that the statement that Cook had been “suffering from a bilious attack attended with diarrhœa,” was utterly untrue. Mr. Jones being himself unwell, did not come to Rugeley till Tuesday. He arrived at about three o’clock on that day, and immediately proceeded to see his sick friend. Palmer came in at the same moment, and they both examined the patient. Mr. Jones paid particular attention to the state of his tongue; remarked, “That is not the tongue of bilious fever.”

About seven o’clock that same evening Dr. Bamford called, and found the patient pretty well. Subsequently the three medical men (Palmer, Bamford, and Jones) held a consultation, but before leaving the bedroom for that purpose, Cook beckoned to Palmer, and said, “Mind, I will have no more pills or medicine to-night.” They then withdrew and consulted. Palmer insisted on his taking pills, but added, “Let us not tell him what they contain, as he fears the same results that have already given him such pain.” It was agreed that Dr. Bamford should make up the pills, which were to be composed of the same ingredients as those that had been administered on the three preceding evenings. The doctor repaired to his surgery, and made them up accordingly. He was followed by Palmer, who asked him to write the directions how they were to be taken. Dr. Bamford, though unable to understand the necessity of his doing so, under the circumstances, complied with Palmer’s request, and wrote on the box that the pills were to be taken at “bed-time.” Palmer then took them away, and gave either those pills or some others to Cook that night. It is remarkable, however, that half or three-quarters of an hour elapsed from the time he left Dr. Bamford’s surgery until he brought the pills to Cook. When, at length, he came, he produced two pills, but before giving them to Cook he took especial care to call Mr. Jones’s attention to the directions on the lid, observing that the writing was singularly distinct and vigorous for a man upwards of eighty. If the prisoner be guilty, it is a natural presumption that he made this observation with the view of identifying the pill-box as having come from Dr. Bamford, and so averting suspicion from himself. This was about half-past ten at night. The pills were then offered to Cook, who strongly objected to take them, remarking that they had made him ill the night before. Palmer insisted, and the sick man at last consented to take them. He vomited immediately after, but did not bring up the pills. Jones then went down and took his supper, and he will tell you that up to the period when the pills were administered, Cook had been easy and cheerful, and presented no symptom of the approach of disease, much less of death. It was arranged that Jones should sleep in the same room with Cook, and he did so; but he had not been more than fifteen or twenty minutes in bed when he was aroused by a sudden exclamation, and a frightful scream from Cook, who, starting up, said, “Send for the doctor immediately; I am going to be ill, as I was last night.” The chambermaid ran across the road, and rang the bell of Palmer’s house, and in a moment Palmer was at the window. He was told that Cook was again ill. In two minutes he was by the bedside of the sick man, and, strangely, volunteered the observation, “I never dressed so quickly in my life.” It is for you, gentlemen, to say whether you think he had time to dress at all. Cook was found in the same condition, and with the same symptoms as the night before, gasping for breath, screaming violently, his body convulsed with cramps and spasms, and his neck rigid. Jones raised him and rubbed his neck. When Palmer entered the room, Cook asked him for the same remedy that had relieved him the night before. “I will run back and fetch it,” said Palmer, and he darted out of the room. In the passage he met two female servants, who remarked that Cook was as “bad” as he had been last night. “He is not within fifty times as bad as he was last night; and what a game is this to be at every night!” was Palmer’s reply. In a few minutes he returned with two pills, which he told Jones were ammonia, though I am assured that it is a drug that requires much time in the preparation, and can with difficulty be made into pills. The sick man swallowed these pills, but brought them up again immediately.

And now ensued a terrible scene. He was instantly seized with violent convulsions; by degrees his body began to stiffen out; then suffocation commenced. Agonised with pain, he repeatedly entreated to be raised. They tried to raise him, but it was not possible. The body had become rigid as iron, and it could not be done. He then said, “Pray, turn me over.” They did turn him over on the right side. He gasped for breath, but could utter no more. In a few moments all was tranquil--the tide of life was ebbing fast. Jones leant over him to listen to the action of the heart. Gradually the pulse ceased--all was over--he was dead. (Sensation.) I will show you that his was a death referable in its symptoms to the tetanus produced by strychnine, and not to any other possible form of tetanus. Scarcely was the breath out of his body when Palmer begins to think of what is to be done. He engages two women to lay out the corpse, and these women, on entering the room, find him searching the pockets of a coat which, no doubt, belonged to Cook, and hunting under the pillows and bolsters. They saw some letters in the mantel-shelf, which, in all probability, had been taken out of the dead man’s pocket; and, what is very remarkable is, that from that day to this, nothing has been seen or heard either of the betting-book or of any of the papers connected with Cook’s money affairs. On a subsequent day (Thursday) he returned, and, on the pretence of looking for some books, and a paper knife, rummaged again through the documents of the deceased. On the 25th of November he sent for Cheshire, and, producing a paper purporting to bear the signature of Cook, asked him to attest it. Cheshire glanced over it. It was a document in which Cook acknowledged that certain bills, to the amount of £4,000 or thereabouts, were bills that had been negotiated for his (Cook’s) benefit, and in respect of which Palmer had received no consideration. Such was the paper to which, forty-eight hours after the death of the man whose name it bore, Palmer did not hesitate to ask Cheshire to be an attesting witness. Cheshire, though unfortunately for himself, too much the slave of Palmer, peremptorily refused to comply with this request; whereupon Palmer carelessly observed, “It is of no consequence; I dare say the signature will not be disputed, but it occurred to me that it would look more regular if it were attested.”

On Friday Mr. Stevens, Cook’s father-in-law, came down to Rugeley, and, after viewing the body of his relative, to whom he had been tenderly attached, asked Palmer about his affairs. Palmer assured him that he held a paper drawn up by a lawyer, and signed by Cook, stating that, in respect of £4,000 worth of bills, he (Cook) was alone liable, and that Palmer had a claim to that amount against his estate. Mr. Stevens expressed his amazement, and replied that there would not be 4,000 shillings for the holders of the bills. Subsequently Palmer displayed an eager officiousness in the matter of the funeral, taking upon himself to order a shell and an oak coffin without any directions to that effect from the relatives of the deceased, who were anxious to have the arrangements in their own hands. Mr. Stevens ordered dinner at the hotel for Bamford, Jones, and himself, and, finding Palmer still hanging about him, thought it but civil to extend the invitation to him. Accordingly they all sat down together. After dinner, Mr. Stevens asked Jones to step upstairs and bring down all books and papers belonging to Cook. Jones left the room to do so, and Palmer followed him. They were absent about ten minutes, and on their return Jones observed that they were unable to find the betting-book or any of the papers belonging to the deceased. Palmer added, “The betting-book would be of no use to you if you found it, for the bets are void by his death.” Mr. Stevens replied, “The book must be found;” and then Palmer, changing his tone, said, “Oh, I dare say it will turn up.” Mr. Stevens then rang the bell, and told the housekeeper to take charge of whatever books and papers had belonged to Cook, and to be sure not to allow any one to meddle with them until he came back from London, which he would soon do, with his solicitor. He then departed, but, returning to Rugeley after a brief interval, declared his intention to have a _post mortem_ examination. Palmer volunteered to nominate the surgeons who should conduct it, but Mr. Stevens refused to employ any one whom he should recommend. On Sunday, the 26th, Palmer called on Dr. Bamford, and asked him for a certificate attesting the cause of Cook’s death. The doctor expressed his surprise, and observed, “Why, he was your patient?” But Palmer importuned him, and Bamford taking the pen filled up the certificate, and entered the cause of death as “apoplexy.” Dr. Bamford is upwards of 80, and I hope that it is to some infirmity connected with his great age that this most unjustifiable act is to be attributed. However, he shall be produced in court, and he will tell you that apoplexy has never been known to produce tetanus. In the course of the day Palmer sent for Newton, and after they had had some brandy-and-water, asked him how much strychnine he would use to kill a dog. Newton replied, “from half-a-grain to a grain.” “And how much,” inquired Palmer, “would be found in the tissues and intestines after death?” “None at all,” was Newton’s reply; but that is a point on which I will produce important evidence.

The _post mortem_ examination took place the next day, and on that occasion Palmer assured the medical men, of whom there were many present, that Cook had had epileptic fits on Monday and Tuesday, and that they would find old disease in the heart and head. He added that the poor fellow was “full of disease,” and had “all kinds of complaints.” These statements were completely disproved by the _post mortem_ examinations. At the first of them, conducted by Dr. Devonshire, the liver, lungs, and kidneys were all found healthy. It was said that there were some slight indications of congestion of the kidneys, whether due to decomposition or to what other cause was not certain; but it was admitted on all hands that they did not impair the general health of the system, or at all account for death. The stomach and intestines were examined, and they exhibited a few white spots at the large end of the stomach, but these marks were wholly insufficient to explain the cause of dissolution. Dr. Bamford contended that there was some slight congestion of the brain, but all the other medical men concurred in thinking that there was none at all. In the ensuing month of January the body was exhumed with a view to more accurate examination, and the body was then found to be in a perfectly normal and healthy condition. Palmer seemed rejoiced at the discovery, and, turning to Dr. Bamford, exclaimed, “Doctor, they won’t hang us yet!” The stomach and intestines were taken out and placed in a jar, and it was observed that Palmer pushed against the medical man who was engaged in the operation, and the jar was in danger of being upset. It escaped, however, and was covered with skins, tied down, and sealed. Presently one of the medical men turned round, and finding that the jar had disappeared, asked what had become of it. It was found at a distance, near a different door from that through which people usually passed in and out, and Palmer exclaimed, “It’s all right. It was I who removed it. I thought it would be more convenient for you to have it here, that you might lay your hands readily on it as you went out.” When the jar was recovered it was found that two slits had been cut in the skins with a knife. The slits, however, were clean, so that, whatever his object may have been in making the incisions, it is certain that nothing was taken out of the jar. He goes to Dr. Bamford, and remonstrates against the removal of the jars. He says, “I do not think we ought to allow them to be taken away.” Now, if he had been an ignorant person, not familiar with the course likely to be pursued by medical men under such circumstances, there might be some excuse for this; but it is for you to ask yourselves whether Palmer, himself a medical man, knowing that the contents of the jars were to be submitted to an analysis, might not have relied with confidence on the honour and integrity of the profession to which he belonged. You must say whether his anxiety to prevent the removal of the jars was not a sign of a guilty conscience. Dr. Bamford was a most respectable physician, and his character and position were well known to Palmer.