The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-05-06 00:00:00

A STRANGE AFFAIR.

At the Lambeth police-court, in London, Agnes
Norman, 15, a domestic servant, living at No. 1,
Rose-o.urt, Newington-butts, was brought up in the
custody of Detect ive-Inspector James Pay, and charged
upon suloicion of murdering Jessie Jane Beer, aged
14 months, the daughter of William Beer, a general
desk r, 58, Newington. butts .
It appeared that several deaths of children tinder
suspicious circumstances have occurred where the pri-
soner lived as servant, and from the disclosures made at
the irquest on the infant Jessie Jane Beer the case had
been before the authorities of Scotland-yard, and from
information the prisoner was taken into custody.
The prosecutor said the prisoner entered his service
on the 4'h of April as general servant, and to take
care of the children. On Good Friday his wife accom.
'Aided him out, and they left about a quarter to three
o'clock in the afternoon. The prisoner was left in
charge of his three children—Arthur Samuel, aged six
years; Alice I James, aged three years; and Jessie
Jane, aged fourteen months. They were all in perfect
health au the time. He returned with his wife at a
qaarter to twelve o'clock, and he found the prisoner
sitting down in front of the fire, apparently asleep.
When he entered the door and went into the r Am with
his wife the prisoner woke and got up from the chair.
The children were not iu the room with the prisoner.
About three minutes after they were in the room he
he heard loud screaming from the bed-room, and
he recognized the voice as one of his boys, and ran
upstairs in the dark and went into the bed-room.

7_
He found his child had fallen out of bed, and he
picked him up and put him into bed again with his
brother. Be turned round to his own bedroom, ex-
peeting to find his daughter awake, as she was a very
wakeful child. He found she was close to the wall and
had no bed-clothes over her; her head was on the mat.
tress and her legs onlithe bed. The mattress being a
little wider than the bed her head was lower than her
lege. She was lying on her back. There was nothing
over her face, and the bed-clothes were turned down.
He caught hold of her leg and pulled her towards him,
and he could tell she was dead. He calle 1 out that
his girl was dead, and his wife came running up.
tans. His wife took the child from him and went
downstairs, and he followed her. The prisoner had
followed 11s wife into the bedroom when he called
out, and she afterwards went downstairs, and all
went into the sitting-room. A doctor, Mr. Williams,
wee sent for, and he pronounced the child to be dead.
He asked the prisoner when she saw the child alive,
and she said at half-past ten o'clock, when she placed
it in the centre of the bed. A day afterwards he told
the prisoner he did not believe that she tad seen the
chili alive at half-past ten o'clock, and she made no
reply. While the prisoner was in his service his cat
died and a canary. The cat died on the Sunday after
the child, and the bird on the following Tuesday. An
inquest was held on the child on the 13th of April and
the verdict was one of " Accidental Death." He
said to the prisoner when he found his bird deal,
"Have you ever had any birds die where you have
been before ?'' and she said, " Yes, at Mr. Gardiner's."
He then asked her whether any cats had died where
she was before, and she replied, "Yes, at Mr.
Gardiner's." The prosecut )r said he did not give the
prisoner into custody.
The prisoner, in answer to the magistrate, said she
had no question to ask.

Dr. Lees, said he had made a post.ntorkm examina-
tion of the deceased child. He found the brain was
very much congested, and there was a slight transu-
dation of blood on the surface of the ventricles The
lungs were congested throughout, the upper lobes as
well as the lower. The heart was nearly empty. The
blood throughout the body was fluid. The liver and
kidneys and membranes of the spinal cord were con.
gested. Oa the inner side of the lower lip there
were two marks of pressure, corresponding in shape
and size with the tee upper front teeth. no
marks had been caused shortly before death. The
stomach contained the remains of some farinaleous
food. It exhibited no evidence of corrotive or
irritant poison. The body was well nourished.
The face presented a rosy, life-like sapect. Tne fingers
and toes were not contracted, and there were no ex-
ternal marks of violence. The appearances were in-
dicative of death from suffocation. Dr. Lees thought
that the pressure which had caused the marks on the
lips must have been continued almost up to the
moment of death, and might have been continued
even after death. The bed-clothes on the child could
not have caused the marks, The appearance of the
child indicated death from suffocation and not from
exhaustion, as in the case of the head being in a hollow
place.

Inspector Pay, said he had instructions to inquire
into the matter, and on Friday night be went with
Detective Mullard to the house where the prisoner
lived. He told her he was a police inspector, and should
take her into custody on suspicion of murdering Jessie
Jane Beer, aged 14 months, on the 7th of April last,
at 18. Newington-butte. She said, "Me murder the
child !" He told her he thought she would have to be
charged with murdering Thomas Milner and Amelia
Milner, at 19, Park-road, Kennington, and John
Stuart Taylor, at 170, Stockwell-park-road. She said,
"I had nothing to do with Mrs. Taylor's baby. I was
not in the room." He told her that at the inquest she
had said she had seen the baby at a certain time safe.
She said, 'Yes ; I went up to see Mrs. Gardiner's
baby and saw Mrs. Taylor's ; but I had nothing to do
with that." He took her to the police-station, and the
charge was read over to her, and she said nothing in
answer to the charge.

The prisoner, who was very quiet in her manner in
the dock, was remanded for further evidence,