The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-11 00:00:00

Murder and Suicide,

At Reading yesterday morning it was discovered that a
young married woman had deliberately drowned her three
children in the Thames and then committed suicide by
droving herself. The deceased woman was named Emma
Legge, and she was the wife of James Legge, a journeyman
upholsterer, and her three children were—Flora, aged five
years; Louis, aged three years; and Napoleon, aged three
months. On Monday morning, Aug. 1, she, her husband,
and children arrived at Reading from Tunbridge Wells by
the South-Eastern Railway, and the man took lodgings for
them in the Rising Sun publichouse in the Forbury. He
seems, however, to have left them there, for ho went away
the same evening, and it has been ascertained that he slept
at the Spread Eagle Tavern, in another part of the town.
From that time ho abandoned his wife and children, she
having only a small sum, besides a few articles of furniture,
with which to provide the common necessaries of life. After
remaining at the Rising Sun a few days she removed to a
publichouse in Minster-street, where she remained until
Monday in the present week. The furniture she had she
disposed of on Monday for about 40s. She then paid or her
lodgings and a few small bills she had incurred, leaving her
with little more than half-a-crown for future maintenance.
On Tuesday evening she took lodgings at the Jack of New-
bury, Bridge-street, and slept there that night. On Wed-
nesday morning she rose soon after 6 o'clock, and dressed li
herself and her children. A little before 7 she went to a Mr
Boseley, a furniture dealer, in Horn-street, and hired a
perambulator, stating that she wanted to give her children
an airing. As the weather was dull and threatening rain, Mr
Boseley told her he thought it was too cold to take children
out at so early an hour, but as she appeared determined togo
he allowed her to take the perambulator, into which she put
the children and went away. She was observed to go along
Caversham-road, and turn into the yard adjoining the White
Hart, Cavershant, towards the towing path of the Thames.
There was nothing in her conduct to excite suspicion, as it is
rather a favourite place for people to take an airing.
Some time afterwards the gardener at Mrs Monck's, on
the opposite side of the river, observed a perambulator on
the bank without any one in it, or even near it. While he
was looking to see what had become of the person in charge
of it he saw something like a human body floating on the
surface of the river. He then got into his mistress's plea-
sure-boat, pulled across the river, and within a few yards
of the bank he saw the three children and a woman lying
within a short distance of each other, all dead.

All the bodies were removed to an outhouse belonging to
the White Ilart Inn. The children were quite dead and
cold. As there was, however, a slight warmth about the
body of the woman, every means were used, under the direc-
tion of Mr. Bulley, surgeon, to restore animation, but with-
out avail.

Mr J. J. Blandy, the Coroner for the borough, opened
the inquest in the large room at the White Hart lan, Cavcr-
sham, in the afternoon. After viewing the bodies the jury
heard the following evidence :
Mr P. A. Bailey, surgeon, Reading, said,--About half-
past 9 o'clock this morning I was summoned to the White
Hart Inn, Caversham-bridge, to attend a woman and her
three children, who I understood had been taken out of the
water just above the bridge. I attended immediately, and
found them lying in a stable adjoining the inn. Several
persons were actively engaged in endeavouring to restore
animation. The bodies of the children were quite cold, but
as there was slight remaining warmth in the body of the
mother, I requested they would continue their efforts for
some time longer, in which I assisted, but without avail.
Judging from the very slight warmth in the mother's body
when I first saw her, and the total absence of it in the
bodies of the children, I should say that they had been im-
mersed from half an hour to an hour before they were taken
out of the water. There was no appearance of violence on
the body of either child.

a William Jacobs, the gardener, then described the man-
ner in which he had found the bodies. lle said—On near-
ing the bank, and when within seven feet of it, to my great
surprise I saw three children and a woman floating on the
surface of the water. I took the children out of the water,
placed them in the boat, and called to my little boy 10 years
of age, and told him to go to Piper's and tell him to come
and render me some assistance, as there was some one
drowned. I lifted up the woman by the head, and held her
up, and shortly Piper and his man came in a punt and took
her out. They were all dead when I found them. The peram-
bulator was about four feet from the water's edge. The
water is a dozen feet deep where the bodies were found. The
baby was floating on his back ; the second seemed to be the
same, and the elder one was dipping in the water with the
face downwards. The woman was in the same position as
the last mentioned child. They had all been immersed, and
on rising were kept up by their clothes. The children were
separated from each other, and the woman from all of thorn.
They formed a kind of group floating. Their hats were off
and in the water. I found a purse in the perambulator. It
contained only three halfpence. There were two paper
bags, in which had been broken biscuits, and at the bottom
of the perambulator was another halfpenny. The two elder
children had been eating biscuits, and the youngest, from
milk coming out of his mouth, could only a short time be-
fore being thrown into the rivet:. have been suikled by the
mother.

James King, a respectable looking young man, living at
Whittey, said the deceased Emma Legge was my sister,
I saw her on Saturday morning last at half-past 10 o'clock.
I saw the three children on the day mentioned, and that
was the last time I saw them all alive. I did not know her
husband, but I met a man in the street whom I supposed to
be him, from the description given of him to me. I spoke to
him, but he said he was not the man. Of my own knowledge
I do not know whether she was married. She said sho was,
and I have reasan to believe she was stating the truth. She
gave me one day last week the address of her husband's
brother at Tunbridge-wells, and by her desire I wrote to him
to inrire if ho had gone back there to work, but no answer
was received, I was in Australia about 17 years. and re-
turned on the 19th of Juno last. Since that time I have
seen my sister four oz five times. She cam© to Reading on
the lst August, and her husband took lodgings for her at
the Rising Sun. Her husband did not stay there with her,
but went and got a bed at the Spread Eagle. He did not
return to her again. She told me she thought her husband
had gone away drinking, and that she had very little money
left, She did not know what he was going to do about

work, and she expected him back every hour:l asked her
if I got work in Reading if she would come and live with
me, end I said I would try to support her and the children.
She said she would not, for she would not be under obliga-
tion to anyone. On one of the occasions when I saw her
she talked of selling the things she had with her, and going
back to Tunbridge to see if her husband was there.
The Coroner—Did she state what her object or motive
was in coming to Reading ?

Witne,s—She stated that they were come to Reading to
live. That her husband was an upholsterer by trade, and
that he had sent goods or luggage, above 20 cwt., by rail-
way, and she and the four children were to follow it, as she
believed, to have a home there.

The Coroner—ln her conversation with you did she
speak in a way that led you to suppose she was in a despond-
ing state ?

-Witness—She appeared to me to be low spirited on ac-
count of her husband's absence and drinking as she sup-
posed. She was under the impression that he had gone
back to Tunbridge.

The Coroner said that was all the evidence he was pre-
pared to lay before the jury at that time, but, as it was de-
sirable to find the husband, an adjournment must take place.
In the meantime, Inspector Peck would communicate with
the police at Tunbridge-wells, and probably some informa-
tion would be obtained respecting him, and also other evi-
dence which might enable them to arrive at a verdict.
The inquest was then adjourned until next week,