A dreadful case of death from starvation and neglect - and which resulted in a verdict of “Wilful murder” being returned against William and Mary ASPINALL, the former clerk in the employ of London and North Western Railway Company, and the latter his wife - was investigated on Saturday last by the coroner’s jury at Liverpool. The facts of the case are as follows: -

On Friday, ASPINALL and his wife, who lived in Eldon Place, Vauxhall Road, quarreled, as they were, it seems, frequently in the habit of doing, and in the course of the dispute, the wife ran out of the house, in a wild and distracted manner, summoned a police-constable, whom she informed that one of the children was then lying dead in the house, and that its death had been occasioned by the cruelty of the father.

The policeman entered their dwelling, and was sickened at the wretched spectacle which presented itself. One child about eight years of age, named Emma, was lying dead in a wretched apology for a bed; and another, a boy about four years, was lying in a dying condition beside her. The body of the dead child and the scarcely living skeleton of the other, were naked and covered with filth. Their eyes were far sunk, and their bodies so emaciated that their bone protruded through the skin. The rest of the children, in a state of filth and partial nudity, were wandering about the house, and one was cowering in a corner, more like a dog than a human creature. A surgeon was immediately called in by the constable; the coroner’s beadle was also summoned; and the male prisoner was taken to Bridewell.

On learning the facts of the case from the testimony of the police, as well as by a personal inspection, the coroner, Mr. CURRY, ordered the female prisoner into custody.

The chief witnesses at the inquest on Saturday were two of the surviving children, (the boy who was lying by the corpse of his sister having expired on Friday evening), a boy about seventeen, and a girl about fourteen years of age; and from their evidence it appeared that the father received a salary of £75 a years from the London and Great Western Railway Company, for his services as a clerk at one of the goods stations, and that the eldest boy received 8s per week in the company’s service; that the mother was almost always intoxicated, that she neglected her children, and that daily quarrels in consequence took place.

On being asked what they had to say in their defence, the prisoners began to accuse each other, and a most painful and exciting scene ensued, which was rendered still more distressing by the sobs and tears of the children.

The only case gone into Saturday was that of the girl Emma, in which the jury returned a verdict of “Wilful Murder” against both prisoners. The coroner stated that another child was scarcely expected to survive. He had given orders, however, for the others to be attended to immediately by proper authorities, and had directed that a photograph should be taken of the scene as it presented presented itself when he had visited the house. It was elicited that the children slept regularly upon the flags or boards, and that there was only one miserable bed in the house.

The result of a post mortem examination was that the children had died from starvation, not a particle of food or fluid being found in their stomachs.

William and Mary ASPINALL have been committed by the coroner on a second charge of murder, the inquiry into the death of the second child having been held on Monday. The same class of evidence was adduced. The coroner exhibited the photographs which had been taken of the children, and of the room where they were found. These photographs are to be presented to the judge who will try the prisoners.