The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-05-27 00:00:00

FOREIGN AID SOCIETY

The annual meeting of the Liverpool blanch of this
society was held last night, in the theatre of the

EXTRAORDINARY CHARGE OF CHILD
MURDER IN LIVERPOOL.

Yesterday, a woman named Mary Curley was breught
before Mr. Mansfield, charged by Detective Carlyle with
having murdered a child, apparently about three months
old, under the following strange circumstances :—On
E'riday evening she was seen by some boys at the south
end of the town in some fields, adjoining Mr. Lawrence's
demesne, endeavouring to bury a living child, about the
age mentioned, under some sods and clay. The boys
took up the child and made her take it away. She made
two or three efforts subsequently to get rid of the child,
prevented. The last time the child was seers
with her tva,, the evening, near the extreme south
pier-head. grinie time ,;_er she was seen without the
child. The police have been en ;hn
that
search all Saturday
night, Sunday, and this Morning, but eettLi_
not disicover
the child. D. is said the Womaa is an idiot, au,..
she has stolen the child from some one, as she is nit
known to have had a child herself. The affair has
created great sensation at the south end of the town.
Several intellieent buys,
amongst whom were lads .7.l.l'T'ett,
Daniel Duffy, John Christie, James Pennington, Dac...a
Hale, Jeffrey It. Lightening, and James Quayle, wells
examined, and their evidence w, nt to prove the above
facts generally. The boys were pla , ieg cricket in a field,
when the attention of one was drawn to the prisoner,
who was at a lime kiln that was burning, trying to lay a
bundle towards the mantis of the kiln, and on the
approach of some of the boys she gathered up the bundle
and ran off. saying it was cabbage or cauliflowers she
herd in it. The boy Duffy watched her and saw her go
towards a hale ar drain, near Mr. Lawrence's wall, and
put some sods on snmethitig, and on going up to her he
saw it was a child, about three months old, and he heard
it moaning ; he took off the sods and the prisoner then
ran off with the child She made several attempts to
get rid of the child by throwing it amongst timber arid
into holes and drains, hat the boys followed and pre-
vented her. Some of the lads Went for a policeman, but
could not (as they steel) find one. The woman then
proceeded towards the extreme south end pier-head, and
a heavy thunder storm coming on the boys went away.
The prisoner was seen returning in the same direction
soon after, but was not seen after that instil Sunday
morning, when the boy Duffy happened to see her in
Park-road, and as there was a policeman present he gave
her into custody. The police, tie to the present time,
have not been successful in their c arch for the body of
the child. The prisoner, from appearance, was quite
idiotic ; she was very poorly dressed and had her hair
fantastically plaited across her forehead. Carlyle said it
was known she had no child of her own, and it was
strongly supposed she had stolen the child from some
person or other out of some house in the absence of the
mother. She had a bundle of wild flowers which she
fondled very much. She was remanded for seven days.