The Poisoning Mystery

A murder that made criminal history, as it has not yet been possible to determine how a lethal amount of chloroform ended up in the stomach of the murder victim, is the murder of Thomas Edwin Bartlett, better known as the Pimlico Mystery or the Pimlico Poisoning Mystery. This criminal case is not only one of the most famous, but also one of the most exciting of the Victorian era. But first things first. On January 1, 1886, Adelaide Bartlett excitedly woke her maid, who followed her to the bedroom, where her husband lay dead in his bed. On the bedside table stood a three-quarters full wine glass filled with brandy and a substance that smelled of ether. Next to it was a small bottle of “Condy’s Fluid” and a bottle of “Chlorodyne,” a solution containing morphine and chlorine. The doctor who was called, Dr. Leach, asked Adelaide if her husband might have poisoned himself, which she ruled out. Thomas’s autopsy took place just one day later and revealed that he had not died of natural causes. The cause of death was a large amount of liquid chloroform found in his stomach. But how had it got there? There was no damage to his throat or windpipe. The fact was that liquid chloroform cannot enter the stomach without burning the sides of the throat and larynx. But Thomas’s body showed no such injuries. His wife Adelaide and her close friend Reverend George Dyson quickly came under suspicion of murder. This was because Dyson had obtained a prescription for chloroform at Adelaide’s request, which is why both were arrested on suspicion of murder. The criminal trial for the murder of Thomas Edwin Bartlett began on April 12, 1886, at the Old Bailey, the central court in London. When the two charges were read out at the trial, the prosecution requested that the charges against Reverend George Dyson be dropped, and he was officially acquitted. This was a clever move by the prosecution, as he could now be called as a witness. Now the jury only had to decide on Adelaide Bartlett. Had she killed her husband? Adelaide was born in Orléans in 1856, the illegitimate daughter of Clara Chamberlain and presumably the nobleman Adolphe Collot de la Tremouille. She spent her childhood in France until she moved to live with her maternal aunt and uncle in the London suburb of Kingston, where in 1875 she met and fell in love with Thomas Edwin Bartlett, who was 11 years her senior. Soon after, she married the wealthy businessman, who placed great importance on education, which is why he initially sent Adelaide to a school in the London borough of Stoke Newington for two years. Adelaide then completed her education at a school in Belgium. When she finished, they moved into an apartment in the London borough of Herne Hill, where Thomas’s business was located. Rumors quickly spread that Adelaide was having an affair with Thomas’ younger brother Frederick. This turned out to be true during the criminal trial. The two had had sex once and Adelaide had even become pregnant. However, the child was stillborn. It was publicly claimed that the child was, of course, Thomas’s. The couple then moved to the East Dulwich district of London and two years later to the Merton Abbey district of London, where Adelaide, now 27, met Reverend George Dyson. A deep friendship developed, which Thomas tolerated. In August 1885, the couple moved into an apartment in the Pimlico district of London. Although they slept in the same room, Thomas slept in bed while Adelaide slept on the couch because of his bad breath. Believing himself to be infected with syphilis, Thomas treated himself with mercury. In December 1885, he was diagnosed with diarrhea and gastritis. Shortly thereafter, Adelaide asked George to get her some chloroform to treat Thomas. He gave it to Adelaide on December 29, 1885, and a few days later, Thomas was dead. Adelaide was represented in the criminal trial by Sir Edward Clare, one of the best lawyers in Victorian England, who had allegedly been hired by her father. He pleaded suicide on behalf of her husband. Since there were no burns on the sides of the throat and larynx, the chloroform in Thomas’s stomach could only have gotten there by drinking it quickly, which is why Thomas must have administered it to himself. It was hardly conceivable that anyone would voluntarily swallow the substance, as oral ingestion of chloroform, no matter how quickly, caused extremely painful blistering of the mucous membranes, mouth, and throat. No such blistering was found during the autopsy. So how did the chloroform get into his stomach? This question could not be answered. Despite serious suspicions that Adelaide Bartlett had murdered her husband Thomas, she was found “not guilty” by the jury. This verdict reflected public opinion, as those present applauded. Adelaide Bartlett and Reverend George Dyson disappeared from public view after the trial. It was rumored that the two may even have married. Others claimed that the two had no further contact with each other after that. The fact is that this criminal case provided plenty of material for books and films and left the question of how the liquid chloroform got into Thomas Edwin Bartlett’s stomach unanswered to this day. D