HAS COWAN"S STATEMENT BEEN OVERLOOKED?
Might be that I missed this being published elsewhere but here goes! What Mr. Cowan is saying by default is that the poison wasn't taken by mouth. That being so, how else was it administered?
Was it Hydrogen Sulphide as per the later mysterious deaths by unknown poisoning, Bogle and Chandler. Was it an early nerve agent? A gas gun or spray? Mr. Cowan's statement seems quite specific and I think worthy of more research although in the article he does almost distance himself.
I wonder if anyone has any knowledge of sewage outlets near the spot of Somerton Beach at that time? Is it possible that some foul and toxic waste was pumped out at night by a rogue chemical manufacturer? Quite honestly I wouldn't know but I am not at all certain that the thought has been previously pursued; if it has then my apologies.
You can find the full article here:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36372869?searchTerm=%22tamam%20Shud%22%20Cowan&searchLimits=sortby=dateAsc
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Gordon,
ReplyDeleteI have just remembered that hydrogen sulphide poisoning discolours brain tissue (greenish or sometimes purple (a mix of red plus green?)) and this is also the case with hydrogen cyanide. So, we can probably say SM was not poisoned by hydrogen sulphide or hydrogen cyanide. The KGB used a “gas gun” that spayed hydrogen cyanide to assassinate Stepan Bandera in 1959 and Lev Rebet in 1957, both in Munich. A KGB assassin, Bogdan Stashynsky, later turned himself in to the German police and confessed to the killings. Bottom line: Sixty years ago the KGB had a near perfect was of causing “heart attacks”, so I have my doubts that Putin was involved in the Salisbury affair. And I am fairly sure that sarin would be inactivated by chemical reaction with chlorine, so the Syrian story doesn't add up either.
Gordon,
ReplyDeletefrom memory several years ago somebody said (I can't remember where it was stated) that there was a waste water outlet close to where SM was found. Bickford's manufactured chemicals somewhere in Glenelg in the 1940s and they were disposing of unwanted chemicals (such as barium sulphide. See Trove) at sea. But I think it is very unlikely that any of this was involved in SM's death. I think that the conclusion of the original investigation, that SM died from the effects of a cardiac glycoside, still stands. Just how and why SM got to be poisoned is not known and there are many possible scenarios.
Interesting mention of Bickford's in "News" 13 Oct 1949 Page 24-Clive
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ReplyDeleteThanks Clive, Here's the link and an interesting read it is:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/201018818?searchTerm=A.M.%20Bickford%20Chemicals%20Adelaide%201949%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20&searchLimits=sortby=dateAsc
Byron, what do you know of Barium Sulphide, does it dissipate quickly?
Gordon,
ReplyDeleteBarium sulphide was used in the past in several applications, particularly in depilatory creams. It is soluble in water and is quite toxic. There are many cases of poisoning by barium sulphide in the literature. I note that Bickford's had form on the careless handling of chemicals. See:
News (Adelaide) 23rd November 1949 page 1 and I wonder if Bickford's attempt to get rid of bottles of barium sulphide had something to do with the contaminated barium sulphate that Bickford's had supplied that caused two deaths from barium poisoning?
I note that SM's autopsy findings are consistent with acute barium poisoning.
I think the above facts are sufficient to suggest there was an evasion of justice. I think there is good cause to exhume SM to resolve the question.
Byron, thank you for the information. I would agree to the extent that we appear to have this poison as an option.
ReplyDeleteWould it be possible for you to take this a step further and, bearing in mind Cowan's comment which suggests that the poison that killed SM was not taken by mouth, ascertain whether Barium could be administered in other ways? Does it give off a gas in certain conditions for instance or can it be injected or absorbed through the skin in sufficient quantities to cause death? Would Barium poisoning be readily detectable or does it dissipate quickly leaving no trace?
I've looked back to Cowan's sworn statement and it is as follows:
ReplyDelete"I tested for common poisons...... If any of the poisons for which I tested were the cause of the death, they would not be absent from the body after death if they were taken by mouth."
Then I re-read Hick's statement:
""No inflammatory agents were detected by Mr Cowan, nor did the post-mortem examination suggest that some irritant metallic poison might have been involved, or an acid. Therefore I incline to conclude that a member of a group of drugs causing the heart to stop systole might have been used. The first word on the exhibit (C18) is the name of the group, and the other words are members of the group."
At this stage he passed a piece of paper to the Coroner with the word Glycoside written on it.
"Such a substance would be quite easily procurable by the ordinary individual."
As a note: Haemoptysis - the coughing up of blood - is treatable using glycoside. Prosper Thomson suffered this condition. I am not suggesting he had anything to do with the death, nor am I suggesting Jessica was involved, what I am suggesting is that there may have been a bottle of glycoside inside the medicine cabinet at 90A Moseley St.
OK, so the statement from mr. Cowan was almost correct in that he qualified it by saying he was referring to poisons for which he had tested. No list of those I guess, we wouldn't know what tests if any would be used for glycosides.
ReplyDeleteCowan again; " I tested for common poisons. Cyanides,alkaloids, barbiturates, carbolic acid, are the most common poisons.'
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ReplyDeleteThat's interesting. '...the first word was the group and the other words are members of the group'. You don't happen to have a copy of the paper/list?
I think that Prosper had at one stage during his service been treated as an haemoptysis patient, after which he was cleared of any related chronic condition. His eventual medical downgrading and subsequent discharge from military service was based on physical infirmities, attributed to post concussion syndrome, along with some sort of leg problem. His health in post war years does not suggest any re manifestation of blood coughing episodes from what we know, so if his old bathroom medical cabinet in Moseley Street, contained a bottle of glycoside, then I suggest it was for another purpose altogether.
ReplyDeleteDo you now? And dare you suggest it?
ReplyDeleteGordon,
ReplyDeletemy answers to your questions are:
1) Could barium be administered in other ways? This is unlikely, but not impossible if a pharmaceutical product were contaminated with a soluble barium salt. Given that Bickford's provided barium sulphate (for barium meal x-rays. Barium sulphate is very insoluble so the barium component does not get absorbed. The various Pharmacopoeias include tests for soluble barium in barium sulphate (none allowed) but Bickford's somehow provided barium sulphate contaminated with barium carbonate (which dissolves in the stomach yielding barium ions) and this killed two people in 1949. It is therefore possible that Bickford's might have mixed up, or contaminated, another pharmaceutical product with a toxic barium salt (such as barium carbonate or barium chloride). But, I think injected soluble barium would have resulted in a quick and sudden death. Barium carbonate was easily available in 1948 for poisoning rats so I am inclined to think that barium carbonate was used if SM was deliberately poisoned (or suicided). Another possibility is that SM was suffering from some medical condition (SM had an enlarged spleen containing a pigment that experienced people did not recognise. He also had a damaged liver) so he may have travelled to Adelaide to have a barium meal X-ray (were there private hospitals in Adelaide that offered X-rays in 1948?) and received Bickford's contaminated barium meal. SM dies on the premises and the (private?) hospital think that it is best to wait for night and dump his body on the beach. I think it would be very unlikely that injected barium would be used to murder anyone. It is just to improbable for many reasons. I think hydrogen sulphide is ruled out because the blood and brain tissues were not discoloured.
2) “Does it give off a gas in certain conditions for instance....” Barium does not form volatile compounds but the moiety attached to the barium (sulphide in the case of barium sulphide) can be liberated in some cases, and hydrogen sulphide is liberated from barium sulphide if it is wetted or acidified. Hydrogen sulphide is more toxic than hydrogen cyanide which was used in the USA to gas criminals. Bottom line: Hydrogen sulphide gas can and does kill.
3) “... can it be injected or absorbed through the skin in sufficient quantities to cause death? I think killing someone like SM by injection is improbable for several reasons. It is very unlikely that enough barium could be absorbed through the skin to cause death. But it is possible that dust containing soluble barium could deliver a lethal dose of barium (inhaled dust can end up in the stomach).
4) ”Would Barium poisoning be readily detectable or does it dissipate quickly leaving no trace? In 1948/9 barium poisoning would only be detected if it were suspected, and if the appropriate tests were performed. Barium is an element and would remain 100% in the body tissues and any excreta. I know that much of SM's internal organs were removed and destroyed when Cowan chucked them out prematurely, but there should be enough barium left in SM's remaining organs to prove or disprove the barium poisoning hypothesis if SM is exhumed.
5) I note that a) acute barium poisoning is consistent with the autopsy findings. b) it was noted that SM had a patch of inflammation in his oesophagus and this could be the reason he received the X-ray and I think it was noted that there was a whitish coating in SM's throat. This could be the remains of a barium meal. b) Bickford's were proved to have provided contaminated barium X-ray meal in 1949 that resulted in two deaths. c) barium carbonate was available over the counter in 1948.
Byron, Than you very much for that. It seems then that we can include this Barium option as a possible cause of death. The issue of the delivery method is still up for grabs.
ReplyDeleteA lot of effort must have gone into that research Byron, much appreciated.
Apparently, there was a private hospital at Henley Beach, which was threatened with closure in 1950, a Matron Schwab was in charge. Not sure if X-rays were possible at this hospital, but could this be the reason why the SM bought a railway ticket? Clive
ReplyDeleteI notd that more than seventy private hospitals in the Adelaide metropolitan area were listed in the Sands & McDougall Adelaide Directory for 1949.
ReplyDeleteThe use and ownership of X-ray equipment was strictly regulated in Australia, even in 1948, and I doubt that even the largest private hospital would have X-ray facilities in 1948. However, my understanding of how things were organised in 1948 is that a patient who required a barium meal X-ray investigation would have the X-ray in a public hospital and then recover in a private hospital if necessary.
So, a possible scenario is that SM was living/working outside the Adelaide metropolitan area and was experiencing medical problems that required a barium meal X-ray investigation. SM travels to Adelaide and leaves some of his belongings at the train station expecting that he will only need to stay in a private hospital or in private accommodation for a couple of days. He has the X-ray at a hospital in Adelaide (maybe at the Glenelg hospital?) and receives barium meal that is contaminated with soluble barium. The X-ray procedure only takes about 20 minutes so the full toxic effects of the barium poisoning don't hit SM for a couple of hours. I think what is known in pharmacology speak as Tmax (the time to maximum blood levels) would be delayed a bit because of the glutinous nature of the barium meal and the soluble barium (ie. The poisonous contamination in the barium meal) would take up to several hours to be fully absorbed. SM leaves the hospital relatively OK and books into a private hospital (there were two in Glenelg) and sometime later he dies from acute barium poisoning. The hospital staff panic and dispose of SM's body on the beach that night, maybe with the help of Mr Fixit Prosper. Maybe Jessie was employed at the Private hospital? Or maybe SM was waiting for somebody to come home (nurse Jessie?) after he had made arrangements to stay with them. But SM dies on the beach before he can get to his accommodation.
There were two private hospitals in Glenelg in 1948/49 – the “Glenelg Private”in Partridge Street, and the “South Glen” at 19 Weewanda Street.
Someone on ciphermysteries was touting the idea that there was a repat hospital that closed in Henley about that time, and either reopened in Glenelg or another one opened in Glenelg. Specifically I think they were trying to sell that idea - that SM thought he needed to go to Henley and realised at the last minute that Glenelg was a better option.
ReplyDeleteVague idea that they might have been Red Cross hospitals and/or 'Kalparra', or something like that comes to mind as I think about it...
Yes, "Kapara" was the name, 50 bed hospital, which was used from 1940 as a Red Cross Convalescent Home. Address was 80 Moseley St, Glenelg and we all know who lived at 90a Moseley St in 1947! Clive
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ReplyDeleteAnother great find Clive!. So, Byron, the notion of recovery in a private hospital could be the key. A Red Cross convalescent home just doors away from number 90 Moseley street would have to be of interest.
Strangely enough, Clive, when I read your post and the one previous from a different Annonymous, discussing the activities of the Red Cross, Tibor Kaldor came to mind and his letter nominating the Red Cross as the recipient of his worldly possessions.
When we did the research into the Red Cross in Victoria a while ago, we drew a blank, just maybe we should be researching to see what if any records still exist about 80 Moseley Street and it's staff and patients?
Byron, the work you did on Barium could be on the money!
Looks like it's milongal who mentions it a few times (google: 'Kapara site:ciphermysteries.com').
ReplyDeleteSeems to think it's where the potential 'Solomonson' identity came from, but not sure where he gets that from....
Gordon,
ReplyDeletewhat I particularly like about the barium poisoning hypothesis is that it is potentially falsifiable (=testable) in the Popperian sense (see Karl Popper, philosopher). And minute traces of digitalis drugs can now be tested for using exquisitely sensitive immunological methods, so this hypothesis is also potentially testable.
The number of poisons that can cause the heart to stop in systole is very small, and barium is one of those. Soluble barium and digitalis drugs are the only two potential poisons in this group that could be available to a lay person in 1948.
That sounds interesting Byron, do you know of any other drugs available, perhaps not widely, at the time that would have had the same effect? If so what was their use and did they have the same properties in that they were not easily detectable?
ReplyDeleteI wonder whether the enlarged spleen and its physical symptoms was a possible reason for the use of barium or digitalis or if the drugs were, in fact, the cause. Would those symptoms have called for an X-ray and a barium meal or the use of digitalis?
Conium maculatam will cause the heart to stop insystol as curare would. Socrates might have been able to attest, but alas we don't speak Ancient Greek.
ReplyDeleteSo I guess it's all Greek to you then :) Wouldn't have thought that either would have been commonly available but it would be good to know which, if any, intelligence services used either or both.
ReplyDeleteI'm over here in the ballet corner and after reading through this thread I did what came naturally: googled barium sulphate and ballet, found this:
ReplyDelete"Barium Sulfate occurs as white or yellowish crystals or powder. In cosmetics and personal care products, Barium Sulfate is used in the formulation blushers, eye lotions, eye makeup, face powders, foundations, lipsticks, moisturizers, skin products, bath products, suntan products and nail polish." (Cosmeticsingo.org)
Now that's interesting, I wonder whether they used to make up their own formulations or whether they could be bought from a theatrical supplier?
ReplyDeleteByron, is barium sulphate a common poison?
ReplyDeletePete, Barium sulphate is essentially non-toxic if it is pure because the barium moiety is not soluble in gastric juice (or in just about any other environment for that matter). The LD50 for soluble barium (such as barium carbonate, barium chloride, barium nitrate which are common barium salts) is about 0.3 to 0.4 grams from memory. Barium sulphate is used as a radio-opaque agent for GI tract X-ray investigations and the dose can be 100 to 200 grams so the material has to meet the Pharmacopoeia standards and this standard includes a test for soluble barium (essentially none is allowed). We know that Bickfords (based in Glenelg) somehow provided impure or contaminated barium sulphate to a pharmacist in 1949, and this resulted in the deaths from barium poisoning of two patients. Contamination is always a possibility, where somebody puts material back into a container. Maybe someone in Bickfords pharmaceutical warehouse accidentally put barium carbonate in the barium sulphate container? That sort of mistake would be quite possible because powdered barium sulphate looks very similar to barium carbonate powder. But there are other plausible ways the barium sulphate might have been contaminated. First, Bickfords did manufacture chemicals and one way of manufacturing barium sulphate is to start with barium carbonate, dissolve this with hydrochloric acid, and then precipitate barium suphate by the addition of a water soluble sulphate such as sodium sulphate. In the hands of a competent person this is straightforward and fool-proof, but if a fool cuts corners and doesn't wait until the barium carbonate is fully dissolved and doesn't filter the supernatant (as per proper practice) then the barium sulphate could be contaminated with barium carbonate (ie and be potentially poisonous). Bickfords had form in 1949 for the careless and incompetent handling of dangerous chemicals. Bickfords tried to get rid of some bottles of barium sulphide (note, sulphide, not sulphate. Barium sulphide is toxic because the barium moiety is soluble in water and gastric fluid) and gave them to another incompetent who was supposed to row out sea and throw the bottles into the ocean. But, the incompetent could not even do this without screwing it up and he left the bottles in an open boat and unattended in a public place. Children stole the bottles and then discarded them, and a member of the public reported finding them to the police. It sound to me that Bickfords were in a panic after the coronial inquest into the contaminated barium sulphate deaths and were desperate to get rid of possible evidence. Guilty, panicked people do stupid things in my experience. To be continued:
ReplyDeleteContinued: There is another plausible scenario. Pharmaceutical grade barium sulphate relatively expensive (and would have been so in 1948/9) but some people in Adelaide would been aware that a barium mineral (Witherite, which is barium carbonate) was available for free at the old Wheal Watkins mine at Glen Osmond, six or seven miles from Somerton Beach. Maybe Mr Fixit heard about this and decided he could work it into a nice little earner. Mr Fixit then drives the six or seven miles to the old Wheal Watkins mine, and fills the boot (US trunk) of his car with the heavy white mineral he thinks is barytes. Unfortunately, for others that is, the barium mineral Witherite occurs at Wheal Watkins mine, not Barytes. Both minerals look similar to an amateur. Mr Fixit then takes his load of faux barytes home and grinds it up. This can be done with very simple tools know as a “Dolly pot” and a pestle such as was widely used in gold prospecting. Mr Fixit then sieves the powder and places it in glass bottles and sticks on his own label proclaiming the contents to be “Barium sulphate. British Pharmacopoeia 1938”. Mr Fixit then talks to somebody in Bickfords, who knows/thinks Mr Fixit deals in “hot” goods so Mr Fixit is able to pass off his bottles as the real thing – at a discount to the proper price of course. And both sides of the deal are richer. It is probable that these scenarios could not be falsified (ie and therefore not scientific) but it is quite possible that SM's remains, deliberately buried in 1949 in a dry sandy grave to preserve SM's body for future exhumation, will be exhumed. And an examination of what is left of SM's gullet and intestines might detect particles of the minerals that occur with the witherite at the Wheal Watkins mine. OK, this is all at very long odds, but at least it is potentially testable.
ReplyDeleteGreat material Byron, I am almost sure that SM's grave was in fact concrete lined. Do you have any further knowledge on that?
ReplyDeleteThanks, BD. We know what shape SM's organs were in, the spleen for instance.
ReplyDeleteWould a barium compound be used to treat an enlarged spleen ?
Pete, no, to the best of my knowledge barium compounds have only been used therapeutically as radio-opaque agents (barium sulphate). But a dodgy spleen can be a symptom of more than one hundred medical condition, some of which might have presented as GI problems that required a barium meal to sort out.
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