Page:Introductory lecture on medical jurisprudence - delivered in the theatre of the Royal Dublin Society, on Saturday, the 16th November, 1839 (IA b21916512).pdf/14

12 and convicted; and before their execution confessed they had committed the murder in the manner described by Dr. Delmas.

A still more extraordinary investigation was conducted by Orfila, Marc, Chevallier, and other distinguished medical jurists, in Paris, a few years since. So far back as 1821, a widow lady of the name of Houat, residing in Paris, had suddenly disappeared. Two men and the wife of one of them were arrested on suspicion of having made away with her; but for want of evidence at the time, they were liberated. Eleven years after, a report reached the police of a body having been buried in a certain garden about that time. The body was found, and after a most skilful and able examination of its remains by the medical men, the following facts were satisfactorily established:

1st. That the skeleton was that of a female, sixty or seventy years of age, and nearly five feet in height.

2nd. That the hair, which was bright blond in youth, was mixed with gray at her death.

3rd. That the hands were small.

4th. That she died of strangulation, and that the act was to all appearance homicidal.

5th. That the body must have lain in the earth for several years.

The prisoners, who had been long suspected, were brought to trial twelve years after the murder, and convicted.

These are striking examples of the important aid the administration of justice may derive from medical skill and knowledge. They almost lead one to hope that science may one day realize the blind belief of the vulgar, and render it impossible murder can be hid. Less remarkable, but not less useful instances of the value of medical evidence are of every-day occurrence, and of late years are not unusual even in those countries. The case of Bowerman, which was first reported in Paris and Fonblanque's work on "Medical Jurisprudence," and which you will find referred to by Mr. Phillips, and other writers on evidence, is a good illustration.