The Sun.
London, England, 1854-04-20 00:00:00

,UST.

MURDER IN FRANCE.

A pretty young woman, named Louise Mercier, aged
27, and her father, aged' 62, were tried a few days ago
by the Court of Assizes of La Vendee for the murder of
a farmer, mined Rouhaud, of Poire-sur-Rellterre. Be-
tween the woman and this man intimate relations had
long existed, and she had a child, who is now aged about
four years, by him. She frequently pressed him to marry
her, but he constantly refused, though he. kept_ up his
connection with her. She more than once threatened
him that she would murder him if he should marry any
other woman, but he paid little attention to her menaces.
Her father also declared that he would be avenged on him
if he should abandon her. In December last it was an-
nounced that he intended to marry another female named
Loizeau, and this greatly exasperated .Louise Mercier.
• In the night of the 4th of January, Rouhaud
was awakened by a noise amongst his cattle in a shed,
and he got up to see what was the matter. Shortly after
he had ]eft the house he was beard to utter a loud cry.
His mother hastened to him, and found him lying on the
ground bathed in blood. He had a deep wound i❑ the
shoulder, and another in the abdomen ; the latter was,
mortal, and in a few seconds he expired without speak-
ing a word. Near him Ras found a pitchfork with one
of the prongs broken, and a few yards off a straw
hat. Suspicion immediately fell on the young woman
Mercier, and the hat was recognised as -belonging to
her brother. She was arrested, and in a short time she
fully confessed that it was she who had committed
the murder. She had, she said, done it in conse-
quence of Rouhard's abandonment of her, and she
solemnly declared that neither tier father nor any other
person had aided her in it, or had even been acquainted
with her design. After the publication of the banns of
his marriage, she had, she said, possessed herself of a
knife, belonging to a butcher, named Garreau, with
whom her sister was in service,'and of a large pitch-
fork belonging to her uncle. She had then in the night
of the 4th dressed herself as a man with clothes belong-
ing to her father and brother, and had at a late hour
gone to Rouhard's house. Having knocked rudely at his
windo-v-shutters, she, expecting him to come out, had
placed herself behind a post. In a short time he ap-
peaied, and she had stabbed him with a pitchfork in the
shoulder ; he had turned hastily round, and had wrested
the pitchfork from her ; but before he could strike
she had plunged her knife into his bowels. She had then
taken to flight. According to the indictment the father
must have assisted the girl in the perpetration of the
crime, as it was not likely that she . would have carried
a heavy pitchfork when she was armed with a knife ;
and as, besides, a neighbour of the murdered man had
distinctly heard the footsteps of two persons, the
heavy tread of a man, and the lighter one of a
woman, proceed rapidly along the road just after the
crime was committed. The father had, moreover,
returned to his other daughter the knife which her sister
had taken. But a strong circumstance was men-
tioned :—After the crime the second daughter, whose
name was Aiinde, had' been for a moment suspected, and
had in consequence, been discharged from the service of
the butcher.. This, combined with the arrest of her
sister, and with that of her father, which subsequently
took place, drove her distracted, and she went and
drowned herself. When her dead body was brought
home her mother gave way to the most violent affliction,
and, in her despair, cried that it was her husband who
was responsible for all, as be had aided Louise in com-
mitting the murder, and as she had heard him say on his
return that he had given Rouhard a good stab with a
pitchfork, to which Louise had answered that she bad
given him one with her knife. The jury, however, did
not think the evidence against the man sufficient, and
it acquitted him. The female was declared guilty, but
with extenuating circumstances, and was sentenced to
10 years' imprisonment, with hard labour. In the course
of the trial the knife she had used was produced—she
turned her eyes from it with horror.

A. CHILD MURDERED BY ITS FATHER.—On Tuesday
morning a -little girl, aged 16 months, named Rachael
Goodall, was murdered by her father, John Goodall,
at the village of Milford, situated between Belper
and Duffield, about eight miles from Derby. A
eoroner's inquest was held yesterday at the Beehive,
Milford, before Mr. Mozley, when evide-co was given,
to the following effect :—lt appeared that the
man who committed the crime had lately been em-
ployed as a mechanic at Wolverton. In consequence
of his dissipated and vicious habits his wife was separated
from him. There had been frequent eeparations between
them. The wife now lived in a small cottage at Mil-
ford, with her children, and her father supported them.
On Monday morning she received a letter from her
husband, stating his intention to visit her on Tues-
day. He
_came in pursuance of his intimation, and
while his wife was in the garden, hanging out
some clothes, he went up stairs and cut the child's
throat with a razor. Mary Goodall, the mother of the
child, deposed that she was . the wife of the prisoner.
They had been married 16 years, and had three children
besides the deceased. In consequetice of the ill treat-
ment of her husband, and the fears she had of his threats
she had several times left him and went to live with her
father. Her husband had repeatedly ,told her that he
had been tempted to cut tie throats of herself and chil-
dren. Hee husband arrived about nine o'clock on
Tuesday morning. He asked where the children were,
End, after some, conversation, on beim told that they
were in bed, he said he would go and lie down with
them. The witness weitt out, but in a few minutes,
hearing a scream, she ran back, and on proceeding to
the-bed room found the child dead on the bed. The
prisoner left the house, but an alarm being raised by a
neighbour, he was apprehended. , A constable, who
took the prisoner to the lockup, deposed that when the
latter arrived there he said, " The child's all right. I"
c in't help it. The child's in heaven." The surgeon
who examined the child said there was a pool of blood
on the bed. The windpipe had been severed, arid death
must have been almost instantaneous. The evidence
was read over to the prisoner, who paid great attention
to it, but did not make any remark. The jury returned
a verdict of " Wilful murder" against him, and he was
committed for trial at the next Derby assizes.
MURDER 01' AN INFANT IN CAMBERWELL. Last
evening Mr. Carter inquired into the circumstances at-
tendant on the death of George Edward Sewell, an in-
fant of four months old, which had been drowned by its
mother. Ellen Doyle, a girl of 14 years of age, who
was servant to the parents of the deceased, said they
had always behaved with the utmost kindness to both
their children. On Saturday morning last her master
went out about seven o'clock, leaving at that time in the
house her mistress, the two children, his niece, a girt of
about 10 years of age, Mrs. Pursell, her mistress's grand.-
' mother, and witness. Witness saw her mistress take the
baby from her niece, and take it into the garden in about
a quarter of an hour after. She also saw her take it up
stairs, arid soon after she returned to the parlour, put
her bonnet and ehawl on, and went out by the street-
door, taking with her the key of her bedroom. In
about three-quarters of an hour afterwards witness
thought she heard the cries of the baby, and went up
stalls to the bedroom, but found the door locked. She
then got the parlour door-key, which unlocked it, and
she found the baby lying on the floor dressed, with its
face in a basin of dirty water,
.She screamed, and
some persons came to her assistance. Mr. Geo. Sewell,
the father of the deceased; was next called and sworn,
and stated that for 18 months past his wife had laboured
under mental affliction, and had medical advice for it,
but no one dreamt that she would place violent bands
on her children, particularly the latter, as she appeared
much attached to them. On Saturday morning last he
got up about seven o'clock and left home, leaving his
wife in the act of dressing herself and the deceased in-
fant in the bed. At about' nine o'clock his wife made
her appearance at his place of business in Finsbury-
square, and the moment he saw her he had a presenti-
ment that something had occurred, and asked her what
was the matter. She replied. " George, prepare your-
self for the worst—l have destroyed the baby." She said
she thought it had been much neglected, and that she had
better destroy it that it might go to heaven. He asked
her how she had done it, and she said she had drowned
it in a pool of water. Witness, in conclusion, said he
had no doubt his wife had destroyed the deceased, being
at the time in an unsound state of mind. Mrs Purcell
was called, and said that before the discovery of the de-
ceased she had occasion to go to the water-closet in the
garden, and there found a pail frill of water, and water
was also splashed on the floor, upon which the coroner
remarked that from this circumstance it fvould appear
that the deceased had been either drowned, or been at.
tempted to be drowned, there in the first instance. Mr.
Clasney, a medical man who had been called in, said the
death of the deceased had been caused by drowning, and
the coroner , having summed up, the, jury, after a few
minutes' consultation, returned a verdict of wilful mur-
der against Catherine SewelL
CHARGE OT MURDER AGAINST A. BROTHER.--A Cage
Came before the borollgh coroner at Liverpool, on Tees-
day, involving a charge of murder of the most aggra-
vated nature against a young man .named \Yin. Eaton,
. vereeresipectfully connected, residing in Hatfield-street.
It appears that on the 14th of February last Eaton went
home in a state of considerable excitement, and without
any provocation knocked down his sister, Mary Ann
Eaton; a girl of 16 years of age, and afterwards jumped
upon her stomach, thereby inflicting very severe injuries.
The poor girl was confined to-her bed for some time, and
it was not expected that she would recover. On the 24th
of the same month her brother came home intoxicated,
and a second time knocked her down and jumped upon
her. He also struck her on the belly with his fists, and
declared he would have her life, but while in the act of
thus maltreating the poor girl, Eaton was seized by his
brother and some of the neighbours, and his sister was
taken to bed, and a m dical man sent for, who pro-
nounced her in a very dangerous state. The next morn-
ing the unfeeling wretch went to the bed-side of his sis-
ter, who was suffering dreadfully from the injuries she
had received, and addressed her in a tone of disgusting,
levity, asking her how she liked the bumps and thumps
she had received the night before. About a month
after this, while she was still in bed suffering from
these injuries, Eaton went to her and struck her
again, notwithstanding the helpless state she was in; and
in consequence of this his mother applied for a warrant
against him, and he was apprehended and brought be-
fore the magistrates on Thursday last, charged with the
attempted murder of his sister. The above facts having
been deposed to Eaton was committed to tako his trial
on the charge of attemptipg murder. On Monday
morning the poor girl died, her statement as to the
injuries she had received having been taken some hours
previously. The details of the case were not gone into
on Tuesday, as the inquest,' having been formally
opened, was adjourned, when there is little doubt that
the result of it will be that the brother will have to
take his trial on the capital charge. At the hearing
before the magistrate, Mr. Barrow, a merchant of Liver-
pool, stated that he we's executor under the father's
will, and had paid the prisoner and his brother 4201.
each on attaining their majority, and that their sister
(the deceased) wonld.have been, entitled to a similar
!um 94 Coming Qf age.