A turn of the century phosphorus suicide was reported in the 13th January 1900 Liverpool Daily Post.
A man had returned home to find his wife had been on the pop. Apparently it was a frequent occurrence, yet on this occasion, “blue flames” came out of her mouth. (Must have been an Everton fan). 😆
He made her sick using salt and cocoa, and found that a number of match heads had been “steeped in water”. Unfortunately, this would do little to effect the irreversible damage that had already been done.
These were obviously the highly dangerous lucifer matches which became banned for use due to them poisoning workers who made them. Post mortem observations saw effects on the liver and other organs consistent with P4 poisoning, and the jury returned a verdict of suicide.
