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London, England, 1857-12-11 00:00:00

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[PRIOR 4D. SrAmpED 0,3 ]

jury for no reasonable purpose. You are bound to
acquit the prisoner.
The jury then immediately returned a verdict of
not guilty.
His lordship granted an immediate discharge.

WESTERN CIRCUIT. —WINCHESTER, Dec. 10.
(Before Mr. Justice Wiles.)
Fanny Harris was indicted for the wilful murder
of her female child at Alverstoke, on July 17.
Mr. Poulden and Mr. Beetham were counsel for
the prosecution, and Mr. Hooper, at the request
of the Court, defended the prisoner.
The facts as proved on the part of the prosecution
were these :—The prisoner was a fine young wo-
man, about 27 years of age. In 1855 she was in the
service of Col. Evans, who resided at Forton Bar-
racks. In May last she went to Portsea, being then
in the family way; she stated she was the wife of a
Mr. Smith, who wasthenatAldershot. She became
acquainted with a Mr. Sheppard. They took lodg-
ings together at aMrs. Carpenter's, where they re;
mined a few days, and then removed to the house
of a Mrs. Snooks. On June 22 the prisoner was con-
fined of a female child. Up to that time she re-
ceived remittances of money, and appeared to have
sufficient for her wants, and she had provided two
suits of baby clothes. After her confinement she be-
haved kindly towards her infant, and treated it with
affection ; but her means became less, and she was
obliged to pledge some of its clothes. On Thurs-
day, July 16, the child being then three weeks and
three days old, the prisoner told Mrs. Snooks she
' should go to Portsea to see her cousin, who would
perhaps give the child some clothes, and herself half
a sovereign. Between 3 and 4 O'clock that afibr-
noon she borrowed two shawls of Mrs. Sheppard,
and then left the house, taking her child with
her. Between 4 and 5 o'clock that afternoon she
called at Mrs. Carpenter's, where she had for-
merly lodged. She had not then any child with her.
She asked Mrs. Carpenter to write to Smith, her
husband, and beg him to send her some money, as
she was in great distress, and Mrs. Carpenter wrote
the letter for her. Mrs. Carpenter then asked her
how she had got over her confinement, and if the
child was living. The prisoner said it was not, for
it was stillborn ; she then asked Mrs. Carpenter if
she could again let her have her lodgings, and upon
her replying in the affirmative she said she would
come the next morning ; she then left. At 8 o'clock
the next morning the prisoner came to Mrs. Car-
penter's. She appeared much confused and disor-
dered, her clothes were saturated with water, and
she said she had come across the water. She took
breakfast, and then went to bed, where she remained
till between 3 and 4 o'clock in the afternoon. She
then got up, and was silent and thoughtful. She
said she was very nervous and did not like to be
left alone. She said she should go and see her
mother, who lived in the neighbourhood of Win-
chester, and she left Mrs. Carpenter's. The prisoner
had left Mrs. Snooks, with her baby, on Thursday,
the 16th July. Oa Friday, the 17th July, a little
girl named Fanny Stephens was walking by the
si le of the moat outside the town of Portsmouth,
when she saw something in the water. She gave an
alarm, and it was found that what she . had seen
was the dead body of a child dressed. An inquest
was held, but there was no evidence offered except
the mere finding of the child, an open verdict was
returned, and the child was buried. The police then
commenced making inquiries, and they caused
handbills to be printed giving a description of the
clothes which had been found upon the child. One
of these bills attracted the attention of Mrs. Snooks,
who, with Mrs. Sheppard, went and saw the clothes,
and they swore that those were the clothes which
were on the prisoner's child at the time she left
Mrs. Snooks's house on the 15th July. The body
was exhumed, but the face was so much decom-
posed that the features could not be recognised. An
officer went in search of the prisoner, and found her
at her mother's. She had never told her mother she
had been confined. The officer said to the prisoner,
" I want to sae you about a child. You have been
lodging at Portsmouth with'a person named Shep-
pard. When you left her on Thursday you had your
child with you. Can I sec it?" She said, "No ; you
cannot." The officer then said, " A child answerasg
the description of yours was found drowned in the
moat at Gosport last Friday, and I shall take you
into custody on suspicion of being the person who
placed it there ; you must go with me to Gosport."
She said, "I never put it there, you will find it all
right when you get to Gosport. I left the child with
:a person who,. I hope, will take care of it." The pri-
soner did not appear at the time to be frightened.
Mr. Hooper, in addressing the jury, urged that
the only facts against the prisoner were that she
bad had a child, and that a child having on the
clothes which had been those of the prisoner's was
found in the water, but upon such facts alone they
could not come to a just and satisfactory conclusion
that the prisoner had put the child there. There were
three points which ought to be proved—first, that
the child was that of the prisoner ; secondly, that
it was drowned ; and, thirdly, that prisoner was the
person who had drowned it. He submitted that
there was no evidence to prove that the prisoner
was the person who had drowned the child, and he
pressed upon them that the prisoner might be tell-
ing the truth when she stated that she had placed
the child with a person at Gosport, and that her
seducer might have disposed of the child.
Mr. Justice Willes then summed up.
The jury retired for sometime, and on their return
gave a verdict of Guilty, five of them recommending
her to mercy.

The Judge then passed upon tho prisoner the
awful sentence of death. At the conclusion of the
sentence she put out her hand as if to support her-
se' f by the rail of the dock. She was then led away.
Frederick Deane, who was yesterday convicted
of the manslaughter of Mrs. George, a patient of
his, by neglecting her in her confinement, was now
put to the bar for sentence.
Mr. Justice Willes then addressed him. He had
been convicted of the manslaughter of Mrs.
George, a woman ho was attending as a patient.
He appeared to have been a man in an h onour-
able profession—a profession no man was mor3
disposed to hold in honour than himself, but by the
verdict of the jury he had been convicted of gross
neglect in the management of the case of that un-
happy woman, by which she had come to a most
painful death. He should make no observations at
all to aggravate the feelings of a man who, after so
many years' practice as he appeared to have had,
held iu respect by his neighbours was brought by
his act into a position so miserable as that in which
he now stood. He must also remark that punish-
ment was inflicted by law, not so much for causing
pain to the individual as to offer a warning to others,
lest they should fall into an offence of the like des-
cription, and it was a truism to say that the pro-
fession to which he belonged scarcely required, as
it appeared by his unhappy case, such a lesson as
his punishment must read. He did not, therefore,
think it necessary to pass a sentence which should
rank among the higher grades of punishment in-
flicted upon persons who took away the lives of
others—that of penal servitude ; but he must pass
a sentence of long imprisonment, otherwise he
should not mark the sense he entertained of the
awful responsibility which a man incurred by his
culpable neglect of a person in her most critical
moment, who had confided her case to his skill and
his care. The sentence of the Court was that be
should be imprisoned in the common gaol for 18
months.

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