The Sun.
London, England, 1862-07-31 00:00:00

A FRENcir 12021fAIVCE.

The Court of Assizes of the Seine tried on Satur-
day a young man named liarvent, a deserter from
the Belgian army, on a charge of murdering, on the
10th of March teat, near the fort of Aubervilliers, a
young woman named Vancothen, with whom he
cohabited. It appeared from the evidence that he
had been a sergeant in the Belgian service, and had
embezzled funds belonging to his company amount-
ing to about 300 f. Finding himself unable to con-
ceal this defalcation, he determinel to desert, and
having been entrusted by an officer with font bank-
notes of 1001. each to get change, he absconded
with them, and the woman Vancothen, with whom
he had become acquainted in a house of ill-fame,
p
According
at Brussels,rdingtothe
prisoner's statement, which was supported to a cer-
tain fl
patent by a letter written by the woman Van-
the two fugitives had agreed to proceed to Paris,
and there, after spending
all their money, to com-
mit suicide together.
This
project they determined
to carry into effect on the '
evening of the 10th of
March, and went to a lonely
place near the fort of
Aubervilliers for that purpose. The
prisoner there
discharged a pistol at the woman's head, the ball
from which entered at the left eye and lodged in
the brain. The prisoner, then, according to his own
account, walked on a little farther, and tt a empted
three times to shoot himself, but the pistol would
not go off. He then returned to the woman, and at
the same moment some gendarmes from Auber-
villiers, who had been informed that a woman was
lying insensible in the road, came up, and to them
he pretended that he and the woman had been
attacked by two robbers, who had taken 300 f. from
them, and fired a pistol at his companion. The
woman was sent to the hospital Lariboisiere, where
she died a fortnight afterwards. On going to the
spot the next morning the gendarmes found a
double-barrelled pistol, one barrel of which had
burst and the other was still loaded, and a close
examination of the ground led them to the belief
that the story of the robbery was false, as only the
footsteps of two persons could be found near the
spot. The prisoner was consequently then interro-
gated, and be then confessed that he and his mistress
had agreed to die together, and that he had dis-
charged the pistol at her, and afterwards tried to
kill himself, but in vain, as the pistol missed fire
three times. The woman when she first recovered
her senses at the hospital, told the same story about
the robbers, but three days later she gave a very
different account, saying that the prisoner fired at
her twice and then attempted to strangle her. She
said nothing of any agreement to commit suicide
together, but that such a project had been enter-
tained was proved by her own letter written a day
or two before the crime. The counsel for the de-
fence argued that suicide was not a crime in the eye
of the law, and that it wasadonbtful point whether
a man who assisted another in committing suicide
was guilty of murder. Merlin held that he was
not, and a judgment was given in that sense in
October, 1834 ; but afterwards, in 1839, M. Dupin,
then Proeureur- General, brought this question be-
fore the Court of Cessation, which decided that the
above judgment was wrong in law, and since then
Merlin's theory had been generally abandoned,
though many eminent juris-consults still uphel,l it.
As to the second confession of the woman Van-
cothen, the defendant's counsel maintained that it
was dictated by a spirit of vengeance. After
hearing the reply of the Advocate-General the jury
retired, and in less than half an hour returned into
court with a verdict of guilty of murder, but with-
out premeditation, and they also admitted extent"-
ating circumstances. The court accordingly con-
demned the prisoner to 10 years' hard labour.

ATTEMPTED MURDER BY A CLE.RGY-

MAN AT EXEIER. ,

On Tuesday the inhabitants of the city of Exe-
ter, especially of the lower part of the city, were
thrown into the wildest state of alarm, in conse-
quence of the report that was circulated to the
effect that the Rev. George Henry Parminter had
committed a most diabolical crime. It is with
satisfaction that we are etaabled to correct this re-
port. We are atilt, however, called upon to narrate
a very sad story, though there has happily been
an absence of criminality.
For some time past the rev. gentleman, who is
the rector of the united parishes of St. John and
Sr. George, has been in a most melancholy state of
mind, owing to pecuniary difficulties, and of late
he has exhibited some symptoms of insanity. Early
on Tuesday morning, whilst suffering from a severe
attack of brain fever, the rev. gentleman, in the
absence of Mrs. Parminter, got out of bed, pos-
sesssed himself of a pocket knife, and then walked
to the nurstry, where several of his child, en were
asleep, under the charge of the nursemaid. It would
seem that he very quietly walked to the bedside of
his only daughter, a little girl of about four or five
years of age, to whom he is devotedly attached, and
attempted to cut her throat, but only succeeded in
severing the stein of the neck sufficient to draw
blood. Mr. Parminter on his return to his own
room was met by his wife, to whom he said, "Poor
little Mary, I have done it." His wife immediately
rushed to the assistance of his child, who did not
seem the least frightened, and euceeeded in stop-
ping the flowing of the blood before the medical
gentleman for whom she had sent had arrived.
the fever was raging so high at the time that the
poor unfortunate gentleman seized a poker, but was
prevented by his eons from d Sing any mischief, and
was ultimately induced to retire to his bed, where
he is now confined, in the most prostrate state of
night
body as well as of mind. The little girl, we un-
erouthheis
derstand, is not much hurt. Mr. Parminter has a
large family, who are now plunged into the deepest
sorrow. Mr. Parminter is slowly progressing.
He was to have -met the committee appointed
to take the necessary steps for repairing the parish
church this (Wednesday) evening. He has always
been a most faithful and loving pastor, and his
abated. of several men..
kindness has been universally shown to his poorer
was somewhat, calm, Exeter, Tuesday, 10.15 p.m,
parishioners.
parting
wiferirtn. whilst
blessing,shel itt
I:
aa
girl,
idsrel weiwnhbgabsa
ibbseueut
Since writing the above, we have been informed
arhumetaptvvra:ictgnohgeßetndhcoto.iblenems:
time
Wad:
gentleman has
surgeon,h a s
been
that the rev. gentleman attempted to strangle his
care of
wisildolu3t,
exclaiming
Parminter is now in the charge
th day the
danger. Mr.
eersathbeelryn
al .
the fever
During
for his
family to be brought to the bedside to receive his
for his daughter, to whom ntnodlnoud in his calls
he is most devotedly
°mow News.