An inquest was held at the Gem Inn in Ryde on 8th June 1872 touching on the extraordinary case of the sudden death of a Captain Stellard, aged 72.
The previous October, Stellard had married a 24-year-old woman – 48 years his junior. The match had caused disquiet as the captain’s grandchildren were older than his new bride.
The pair had apparently lived amicably until a recent quarrel which had left them living in separate apartments.
At the inquest held on Hill Street, Mrs Stellard testified that she had twice visited her husband during the night: once at midnight and then again at 03:00. When she called again at the break of dawn, at around 05:30, he was said to have been lifeless – ‘stiff and cold in death’.
A young boy who lived next door told the inquest that he heard a ‘thump’ at around 04:30 that morning.
Georgia Stellard, the granddaughter of the deceased who had lived with her grandfather before his marriage, told the inquest that when the couple had fallen out, Mrs Stellard had apparently said:
“Oh, give him a pennyworth of arsenic, I’ll show you how to use it.”
According to newspaper reports at the time, the death caused quite some ‘excitement’ throughout Ryde.
The captain’s son, Mr Stellard of Cowes, then demanded that a post-mortem be conducted on his father’s body. However, the coroner Mr Blake was of the opinion that the girl had made her comment about the arsenic in jest.
The inquest recorded a verdict of death by apoplexy.
I think the IE should now be pushing for another inquest on the cause of death, and possibly give closure for the family. Exhumation, and then do tests using modern technology should prove if he was poisoned, and if so to bring the perpetrator to justice.
Mind you, if this young bride visited him at midnight, and then again at 03:00, he may have died a very happy man.
There’s skullduggerry afoot in Ryde I’ll be bound. I hope they lock up this wanton criminal for the safety of the public at large! They need to lock her up and throw away the key!
They’ll have to dig her up first !!