The Deptford Poisoning Cases of 1889 dealt with the murder by poisoning of three people by Mrs Amelia Winters, together with her daughter, Elizabeth Frost and of setting up multiple insurance policies so that they could claim the insurances. They had insured over twenty people, five of whom had died. Mrs Winters died before her trial. Her daughter, Elizabeth Frost, was only convicted of forgery for falsifying insurance documents.
The cases
The pair were indicted for the murder by poison of Sidney Bolton, aged 11 years, a niece's child that she was caring for, William Sutton, the aged father of another relative, and Elizabeth Frost, who died in February 1888, the mother ofThomas Frost, the husband of Elizabeth. The doctor's certificate had given the cause of death as 'gastrodynia, diarrhoea and convulsions.' The case was investigated by the police when the father found out about the insurance policies and became suspicious. Mrs Winters had insured the lives of 22 persons for a total of £240 with the Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society alone, and five of these had died since 1886, the society paying out for them. She also had fourteen policies with the Prudential, which had also paid out for the same five deaths. There had been no checks on her relationships with the insured people. On the Liverpool Victoria's insurance form for Sidney Bolton she had just written 'X' against his mother's name.
The inquest
Mrs Winters' death
Mrs Winters died before she could be brought to trial but admitted her guilt on her deathbed to her husband and daughter. No inquest was held for her death, the Doctor said it was the result of 'marasmus — a general wasting away.' Mrs Winters was buried in Brockley cemetery on 22 July in unconsecrated ground. The burial was kept secret with police present to deter demonstrations.
Elizabeth Frost was tried at the Old Bailey in July and found guilty of forging a document for the payment of money, with intent to defraud. She was sentenced to seven years' penal servitude but the charge of murder was withdrawn.
Other possible victims of Mrs Winters were identified. There was Benjamin Winters, the brother of Joseph Winters, Mrs Winters' husband. Mrs Winters had insured him for 18 guineas. In 1885 he left GreenwichWorkhouse to stay at Mrs Winters house for a holiday and "was taken ill with diarrhaea, sickness, pains in the stomach, and similar symptoms to those described in the previous cases. Dr McNaughten attended the man, who expired in a few days in a fit." Another case was William Winters, Mrs Winters' grandson; she had insured him for £5. In the summer of 1886 he was removed from hospital to stay with Mrs Winters and died in a few days. A third case was that of Ann Bolton, who was insured by Mrs Winters for £3 10s. In November 1886 she died at Friendly Street, Deptford, after Mrs Winters had been nursing her. A witness in the case, George Francis Dear, a single man, of King-street, Blackheath-hill, who had lodged with Mrs Winters at 153, Church Street, Deptford, later committed suicide by hanging after finding out that Mrs Winters had insured his life with a Liverpool society for 19 guineas.
