The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1866-12-15 00:00:00

A SENSATION TRIAL IN FRANCE.

A remarkable case is being tried at Niort, in the
department of the Two Sevires--a dependency of the
old English province of Anjou, which has engrossed
public attention in Paris. and elsewhere The pit.
loner is a farmer at Pressigny, a large village in the
• • neichbouthood. called Martin Rein. The facts laid
to hi. charge by the hat datruantion are very plain.
' and are net forth with all that paimul mninteneee
which gives such documents in France • strong family
- likeness with sensational novels in England. It is of
eritvh enormous length, and is so overladen with un-
necessary verbiage, that it is quite impossible to
transcribe it textually. We must thereon, condense
it in the following terms :
In 1563 the prisoner's lenther-in•law. Pierre Bean, then in
Ms Silnd year died • fearful death lie had gdne out for
a day's shooting on Martin Bean • grounds, and had lunched
• at the farmhouse. he alone partook of the meal, He then
went out to resume his shooting, but had hardly been •
Quarter Of an hour out of the lonise, when he was seized
with a "...Lion of burning and intolerable ansmiab in the
chest and throat. He went home immediately. hut his Illness
reser worse . his theist swelled enormously his body was
- covered with a profuse perspiration, an 1 after experiencing
intense agony, he died on the did day of February. Ilti
htother•ln-law, Martin Beau, inherited his property. Tnere
had been, moreover, constant quarrels retmeen the two
reape g money matters, the prisoner having repeatedly ,
attempted to overreach Pterre. Three years and a half
.. hirer i.e death of Pierre his sister. Martin's wife, died
alter a abaci tuner, which resented precisely
gymptoms to that which had carried off thi. first victim—
' 'venting of the chest and throat, prose., psrepteerion,
• ci-
reiterating suffering. She died on the 27th of December 1968.
Sae ha,' made a will leaving all her property to her humbsucl.
. • The a •fe de derwar wry: notices one parucular feature
• 4' Tnn woman seemed to live under constant ones' of tier
••• httevihd. She had horhe him two children, and viewed with
Intense apprehension the possibility of again becoming •
mother She Oleo to tell the nenthe -urn that she took drugs
to prevent the occurrence of such an event, which her htubami
, a.: unuttered to her for that purpose. She laboured, more-
Ovcr. under the presentment that she would not jive long,
• Lando been overheard t tell her hushand. 'Well. when I'm
dead you will be able to mare, Julie Bontemps "
Martin Bean allowed some time to pass. and on the 27th
. of April. married Julie liontempe eke is dercribed lit
the act. a aerto,totson as • •ti rat d.llll4,rernth, charmante "lint
soon after her marriage all her brightness departed—she
grew pale and si-kly, and had also to drink potions ad-
ministered by her busbend to prevent her having children.
On one ocmsion • servant saw her draw from beneath her
pillow • bottle fined with whitish liquid The men asked If
she were ill. Julie replied, "Ills only for the sake of peace
and quiet I take this It, if; one cannot always do as one
like. " She was agitated in uying this, end cried.
Presently she emptied the bottle In the fire-place,
saying "As my husband is not here this morning
1 shaCt take it." A few days later Martin. speaking to the
mune servant, said, Mv wife will
have • preventive for that under my pillow' In spite of
thane precautions. however, Julie became en c.irtie Whilst
hi that condition she was treated with the grossest brutality
by her husband. Among other devices, he placed blocks of
wood across a dark and steep staircase, down which she
bad to pass : she fell down the whole flight, and broke her
arm. She gave birth, however, to a eon in September,
lefie : the child was pat out to nurse, in the Care Of aWOmitli
who lived in a state of great poverty. In April, loriS, Julie
fell II several doctors atten -ed her, but independently of
their medicines the hunband gave her drug. of his own com-
pounding. and in addition gave her another re:hitch., which
be placed inside cherries, after having previously removed
the stores. Her symptoms were similar to those which had
marked the illness of her hosband's brother-in-law and first
vile. Finally, she died In [neat agony. in July, 1965. Soon
after the child was taken home. The boy sickened, and
site. a short ilinese winch presented the rime features as
that which bad carried off 11. mother, he died in Jemmy,
1586- His death male Martin Beau the sole heir of his w•fe,
end made him • comparative,y veli man, with about 9 00.-1
which is • lane snot in that part of the country. Bat
Nemesis was at hand. The death of the child induced the
Leigh °mill to suspect foul play, but would hardly have acted
0/3 their su.plzions but for the imprudence of Martin's con-
duct . he tee nt about proclaiming that the only way for •
-man to grew rich was to marry several times. Finally,
they commimicatel their suspicions to the police, and the
bodies of his brotherdn-law, his two wlves, and his child
Were exhumed. Their Viscera, their cc flips, and the very earth
of their graves were found impregnated with large quan-
tities of corrosive sublimate. of which he had • large stock
to doctor the mules an I horses of which he was a large
breeder He was arrested Whilst in 011 he bribed •
fellow prisoner. one hertadatto, In custody for a trivial
offence. to take a message to tWd of his netaiiiionr—
a carpenter and his son, offering them WOO francs
apiece to dep.e that they had neard Paul B memos , his
second wife's father plotting the death of Jill. and her '
child with a man named PAM Bichoti He gave Benadatto
tie instructions In writing, and Benedetto handed them to
the gaoler.

The above is the substance of the actt d'ateatatien.
The rrisoner is only indicted for the murder of his two
wives and his child. In Frew! there is a statute of
limitation of ten years for murder, whish prevents the
murder of the brother-in-law being on into. The
prisoner was defended by M. Lachand.

Writing on the above nibject, another corres-
pondent says

Tile great wisontnit ease is still going on, end indeed it
Hot fair to set throughout the week. The prboner.
Reims is evidently a moll of intellect Re held his own very
burls in the long examination to which he was mhjected fly
tbe Ireeident be denied over teeing adminatered any
drug whatsoever to his wives or his brotner.in.law, or to his
Child It appear, that the jars to, which some of the
remains were placed for analysis were left uneovered and
Unattended for some time in the courtyard of the Marie
whereupon the prisoner refused to sign the minute, of their
being closed and sealed. The President asked him why he
refused surely he nal not suppose they were tampered
With Re replied, with much good 11110., 1 don't believe
anything—all I know Is teat the jars were left uncovered.
and I Os, rot goo g to Sign a declaration the, they co, famed
botforg but fragments Sr. in the grave upon bunt' He tone
out that be ha._ political enemies, and ascribed the prase-
rattan to the hostility of an opponent in the town council
of the village .4 great deal of uneeeeuary sensationalism
was resorted to. Thus the public proeeeutor thongnt nes:mo-
lar, 5. Ming into curt the human remains that had been
analveed among others thu head of the brother.in-law,
which had been hurled thirteen /ears This glisetly relic
We. shrove to some witnesses, and one of them recognised it
by the teeth.
.

it Marchand, mayor of Preashroy. mid in his evidence
that he was told that ti lioutempe had consenied ark
great reluctance to the marriage of his daughter with the
accused. lla accused mad esveral Warr to the witness that
he old not want any children oy his second wile 11.. fore
m.rrog Julia Bonterom was very amiable, kiod, enc. very
MPrry 'the became sad after her marriage. Her baby was
put out to be tuned. The Lune was • poor woman who
hao had a child two years before. People were astonished
to see her giving Cream to the hairy. When Julia fell lithe
accuse.i told me that the doctors did not know her disease
Toe accused was reputed to be very wealthy He was very
fond of money.
- .

Madame Tlbe:l was acquainted vrith M. sad Madame
M.au. Miry Jane said once to Reau. "After my death you
marry Julia If,ntempe, whom you lion so gentle " Mary
Jane died from an ifluomsllon Than the accused married
B. said, "1 shall here no children Ido not misn to
wrong the others," When Julia bemme a mother the accused
Wee dimwit+ fltd
_ . .

the Court adjourned on Saturday sixty•six
witnesses had given their evidence. The Court was
announced to sit next day, although it WA, Sunday—
and this appears very strange to us, with our notions.