The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-03-27 00:00:00

EXAMINATION OF THE PRISONER.

At the Lambeth Police-court, on Monday, Frederick
Hunt, described as a draper's accountant, of 3,
Melbourne-terrace, Dulwich-road, Penge, was charged
with the wilful murder of his wife, Eliza, and Annie,
his daughter, aged seven years, by cutting their throats
with a razor at the above address on the 21st inst. The
prisoner was further charged with attempting to
murder his two sons, Arthur and Percy, aged respec-
tively nine and five years, by administering laudanum
to them; and also with attempting to commit suicide
—first, by taking laudanum, and afterwards by
placingtimself on the rails of the London, Chatham,
and Dover Railway at Penge.
Previous to the opening of the Court, a crowd,
whose curiosity had been inflamed by the account of
this tragic occurrence, besieged the doors, and during
the day a multitude unable to gain admission idled in
the entrance-hall and precincts of the building. Hunt
is a man aged 39 years. In et ature he is much below
the average height, slenderly built, slightly bald,
pale, sunken cheeks, and careworn in appearance.
During the entire proceedings, the prisoner, vho was
seated in the dock, kept his eyes averted, his head
being sunk on his chest.
Sabina Chandler was the firit witness called. She
said: I live at the prisoner's house in Melbourne.
terrace as a domestic servant. I had been with him
three weeks to-day, I think. Yesterday morning,
at five-and-twenty minuteD to six o'clock, I was in
bed, and Mr. Hunt came into my room. Miss
Maas and one of the children slept in the same room
with me. Prisoner when he came in wanted to take
the child out of bed; it was a little girl about ten years
old. Miss Maas said she would rather the girl stayed
with her, and the prisoner left the room, saying
"Very well." He was not dressed-at the time, but
had only a flannel shirt and drawers on. I felt rather
frightened. I don't know why, but I suppose it was
because he wanted to take the child out of bed, and I
went downstairs. I suspected that something was
wrong, and I went partly downstairs and saw nothing.
I came up, and then went down again to see if Mrs.
Hunt were awake' when I saw a note on the handle
of her bedroom door; not tied on, but stand-
ing up. I looked on the note, which was
folded up and sealed. I saw that its contained the
following words on the outside—" To Miss Maas. Do
not open this, but take this to Mrs. Guest." I showed
it to Miss Maas, and then dressed and took the note
to Mr. Guest. I went back to the bedroom and opened
the door, and when I got in I saw a night-shirt lying
there, but although I could see a form partly in and
partly out of the bed, I could not 'distinguish what it
was, for it was covered by the bed clothes. I did not
touch the clothes, but left the room and went upstairs.
I told Miss Maas what I had seen, and she sent me to
Mr. Guest, at 47, Janera-grove, Penge. I gave the
note to him, and came back to the house. Mrs. Guest
came shortly afterwards, and she, Miss Maas, and I
went into the bedroom together. We turned down
the bed clothes, and I saw that the body of Mrs.
Hunt was beside the bed in a kneeling position, with
, her head and shoulders lying forward on the bed. I
went to the other side of the bed and saw the
body of the little girl Annie Hunt, aged seven years.
She was lying in the bed beside her mother, and
the pillow and the child's nightdress were covered
with blood. We fetched the doctor then, but during
this time Mr. Hunt had gone. 1 saw him before he
went with a note in his hand. I looked for him and
found the street door wide open, but I did not see
where he had gone. I do not know whether Mrs.
Hunt was dead when I saw her, but several hours
afterwards, when I saw the body, I found that the
throat had been cut. I thought something was wrong,
because Mrs. Hunt was poorly the du before, and I
thought Mr. Hunt had gone for the dtctor ; that was
all I meant by saying that I suspected something was
wrong.

Caroline Maas said: I have been in the prisoner's
service as governess since the Ist December, and I
slept with the servant and the little girl Katie Hunt.
I was awake when prisoner came into the room and
said, "I want Katie," at the same time holding out
his arms for her. I said I did not want her to go,
upon which he replied, "I must have her." I said,
"What for?" Ile answered, 'Because you have a cold,
and I am afraid of her catching it." I told him a,.:ain
that I did not want her to go, and he theu said that
he and Mrs. Hunt both wished that she should go.
The child put out her arms and wished to be taken,
but I prevented him taking. her by putting my
arms between them. He said, "Oh, very well, and
went out of the room. I wanted to know whether Mrs.
Hunt was awake, and I sent the servant down to see,
because Mr. Hunt was very much agitated, and there
was a peculiar look in his eyes which I had never
seen before' and I felt very much frightened. The
excuses that he made about Katie also added
to my suspicions. The servant brought me the letter
referred to and I asked her to take it at once to Mrs.
Guest, arid until that lady came I stayed up-
stairs with the children. When Mrs. Gusst came I
went with her and the servant into the bedroom, and I
saw a form lying partly across the bed, under the
clothes. -Upon the clothes being moved I saw Mrs.
Hunt kneeling at the side of the bed, with eomething
twisted around her head and neck, and the body of
A.nnie lying on the bed, Before Nr. Hunt came into

the bedroom I heard the voice of the elaist boy, who
is about 13, and Mr. Hunt in the next room. I heard
Frederic say, "I will not, Pa," but I did not hear pri-
soner reply.
The Magistrate: Had you ever noticed anything
strange in Mr. Hunt's manner previously to this?
Witness : No.
Frederic hunt said: I am nearly thirteen ;years of
age, and am son of Mr. Hunt. I was asleep in one ci‘
the top rooms yesterday morning with my two
brothers, Arthur and Percy, when about a quarter to
six o'clock I woke up and found father lying by my
side. He said, " Hollao, Fred, dear," and got up and
walked over to the boys' bed, and asked them to
take some cough mixture. Arthur took some of
the stuff, and then Percy did, and he. promised
them that they should feed the fowls next
day. He then came over to my bedside and
asked me to take some, but I said, "1%14:4. father,
I'm not going to take it." He said, " Oh, -do
take it," but I again refused and stood up in the bed.
After that he went out of the room, and the next thing
I heard was voices in the adjoining room. He put his
head in the room twice afterwards, and then I saw no
more of him. I thought it rather curious that father.
should come into me at that time of the morning, as
he had never done so before. He was very agitated.
I shook a great deal when he asked the boys to take
the medicine.
The Magistrate: Had you or your brothers been
suffering from any cough?
Witness: No, sir; the boys had a slight cold. I
had never noticed anything strange in father before,
and he was always very kind to us.

Jane Middleton Guest said : I am the wife of
Edward Guest, and live at 47, Laurel-grove, Penge,
and have known Mr. and Mrs. Hunt intimately for
three years. Yesterday morning the servant girl
Sabina, or Sarah as we call her, came to my house
about half-past six with the letter produced.
I broke the seal, and began to read it aloud
to my husband. I am positive that the letter
is in Mr. Hunt's handwriting. Without stopping
to read the whole of the letter I began to dress, and
called up Sarah, who told me that Hunt had gone out,
taking Annie with him and that Mrs. Hunt was
asleep. I went to Melbourne-terrace, and into Mrs.
Hunt's bedroom, where I saw the bedclothes much
disturbed, and the child's little hand pointing up-
wards, but I did not see the bodies until they were
laid out.

Edward Guest, husband of the previous witness,
corroborated her as to the receipt of the note referred
to, and stated that he fetched a medical man to see the
bodies. He bad not seen Mr. Hunt sine last Wednes-
day or Thursday, when he rode up to town with him,
and he seemed very much agitated. He was, said wit-
ness, troubled very much about a change he had made
in giving up a situation a few weeks before where he had
received £250 a-year. He said he had too much to do
his brain was overworked, and he could not stand it.
He spoke to m'e about having taken night work, and
doing some additional work, and said it was more than
he could do. He did not get another situation, but
he has been trying to make up his income by getting
tradesmen's books to attend to in the day time, and
from what I have heard he did not succeed. He was
engaged with Messrs. W. and R. Morley, Gutter-
,
lane.

Dr. Longrigg, 1, Melbourne-terrace, said he was
called to Mr. Hunt's at about five minutes to seven
yesterday morning, and upon going upstairs he found
in a bed-room a child lying dead on the right hand
side of the bed, the soft parts of the throat being
severed to the spine. On the left hand side of the bed
lay Mrs. Hunt, with her knees nearly touching the
ground, and her body thrown across the bed with a
sheet tightly wrapped round her head and shoulders.
She was quite dead, but warmer than the
child. The cause of death was a wound in
the throat, which had severed the large
blood-vessels completely, besides partially cutting the
windpipe. I saw the two little boys upstairs, and
found Percy very drowsy and sleepy, while Arthur
complained of internal pain. An emetic was ad-
ministered to the youngest child, who was suffering
from opium poisoning, and he was brought round,
though he remained very ill all day. About an hour
afterwards Arthur showed symptoms of opium poison-
ing, but recovered after the administration of remedies
similar to those given to his brother. He found traces of
laudanum in a wineglass in the room, and also a razor
covered with blood and hair. At about a quarter past
ten he was fetched to the police-station, where he found
Mr. Hunt, who had been brought in in a semi-comatose
state, and was suffering from opium poisoning. He
used the stomach pump, and kept prisoner walking about
until midnight, when he recovered. In conversation he
told witness that he had given his boys laudanum and
some patent medicine which also contained it. Wit-
ness told prisoner that the two boys were saved, and ,
he said, Good God, I wish they had been in heaven
with my wife. I was insane this morning, but am
sane now."
The prisoner was then remanded for a week.

The Daily News of Tuesday says:—"The sad oc-
currence has naturally created a great sensation in
Penge. The prisoner and his family have lived there
only about eight months; mat he is spoken of as a
well-conducted, respectable man, somewhat particular
in his ways, and anxious to keep out of debt, and the
neighbours have noticed that he seemed exceedingly
fond of his children. Mrs. Hunt, too, is spoken kindly
of, and it is remarked that since her husband lost his
situation she has been in the habit, which she was not
before, of herself going out to purchase the necessary
articles for the house. It would seem as though the
unfortunate man cut the child's throat first while she
was asleep, and then the wife's, and that the latter
jumped out of bed, and fell with her face on the bed
in the position in which she was afterwards found."
Throughout yesterday the house in Melbourne-ter-
race, where the murders were committed, was a source
of curiosity to crowds of people; and it having beconie
known that the unfortunate man Hunt would be
removed from Penge to the Lambeth Police-court, the
entire route to the railway station was lined at an
early hour, and the railway bridge was crowded with
people anxious to get a glimpse of the prisoner.

The Times has published the following letter, which
was received from the prisoner's late employers :

"36, Gutter-lane, London, March 22,
"Frederick Runt was a clerk in our house at a salary of
£250 a year.
"On the 12th of February last he had an interview with
his employers, and stated that unless he received an advance
of £5O per annum he would leave his situation at once. As
this determination was considered by the firm to be a hasty
one, they urged him to reconsider the matter, and seek
friendly advice, and promised to keep his situation open for
him till the following Monday.
"He renewed his application on Monday, and said he had
considered the matter fully, and unless he had the advanced
salary should leave forthwith, which he did the day follow-
ing, leaving the impression that he had something better in
view. He subsequently applied to be reinstated, but in the
meantime arrangements had been made, and in justice to
others his application was refused.
"Some days after he sent his card to the firm announcing
himself as a draper's accountant and bookkeeper, upon
which the firm promised they would give him the manage-
ment of their fire insurances, and any other influence they
felt they might exercise on his behalf. He was a most
exemplary young man, and this sad event has cast a gloom
over all his associates, of whom none more regret this awful
calamity than his late employers—W. and. R. MORLEY and
GRAY."