The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-29 00:00:00

Execution of Alice Holt at Chester,

Yesterday the extreme sentence of the law was
carried into effect on Alice Holt, at Chester Gaol,
for the murder of her mother by poison. The evi-
dence at the trial, before Mr. Justice Willes, on Dec.
8 and 9, showed that prisoner, her mother, and a
man named Holt, with whom she cohabited, lived
together at Stockport. In Feb. last the deceased
Mary Bailey, was taken ill, and the prisoner insured
her life for £26 at a premium of 6d. per week. She
induced a woman named Betty Wood to personate
her mother before the doctor, telling her that the
agent said " Anyone would do." The proposal was
accepted by the Wesleyan Assurance Society, and
from that time the mother became worse. Prisoner
called the parish surgeon and the infirmary visiting
officer, both of whom were ignorant of the other's
visits, and complained of their medicine not being
given. On the 25th and 26th the prisoner bought
some arsenic—a quarter of a pound each time,
which she put in a jug with some boiling water,
and sprinkled about the room where her mother lay
to kill,vertnin. The night of the 26th deceased had
some brandy and water, and complained of grounds
being at the bottom. Prisoner said, " You ought to
have drunk grounds and all." Mary Bailey died
in the morning with all the symptoms of arsenical
poisoning, and was buried, The personation came
to the ears of the office, and the body was disinterred
on June 12, when the body was found perfectly
fresh but " saturated with arsenic," of which no less
than 160 grains were found in the stomach and ad-
j scent parts.
The unfortunate woman was not tried at the
Summer Assizes, in consequence of her being
enciente. The child has since been adopted by
Holt's uncle, the only person who has visited her
since her imprisonment. She has been sullen, and
strongly protested her innocence.
On Sunday, the 27th, the prisoner made the fol-
lowing statement:—

" On the Monday before mother died, I brought the
insurance paper home, insuring my mother's life for
£26 and mine £2B. He then proposed I should get some
charcoal and put it under mother's bed alight when shewas
asleep, and she would never wake more. On Wednesday
night Holt and I never went to bed. He said it would be
a great releasement if she was in her grave, and he would
bill some stretchnine (strychnine) if I would give it her. I
said, Thoult be found out.' He said, They cannot find
it out by that.' I said, ' Thou has brought me to destruc-
tion, and now thou wants to bring me to the gallows,' He
then beat me. In the beer of which I spoke I saw, after my
mother had drunk it, a quantity of blue arsenic grounds. I
said, ` Thou hast given my mother arsenic.' He said, 'lf
thou tell aught, I'll have thee up for defrauding the insur-
ance,' and said, 'Nobody will believe but what thou has
done it thyself.' This was the only arsenic my mother ever
had."

Another statement was afterwards made by the
prisoner to this effect :

" George Holt offered mother some beer, in which the
arsenic was put. Mother was sick and could not take it,
and set it on the mantelpiece and went out. I said,
' Mother, can'st not sup this gill of beer ?' She then took
it from my hand and supp'n. it. When I looked at the jug
I saw the blue arsenic at the bottom. There was lioz. left
in the jug—as much as would fill a smelling bottle. I put
the jug on the top shelf of the cupboard, and thought of
taking it myself. IVhen Ann Bailey cleaned the cupboard
out it was washed out. She says—' This is arsenic. That
is the jug my
mother had her beer in.' I said, Yes, I did
not know how it had got in.' Betty Wood then came in,
and our discourse was dropped off."
Both these statements were signed,

In the middle of the night of Sunday she
Was removed from the county to the city
gaol, accompanied by the chaplain, Rev. J.
M. Kilner ; the city sheriff, R. Littler ; and
the governor of the gaol. Oa her arrival she par-
took of toast and coffee, and listened attentively to
the exhortation of Mr. liilner, joining audibly when
in chapel in the prayer for murderers introduced
in the Burial Service.

The execution took place at 10 minutes past 8.
When near the drop her courage failed her, and she
was half dragged, half carried to the scaffold. On
the platform she fell on her knees, and moaned
piteously, " The Lord have mercy upon me," which
she continued to do while Calcraft pulled the bolt.
The drop only fell partially, and when it was at
last pulled down she swung about partially strangled
for two or three minutes, the fall not being enough
to break the neck. About 1,000 people witnessed
the scene.