The Express.
London, England, 1863-07-27 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

OXFORD CIRCUIT. --STAF7ORD, JULY 26.
Caowr COWL—(Berior, Mr. JoAim Byka.)
BITOLTING CROILTT BT ♦ STEPTIOTHER.

Sarah Beret, 32, was arraigned charged with the man-
slaughter of William Ellis Reece, on the 16th of March, in
Wolverhampton.
Mr. Hill was for the prosecution, and Mr. Motteram for
the defence.
The facts sworn to were that the deceased was a child of
about four years old, sod that the prisoner was the r eood
wife of the child's father, who was a labourer in SD ironworks,
living in Monmore-green, in Wolverhampton. The child's
mother died at its birth, and it Ina nursed by a relative,
and passed into the keeping of the prisoner when
she became the father's wife, and when the child was
nearly a year old. It was healthy then, but soon
afterwards showed signs of disease from neglect and went.
The prisoner bad been known to best it cruelly with a strap,
to lift it from the ground and dub it down 'gain, after
which one of its arms was broken, and before it could pro.
perly set the bandage* were taken off. Neighbours had often
beard the child screaming in the house whilst the prisoner
was beating it, and bad often fed it when it was suffei-og
from hunger and thirst. The arm was broken by the mother
picking the deceased up and denier. hint down whilst he
was drinking dirty soap water that had collected in front
of the house, and to get at which the child
bad run oat. Further dunag the exessaive cold
at the beginning of the year the prisoner fastened
the child in a back kitchen without bce and food, leaving
him don is the boon The post-mortem examination r.
reeled that both the child's arms had bee, broken • the
whole of the head under the forehead was one entire briise ;
there were seven or eight bruises on other parte of the
head ; there were several slight bruises on the fees, lip, and
body ; the stomach was contracted sad empty, but there
were forces is the large intestines ; the bones on the tight
fore-arm wen fractured, sod there was no hoot' mho ; the
radius of the left arm had been fractured, but in that OLIO
there had been bony union. The deceased had evidently
mooned excessive violence, and that on more than one
occadon. The mien was of opinion that the braless were
the result of blows, but he would not swear they
were The child had been improperly fed, sod should have
remind roedical treatment before his death• The body
was diseased, and the bruises were not sufficient to cause
death. lie was of opinion that death had been accelerated
by ill treatment and violence combined. The prisoner had
been imprisoned two months for cruelty to the child before
she west to live in Wolverhampton. Os her release she had
frequently said she would kill him. The children in the
house maid he wee inenfficiutly fed ; and a witness deposed
to the prisoner having throat bins is a boiled condition into
a pail of cold water, and then forced him to drink of it.
The defence was that the child bad been injured by falling'
down stairs a day or two before his death. and that these
injuries, combined with the dimmed state of the body, pro-
duced death.

The jury found a verdiet of Guilty ; end the judge see•
tented the prisoner to penal servitude for life.

NORFOLK CIRCUIT.—CANnemag, JULY 25.
The commiarlion use opened here yesterday by Mr. Jus-
tice Wightman. The Lord Chief Baron Pollock is sitting
at Nisi Prins, sod there are six causer for trial. The calendar
contaies two charges of murder, and • man is iodicted as
•oeemory after the fact of ons of the murders. Two pd.
sowers ars charged with arum, ewe with perjury, o. with
abduction, and the remainder ow charges of an ordinary
character.