A dog named Stanley made an unexpected discovery while digging in the garden of his home in Clyst Honiton, Devon. He unearthed a small blue bottle believed to date back to the Victorian era. His owner, Paul Phillips, initially mistook it for an old pipe but became intrigued after noticing a warning label that read Not To Be Taken.

Further inspection suggested the bottle matched containers commonly used to store poison in the nineteenth century. Phillips linked the find to a notorious 1865 local murder case involving Mary Ann Ashford, who once lived near the property.

Historical accounts state that Ashford poisoned her husband, William, by putting arsenic in his tea. She was believed to have committed the crime in hopes of inheriting his money and pursuing a relationship with a younger man who worked for her husband. The discovery has renewed local interest in the chilling case more than 160 years later.