nine
o'clock
The coroner questioned the surgeon very closely as to how long he thought the murdered man had been dead . The medical man declined to give any positive statement on this point ; he could only say that when he was called in , the body was cold , and that the deceased might have been dead three hours -- or he might have been dead five hours . It was impossible to form an opinion with regard to the exact time at which death had taken place . The evidence of the waiter and the landlord of the George only went to show that the two men had arrived at the hotel together ; that they had appeared in very high spirits , and on excellent terms with each other ; that Mr. Dunbar had shown very great concern and anxiety about the absence of his companion , and had declined to eat his dinner until nine o'clock . This closed the evidence ; and the jury retired . They were absent about a quarter of an hour , and then returned a verdict of wilful murder against some person or persons unknown . Henry Dunbar , Arthur Lovell , and Mr. Balderby went back to the hotel .