The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1879-06-24 00:00:00

THE CHILD METAiDIikkT EXETER

At Exe7-.7rif....14171-ay, Mary 110;kin.g.. of f.)„,,A,,....
Cornwell, was brought up on remand chanted with basing
been accasenry to the tuurder of her illegitimate child,
Reginald Node, whose mutilated remains were found in
the mill loot on Saturdar sed Sunday, the 17in and Itcha Hey; end Annie Tooke, the nurse in whose charge the
child was placed by It. mother last November. who gave
evidence in the case on Saturday, but who was epees-
hended on Th tiredly under circumseinua already monied,
was charged with being the actual murderer. Mr. Welter
Friend apposed on behalf of Up- proesirtion. Theorises'
Hoskins wee represenrel by Mess. IT ,ers and Suns.
The case excited intense interest, the Guildhall twine
crammed, and hundreds of persons wcro unable to obtain
admission. The solicitor for Hoskins complained that
Tooke bad been arrested before In had had an opportunity
of cresesexuninizig her and sited to to- allowed to do so
before the nee procei,led furthor : hut Hr. Friend, for the
prosecution, meld be mast oppose such an unusual °ours* in
the i,,feceers if justice; and the enagisuat. s refused to
allow it.—Mr. Primal opened the case at great length. lie
directed his reinsks principally to showing how the sae
bore against Tooke. Be had takon charge if the child for
• lump stun, and, having spe,t tho money, and finding
that the wont, took no interest in the child, the sugits
ti -
on was that she determined to rid herself of the burden
by murdering it. • letter from the prisoner to her
daughter at Plymouth •poke of the trouble she had with
the "poor miserable child." and complained of the quantity
of food he consumed. Though the fact of the murder was
notoriseur in Exeter, Tooke net, r communicated to the
police that she bud given up the child to • stranger. as
alleged by her in the witnes•-box, and when questioned,
she at first said she couid not recognise the photograph.,
but afterwards did no. She had also made many other
contradictory statements. !before Tooke's apprehension •
police-officer now in her room an old hog, on the corner of
which were several incisions, and it was hsemearel with
dirty spot/. Since berierrest Geisha: W 43 :mod to hare
been scrupulously cleaned. The theory of the prosecution
was that the marks on the box were caused by nee child'.
Bull's having 'neon chopped off upon it. and also
suggested that this Ism riots on the bear..hstene,
and that when the head was cut off it fall
amons the Soden, for fragments of cinders were
adhering to the I meal fish of the Beak when the heed
was examined by tins medical man. • moor which bwe
marks of blood and a Chonricr were also found, as well as
pieces of blood-stained funnel and clothes. • piece of
oilcloth picked up near the child's head in the mill lent
was covered with • starchy autstance, corresponding with
the contente of the stomach of the child, which W been
evidently fed • few hours before 'loath. The strong Point
against the mother wee that obi had made no inquiry
Smut her child up to the time it was t4.esd under To Ass
oars, and that she made uo sign even 14eu the rummies of
the murdered child were found. Evidence wias siv.n of
the dire-every of the trunk and limbs in the mill lest on
the 17th end 113th of gay. Mr. Bell, poli,.eurgegn, who
Da.le a noaa.mortion exantinatioa. proved that death
°cent red before dismemberment The child bail probably
been•tunnal either by •Muniner or by being against
• wall, and thin wounded in the throat and allowed to bleed
to death, after which It was doc_mitat,i and the Huila cut
off.--Importaut ulqdoneo iontlioli ni exculpate the mother
was given by Mrs. Tonkin, of Climb 'roe, her •ister. Stu
stated that Hoskins.' nesse' to lie for confinement. and
the disposal of the child to Tooke, were intended to hide
the young voitunia.4 shame. That after returning home
she frsquently wished to go to Exeter to see the child,
but her sister and brother prevented her for fear the
&memone id the child ahou:d become known to her
parents, and she poaitively swore Get Mims lioskines was
not absent from hone from the 10th to tho 17th May.—
Mr. Rogers said he had abundant dorm:tsetse treideuss
to the maw effect, and he applied for hi. .;lient's discharge
on the ground that there was no evidence against her ; and
ea Mr. Primed could not pronaten further evidence the
1 Bench ordered her Meese, a declaim which was received
with loud applause —Tooke was remanded till Wednee
der. Kiss Hcekings, who is reepectably eannectsd,
appeared to be very ill, and became violently hyderitsal at
every allusion to the outrage on her child.
1 CONFMIIO,I OV TUE DIVIDV.Rana.
1 tin Thursday Captain Bent., the chief constable, gave
. evidence of • confession which Tooke made to hem on
Friday Ist. the 13th instant. The prisoner sot for him
to come to her in the cell. She said, " I suppsie some
one will he hanged for this murder." He then cautioned
her what she might say would he used against her. She
said the wi,hed to make a statement to Captain Bent
alone. Ile suggested there should be a wanes to the
Interview if she persisted in making any statement.
Tooke, however. would bare no witness, oaring, " If you
bring anyone I won't open my mouth' She added, " I
want to tell um' that I murdered that child, and no one
elm bed anything to with it." Captain Rent said, '' Do
you really then to make that revelation after the caution
1 have given you r The prisoner mid, "I do; I mean
to tell yon all. Ido not blame the mother. It was the
lady who was with her when they brought no. the child
(Wm Tonkin, of Camborne. Mins nothings' sister.) that
put it into toy head." The prisoner then entered into •
minutely circunstantiel account of how she committed
the murder and cut up and disposed the body. She stated
that she sniothered the child with the pillows no it lay in
the cradle asleep, and that she put the body in • trunk in
her bedroom. The murder was cmumitted on Monday,
the 12th of Mar. She a,lowed the body to remain in
the box until the Friday. and in the afternoon, when
her four children were away at school, she took it '
out cold and stiff, and undreesed it. "1 couldn't beer
to feel him,' she said. " M 1 wrapped him up in en ,
old brown apron and took him. into the 00.1 cupboard.",
rang one a her children s dinner knives, which
she spoke of ea "Billy's knife,' she cut off the heed
and limbs. using also the chopper and box found by the
police,She added —"1: couldn't bear to look at the
fiiii fellow. soI turned my head ewer and hacked at
the body across the heed and arum. The :narks on the
face must have been done then. I bean to feel faint,
and thought I wtri.c. mad. I then put the trunk
and the , end placed them in a small
empty teelwhich helped to form my dressing
bible." In this box the mutilated corpse remained
until late in the Canning. After the lientoilnes children
were in bed, she bek out the bode'. made a parcel of it
and serried it out of the house. She first went down by
the river-side time the quay, hut wadi afraid to throw the
remains iti therm fur fear of being observed. She then
returned. carried her burden through a thickly populated
quarter to the lionhayroed, where she threw it into the
mill stream, and then returned home by a cisuitost• route,
arriving there, as she mid in court. hours alter the
were in lied. It was early nn the 1.11..ri0s morning
the trunk WM iliacovered, awl on the Sunday the heed ant
lambi were found. Tooke, when spoken to by the police
i several days afterwards, refused to recognize the likeness
lof the child, and down to the date of her apprehension she
persisted in stating that the child wee taken Iron, her lode-
in/ on the 12th may by estrange woman. The orieoner's con-
fession madam first ~belly, wee rehired to writing by the
Chief I ",notable, and Sas signed it, saying it was perfectly
true. A day or two afterwards, however, she wrote to
Captain Rent • letter from the prison, retracting her state-
ment, and saying that she gave the child to • woman
whom she met in the Cathedral-yard, end who promised
to take it to the workhouse for her,—Thrtuosssr, in
answer to the fennel chum, said, " I am guilty."—
She W 34 Committed t a the Mims 0 this capitol demi

THE

DEPOSITION DEMANDED

BY FRANUL

ALuLoaIAWII;I7IIDAY:=TCCORIiO4 to kiwi-
glom' received here from Cairo, the French Consul-
General pomaded in full uniform to-day to the
Palace to announce that the French Government haa
decided to insist upon the deposition of the Khedive.

rihrillMllll, WON% as Brutsels, 454.
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ditto la , MIN el Pursiturs,
at eery reduced prima ail ON&iLgokol lad
dell.ered Ira. to say WM/ W whole-
sale, Ihrport sad Beeseal I Warehousing., lal
lia, Newlostoo Butts, Loris& Jew [nostrils& Mood
amis.