The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-21 00:00:00

MURDER OF A CHILD.

Ann Padfield, a young servant woman, 23 years
of age, and of respectable appearance, was yester-
day placed at the bar of the Worship-street police-
court before Mr. Knox, charged with the wilful
murder of an illegitimate male child, who at the
time was two or three months old.

Mr. Vann, solicitor, appeared for the defence.
Maria Mead, wife of a labouring man, residing
at Hammond's Cottages, Clapton, stated-that the
prisoner, who had a child about two Months old,
lived with them up to last Monday three weeks,
when she went out about a quarter before 12 in the
day, taking the infant with her, but returned close
to 11 o'clock at night, and when asked about the
child said that she had met her sister, and sent it
home to her relatives in the country. The pri-
soner afterwards went to service, and about half-
past 11 in the morning of Wednesday witness saw
the body of a child, legs upwards, in the soil of a
water-closet behind the cottage, and gave an alarm,
when her husband and a police-constable got the
body out, but the left arm was gone from the,
shoulder. The prisoner's child was two or three
months old, and in good health when taken away.
She could not say that the body now found naked
in the soil was the same, but it looked like it to
her. She had not seen the body since it was taken
away and washed.
James Mead, the husband, said he and his wife
went to bed about half-past eight in the evening of
Monday three weeks, after the prisoner had taken
the child away, and about a quarter before m id-
night the prisoner came, and he let her in, when
she stated that her sister had fetched the child,
and taken it to their fiends in Somersetshire.
On the Tuesday she went away, saying that she
was going to service at Notiing-hill. On Wednes-
day last the body of an infant, with only one arm,
was found in the closet, as already mentioned. He
emptied the soil out of the closet afterwards in
search of the missing arm, which, however, was not
found.

John Izzard, 302 N, who had assisted in taking
the body from the soil, explained that Hammond's
Cottages were 200 or 300 yards from the
river Lea, with a field at the back, divided by a
fence from the closets behind the cottages, b which
any person coming from the main road could make
their way.
Mr. Brock, a surgeon at Clapton, stated that the
body was that of a full-grown male child, highly
decomposed, and with the arm gone ; having
been taken off, as it appeared, just below the action
or the shoulder joint. He saw no other marks of
violence; but it was so decomposed that he thought
it could not be identified as an individual, and he
saw no natural marks or formation that could lead
to identification.

Mr. Wm. Bowler, police inspector, said that after
' the finding of the body without the arm he went
to the cottage, and had the closet cleaned out in his
presence, and there were found in it part of a brick,
a piece of rag, and a piece of gauze also, but in such
a dirty state that he could not tell the precise co-
lour. The inspector proceeded to say—l afterwards
went to 13 Lansdown-road, Notting-hill, and pri-
soner coming to the door, I asked if that was Mr.
Drake's, and she said, "No, Mr. Warren's ;" and
being asked if that gentleman was at home, she said
no, he was gene out to a supper party, that the other
servant was out also, and she herself alone in the
house. I asked her name, and she said Ann Bride,
and I said I thought I bad seen her before at Hack-
ney, and asked her if she did not know me. She
then came closer, so that I could see her face, and I
said, " Your name is Emma Padfield," which she
admitted, and I said, " I want to see your master,
and he's at home." She said, " Yes, he is ;" and
when I told her that I wanted to see her in the
presence of her master or mistrees, she took me
into the house, where I saw her master; and having
shown my authority to him, told the prisoner that
I was a police inspector at Hackney, come to appre-
hend her upon a charge of killing her child. She
said she knew nothing about it, but admitted she
had given birth to a child at Lea-bridge about the
month of June. I asked her what had become of
that child, and she said the friends of the young
wan who was the father had taken it away to keep.
I then in formed her of the finding of the body that
day, as above-mentioned. She said, " I've been in
great distress and wanted bread, but indeed I did
not do it myself." The witness then took posses-
sion of her boxes, in which there was a consider-
able quantity of apparel and other things, including
a quantity of baby linen, several letters, &c. In
her master's kitchen prisoner said to witness, " If
you take me into custody all will come out; I'll let
it all out.. Tile father has behaved cruelly to me in
not supporting it." She was then taken in custody
to the station-house, where she gave the name of
Ann Padfield. The inspector stated, in conclusion,
that, in presence of the prisoner's master, he cau-
tioned her that she need not answer any questions
unless she:liked to do so, and that what she said
might be used against her.
The letters spoken of by the inspector were of
course not read, but it appeared from their purport
that she had expressed great distress of mind, and
intimated a purpose of self-destruction since the loss
of her child.
The prisoner, who did not display so much emo-
tion as might have been expected in her situation,
was remanded for a week.

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