declared she must have destroyed herself; but, from a particular circumstance, they were suspected, and found guilty of the murder; for on the left hand, was observed the bloody mark of a left hand, which of course could not be that of the deceased. How often has the left hand[1] of the murderer betrayed his deeds of blood!
Whether the cloaths of the deceased betray any odour of spirit, tobacco, sourness, or putridity?—In every case of mysterious death it is an important object to ascertain whether the deceased had been in a state of intoxication; of which the odour of the clothes may in some cases furnish a presumptive proof. It will be seen by consulting our chapter on "Death by exposure to Cold," that the life of an individual may, under certain circumstances of intoxication, be extinguished by a very slight degree of cold; see vol. ii, page 60.
Whether any articles have been broken or injured in the pockets?—The case of the Cornish murder related at page 27 affords an example of the value of this inquiry; but in appreciating the indications which it may furnish, we must view the circumstance in relation to the other features of the case, when it may acquire an importance which the fact did not individually assume; or it may lose by such a comparison the little value which it appeared to possess.
Whether there is reason to believe that the deceased had been robbed?—We are to derive from this question a probable argument in support of the fact of
- ↑ In the case of Patch, who was left-handed, it was clearly shown by the relative position of the deceased, and the door from which he was shot, that the murderer must have exposed his person to the view of the deceased, unless he fired with the left hand. The guilt of Patch was for some time doubted, but the discovery of the pistol in the neighbouring dock a few years ago, has supplied the only link which was wanting to make the evidence against him complete.
