Report of the case of John W. Webster, indicted for the murder of George Parkman, before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts : including the hearing on the petition for a writ of error, the prisoner's confessional statements and application for a commutation of sentence, and an appendix containing several interesting matters never before published / by George Bemis.

Webster, John White, 1793-1850.

Date:: 1850

Credit: Report of the case of John W. Webster, indicted for the murder of George Parkman, before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts : including the hearing on the petition for a writ of error, the prisoner's confessional statements and application for a commutation of sentence, and an appendix containing several interesting matters never before published / by George Bemis. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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and hers produce it. [Diagram here exhibited; the same, which had been used in connection with Dr. Lewis's testi- mony.] I saw no marks of the body having been used, as a subject for common dissection. I was struck with the fact, that the sternum had been taken out, as it would have been, by a physician, at an ordinary post-mortem examination. I was also struck with the mode of the separation of the collar-bone from the sternum, and first rib. A person without a knowl- edge of anatomy, would not be likely to succeed in carrying the knife through so difficult a passage, as that between the clavicle, first rib, and the sternum. This is the only way of removal by a knife. I should think, also, that the separation of the thighs showed some knowledge of anatomy, since the incisions were made directly towards the joint. My attention was not directed to the mode of separation of the neck from the trunk. I have known the saw to be used for that purpose, though it is not customary in common dissections. I supposed the remains, to be those of a person who had passed the middle period of life. The skin was very light. On turning over the thorax, I was struck with the quantity of hair on the back. I had not before seen a person with so much. It extended from the shoulder-blades, half way down the back, on each side of the spine. I saw nothing inconsistent with the idea, that the remains all belonged to one and the same person. If a person were killed by a blow, and immediately stab- bed, there would be a flow of blood, according to the depth of the stab, and the size of the vessels wounded. If the blood were effused internally, it could be removed without difficulty, so as not to leave marks or stains. A post-mortem examination can be made, without necessarily spilling blood, if pains are taken to avoid it. They are not infrequently made upon beds, without taking pains to remove the linen sheets. I examined spots on the staircase, near the lower landing, and which were supposed to be occasioned by blood ; they proved, under the microscope, to be tobacco-stains. Higher up, on the stairs, were spots, which the chemists, present, Doctors Gay and Jackson, supposed to be those of nitrate of copper. On Sunday, they were still moist. I have made experiments, in order to determine whether nitrate of copper will destroy blood-stains. Recent blood, under the microscope, always shows discs of a red color. 8*

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