The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-11-10 00:00:00

CORONERS' INQUESTS.

INQUEST ON A MOTHER AND HER INFANT.
On Tuesday evening, at eight o'clock, two Inquisitions were
taken before fnomu Iliac, Esq. the Deputy-Coroner for M'est.
mip.ter, nt the Brown Bear public-house, near die Horse Barracks
at Knightsbridge, on the bodies of Mrs. Ann Jonei. an interesting
young woman, aged only n years, and her male infant child, nine
months old, whu wereforind drowned in the Serpentine A•iver.
The melancholy cases excited a considerable degree of interest,
Kit the Jury-room, during the investigation, was crowded to excess
by the Inhabitants of the neighbourhood, and a crowd of persons
were also assembled outside the house, all conversing on thelament-
able occurrence.

On'theJury being sworn they retired to the Knightsbridge bone-
house ter view the bodies of the deceased individuals. They pre.
Rent¢d a very app.tring apecrade ; The features of both were much
distorted and 'molten by their remaining in the *water for several
110071. The Jury seemed deeply to regret the satrcatastrophe, and,
en their return to the Brown Beat, the following evidence was
iduced :
William Goodwin was the find witness examined.—ffe deposed
he was a plasterer. residing at No. el, Wellington•srreet, King's.
road. Chelsea. On Alooday morning, about twenty minutes after
six o'chrk, he v as passing by the head of the Serpentine River. in
Hyde Park. going to his labour. lie was on the Knightsbridge
side, When he sas. a man, a total stranger to him, take something
put of the river, and plate it on the edge or kerb of the bank. This
he afterwards discovered to be an iptint child, one of the subjects
of this inquiry. IVitness took the babe up in his arms, and in-
stantly earned it to the bone-house at Knightsbridge, and gave it
to Mr. Fonder, the beadle, who took charge of the emote. Witness
expecked that the man who took the child out of the water was fol-
lowing him, but, on his turning round near the barracka, he could
nut see him. Witness considers the Accesses' infant could not have
been noise water long, on account of the extreme pliability of the
akin.

Juror—Pray did the man who took the child out of the water
tnako any remark or observation ?
Witt:laps—None whatever; only when he (witness) was about to
take the child away, he 5aid.....1 win follow.
Coroner—Om you desetibe the age and appearance of the man ?
Witness—lt being scarcely light I could not sec him so distinctly
es to recognize Ilia), or give a description of his person.
'Juror—Did the Nceinger appear embarrassed to mind, or flurried
In his manners when. you first saw him ? •
ll'itnc.ti Ile cettainly seenica as if he did not know how to act,
an appeared somewhat frightened, I thought.
Joseph Stapleton, a labouring man, was neat railed in and
exandued.• and his evidence wan nearly similar to the former w it-
noss•
ty die Coroner's request, the constable and biaille were desired
to iiiinutapexamine the bodies of the ileceaied individuals, and on
their return they reported that the bodies of bo-h were quite tree
buns any marks of-triultuce having been used towards them exter-
nally.
The Cmmer here invirtd what further evidence there was,
when be was ir.farn.ed that the no:dbr and lather of the unfortu-
nate daccase,', also her husbant:. wren in ;Ince:T./rev, lilt their fed.