The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-08-07 00:00:00

SENTENCED TO DEATH.

At the Central Criminal Court, Emma Pleasance, 26, was
indicted for the wilful murder of her two children, William
and Laura Constance Pleasance, the former on the Bth and
the latter on the 26th of May.
Mr. Poland and Mr. Montagu Williams were counsel for
the prosecution, Mr. Warner Sleigh and Mr. Fulton de-
fended.—We take the following report of the case from The
Times:—

Mr. Poland, in opening the case on the first indict-
ment, said the prisoner was charged with the wilful
murder of her child, Laura Constance Pleasance, and
when he told the jury that they would at once feel
that the case was one of considerable importance and
one which would require their most anxious atten-
tion. The prisoner was 26 years of age, and had
for some time been living with a man named John
Poole. He had adopted the prisoner's name,
and they lived together as Mr. and Mrs. Pleasance.
For some considerable time up to the 4th of May they
were living at Trevor-square, Knightsbridge, with the
two children in question, the girl into whose death
they were inquiring being about four years of age.
The man appeared to have acted entirely as the pri-
soner's husband, supporting her and the children by his
work. Up to Christmas last he was in reasonably good
work, but was not so after that period, and there was
no doubt that they were very much pressed for means.
On the Ist of May the man Poole became deranged
in his mind. The parish authorities intervened,
and he was first sent to the infirmary of the work-
house and afterwards to a lunatic asylum. On the
4th of May the prisoner appeared to have left the
lodgings in Trevor-square for the purpose of reducing
the expenditure, and she took some cheaper lodgings in
60, Walton-street, Chelsea. She was unable to obtain
work, and on the bth of May she took the little boy
out, but when she returned she did not bring him.
They were not then inquiring into the boy's death.
The prisoner continued living at this house with her
little girl. The police made inquiries with reference
to the little boy, and on the afternoon of the 26th of
May an inspector spoke to the prisoner on the subject,
and he then noticed that the little girl was in perfect
health playing by her mother's side. The prisoner on
that day took the little girl out, and at half-past
twelve o'clock that night she was seen by a police-
constable named Leeson outside her lodgings
without the child. Some conversation took place
between them, and when asked about the
child she said the little girl was dead in the
ornamental water at Battersea-park, and that she
died in her arms without a struggle. The. prisoner
was taken to the police station, where the inspector
spoke to her, and she reiterated her statement,
ad-
mitting that she had drowned her child. and saying
the body would be found near the boats in the orna-
mental water at Battersea-park. Her clothes were
noticed to be wet, and she presented the appearance
of having been in the water. The inspector at once
went to Battersea-park and found the body of the
child, dressed as usual, about eight yards from the
shore, and in the vicinity of the boats. It was found
that she had been dead six or seven hours and was
past medical aid. The cause of death was suffocation,
but the body did not present the usual appearance of
drowned persons, and the medical gentlemen were of
opinion that the child had been held under water and
kept there until she was dead.
Witnesss in support of Mr. Poland's statement were
called, and they spoke in detail to the facts to which
the learned counsel had referred.

Mr. Warner Sleigh addressed the Court for the de-
fence, urging that at the time of the commission of
the crime the prisoner was not aware of the nature
and quality of the act she was committing. At the
time the prisoner was pregnant, and had passed
thgough great trouble, and he contended that it had
caused insanity. The account of the matter was that
she intended to commit suicide by drowning herself.
She went to the Battersea-park and threw herself into
the water, which was not deep enough to carry out
her object; she stumbled, and the child, which was
asleep in her arms, fell into the water and became
suffocated. _

, Mr. Justice Hawkins having summed up the case,
The jury, after considering for some time, returned
a verdict of Guilty against the prisoner, but strongly
recommended her to mercy.
' - - -

Mr. Justice Hawkins, without assuming the black
cap, said that, after having listened to a very sad and
distressing tale, the jury had found it to be their duty
to convict the prisoner of the crime of wilful murder.
He confessed that having carefully considered the
evidence, he could not see how they could have come
to any other conclusion. He was glad they had
appended to their verdict the strong recommendation
to mercy, which he should take care to forward to
Her Majesty's Secretary of State, who had power to
deal with it. His lordship then passed sentence of
death in the usual form.

The prisoner pleaded in stay of judgment that she
was pregnant.
A jury of matrons were then empanelled to try
this issue, and they came to the conclusion that it
was so.
Mr. Justice Hawkins said upon that verdict he
ordered sentence to be respited until the prisoner be
delivered of a child or when it was no longer pos-
sible in the course of nature that she should be so
delivered.

The following telegram, dated August 2, from the
Viceroy of India, has been received at the India Office :
"Master of ship Cedric the Saxon reports: Sighted inacces-
sible island, 23 miles S.W. Tristan d Acunha, 19th June.
Liuge fire burning in N.W. side, apparently on shore; time,
eight evening; heavy gale, unable to lay ship to for day-
light. I suggest probable shipwrecked crew."