The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1875-03-30 00:00:00

A CURIOUS PROSECUTION.

At Penzance, the other day, William Rodda,a butcher,
was charged with a curious offence. The Rev. G. A.
Warner stated that on the 11th March he went into the
butchers market to make mane purchasea Defendant
began to whistle to Ids annoyance, and on his asking him
to desist from whistling, he refused to do no. Consequently
he WM unable to make his purchase, and had to leave the
market. The bench tined the defendant to. and costs, in
all Ils. 6d.

WESTEItIi IteUlT.—Ttlncrog, Mango 27.
(Before Mr. "limos lhoorr.)
Louisa Man(ford, 31, glover, was indicted for the wilful
munler of her twin infant children, Sarah Ann and Mary
Jane, aged one month, at Yeovil.
Mr. 11. eary Batten prosecuted ; Mr. T. W. Saunders
defended the prisoner.
The case for the prosecution wax that the infant, as well
as her twin sister, had been starved hi death. The pri-
soner is the wife of a leather parer living at Yeovil, and
earning lffs. to Psi. • week. fin the lith of December
last she wan confined of twins, one of whom died on the
9th of January, and the other, whose death was the
subject of the present indictment, on the 15th of January.
On the Zipl lks:einlier a medical man was sent for by the
prisoner's father, in whose house she lived. Ile came and
found the children ailing, and inquired with what food
they were being fed, and was told with arrowroot, corm
flour. and biscuit. Ile explained that this was improper
food, and that milk wan the only right food, and he gave
some medicine to check the diarrhow which the children
were wid to he suffering from. liii the 6th of January the
child that 11101 tinit was brought by the prisoner to the
surgery of the doctor, who plainly told her that he thought
the child was living starved, andilirected that both children
should lie fed with milk and water and have a little wine
given to them. hi the 9th thin child died. On the
lath the second Child was brought to the nursery,
and again on the 13th. It was then in an emaciated
condition, nal according to the prisoner dill suffering
from diarrhow. The doctor, however, was of a different
opinion, aud pointed out to the prisoner and to persons
who were there that what the chill wanted was not
medicine, lint fool. The dochir, on, this is-melon, asked
if the first child was buried, and said, "1 suppose you
have kept it to bore with this one I" To which the
prisoner answered, "I suppose it will not live." On the
15th the child died, and a post ptorteus examination was
made, the result of which, showing, as it did, no trace of
disease and no inflammation in the intootines, but entire
emaciation, confirmed the doctor in the opinion lie had
previously entertained that the child had Iliad of starva-
tion, an opinion which wiss also that of a sawimil medical
man who took part in the pod afortsta examination. On
the other hand, the father and mother of the prisoner
deposed that the ch.l.lren hat been well treated, and the
mother and another witness dolmal they had both
suffered f iliarrlitea. A medical man who had not
seen the children, tot only heard the evidence in court,
was of opinion that it was COWlixtent with the symptoms
that itenth hal resulted from atrophy. It wax mentioned
incidentally that max three"( ten children of the prisoner
were living. The evidence of the lastduentionol witness
was relied on for the defence, as showing that the prisoner
was guilty neither of murder nor of the minor offence of
Manalatighter by culpable negligence.
The jury took this view of the case, and acquitted the
prisoner. A verdict of acquittal was taken in the case of
the other child which the prisoner was charged with
murdering, the facts being precisely similar.