Adelaide Blanche Bartlett Jamie Hughes Adelaide Bartlett v

Adelaide Blanche Bartlett Jamie Hughes

Adelaide Bartlett

v Adelaide origins are still a mystery but it is believed, she was born in 1855 v Sometimes her information is recorded as being born in Orleans v She was christened as, Adelaide Blanche de la Tremouille v Her parents were probably, Adolphe Collot de la Tremouille and Clara Chamberlain, an English woman v After a childhood in France, she was sent to Kingston-upon-Thomas, England to stay with her maternal Aunt and Uncle

v In 1875, she met and married, Thomas Edwin Bartlett v She was 19 and he was 29 when they wed v After they were married, he sent his young bride to Stoke Newington, to a boarding school v She attended at that school for 2 years v During school holidays were the only time she stayed with Edwin v In 1878, she finished her schooling in Belgium v Afterwards, she finally moved in with Edwin

v Edwin came from a close family and prosperous grocers v She seemed bitter of the closeness of his family v Edwin’s father always resented her for coming between him and his son v After his mother passed, his father moved in with them v Edwin seemed to have no interest in satisfying his wife, sexually v According to Adelaide, Edwin and her only had sex once which resulted in a pregnancy v The pregnancy resulted a still born delivery v After that, she resolved to no more attempts to have a child

v In 1885, the Bartlett’s lived near Wimbledon v This was where thy met George Dyson, a 27 year old Minister v Edwin encouraged an affectionate relationship between Mr. Dyson and Adelaide v Edwin would be happy to see them kiss in his presence v There are doubts about their relationship (Mr. Dyson & Adelaide) ever passing beyond the platonic affection v Edwin made a will, which left his estate to Adelaide and he expected Mr. Dyson to become her new husband v This will was strange considering, the first will was the same expect for the stipulation that she shouldn’t remarry

v Edwin had an unexperienced dentist cut back his decaying teeth to the gums and got dentures v That resulted in Adelaide and Edwin not sharing a bed anymore but still in the same room, all because of his foul smelling breath v In December 1885, Edwin had more experience dentist treat his painful mouth v Which resulted in removing decayed teeth and roots v His physical health improved but he still remained “depressed, deluded, and hysterical”. v Adelaide requested a second opinion, giving the reason, “if Mr. Bartlett does not get better soon, his friends and relations will accuse me of poisoning him”.

v Edwin suddenly began to demand his marital rights v. Adelaide dreaded his sudden change because of his foul breath v Also, Edwin had almost promised her to Dyson v December 27, 1885, Adelaide asked Dyson to purchase her some chloroform v Dyson purchased the chloroform from chemists in Putney and Wimbledon v He told the chemists, he needed the liquid to remove grease stains, which was common v After combining his purchases, he gave Adelaide a 4 oz. bottle of chloroform on December 29, 1885 v On December 31, 1885, Edwin had more dental treatment v After the Bartlett’s returned home, Adelaide told Mrs. Doggett that she regularly gave chloroform sleeping drops to Edwin (The Doggett’s lived in the same house as the Bartlett’s)

Edwin Adelaide

v On January 1, 1886 around 4 a. m. , Adelaide sent the maid for dr. Leach, then she woke the Doggett’s, saying to Mr. Doggett, “come down, I think Mr. Bartlett is dead” v Mr. Doggett found Edwin’s body cold v He estimated Edwin’s death had occurred several hours earlier v Dr. Leach ask Adelaide if Edwin could have taken poison v January 2, 1886, Dr. green of Charing Cross Hospital and 4 others doctors conducted the necropsy v They didn’t establish any natural cause of death v But, the decreased (Edwin’s) stomach contain liquid chloroform (smelt so distinctly that it was like a freshly opened bottle) v Around the end of January, the Home Office analyst established Edwin’s death had been caused solely by chloroform found in his stomach v Dr. Leach told Adelaide and she admitted for the first time of having chloroform v Adelaide was charged with murder v Dyson was later arrested and charged with being an accessory before the fact

v April 13, 1886 the trial began at The Old Bailey v Adelaide age 30 & Dyson age 29, stood before Mr. Justice Wills v The great Edward Clarke defended Adelaide v The prosecution was led by Attorney General Sir Charles Russell v As soon a the charges were read against Dyson, the prosecution withdrew its case, immediately v Accident was said to b “impossible” v But, suicide was highly considered v Also, administration by another person, deliberately was also a possibility

v Dyson was called as a prosecution witness but the information was more helpful to the defense v He also stated, “that Bartlett thought himself as terminally ill” (which suggested possible suicide) v He admitted that Adelaide didn’t ask him to conceal the purchase of chloroform v. He also threw away the original bottles which had contained the purchased chloroform v Dr. Leach testified to the tender care which Adelaide had lavished on Edwin throughout his illness v Edwin has seemed hysterical and unbalanced, which support the possibility that he had committed suicide v The defense called no witnesses v The closing speech for the defense lasted nearly 6 hours v As well as highlighting evidence which pointed to suicide v. Edward Clarke drew attention to the lack of motive in the case

v On April 17, 1886, the verdict was in v The jury returned to court, the foreman said, “although we think grave suspicion is attached to the prisoner, we do not think there is sufficient evidence to show or by whom the chloroform was administered” v The foreman confirmed that the verdict was “NOT GUILTY” v The verdict was greeted with applause v Although, the public opinion seemed to be against Adelaide at the beginning of the trial

v Adelaide did not marry Dyson v She returned to her birth place of Orleans v She left behind one of the most intriguing poisoning cases of the 19 th century v Sometimes this case is refer to as, The Pimlico Mystery or The Pimlico Poisoning Mystery

References Farrell, Michael. “Adelaide Bartlett and the Pimlico Mystery. ” British Medical Journal Volume 309. 24 -31 December 1994. Web. 21 January 2017. Murderpedia. org Google Imagines for Pictures