Star.
London, England, 1826-06-08 00:00:00

SHOCKING MURDER.

Yesterday afternoon, at four o'clock, a Coroner's
Inquest was held at the sign of the Black Horse, in
Queen-street, Seven Dials, before Mr. STIRLING, the
Cot oner for the County of Middlesex, on the body of
Hannah Browne, an infant only three years of age, n ho
Came by her death in the following dreadful mantle' :
Thomas Bice deposed-1 am a cabinet-maker, and
reside at No. 20, Queen-street, Seven Dials, the same
house in which the deceased Child and her father lived.
I knew the deceased very well ; she was the illegitimate
child of Charles Browne, who keeps a coal shed in the
lower part of the house. She would have been, as 1
understood, three years of age next October; 1 saw the
child last, as well as I recollect, on Tuesday night, but
I am sum I saw her on Wednesday (yesterday) morn-
ing, in perfect health ; she was a very fine healthy child.
About ten minutes after nine o'clock this morning I
was in my own workshop, which adjoins the shop of
Charles Browne ; there is only a thin partition between,
and I can hear almost every word spoken in Browne's
shop. I heard 'Mts. Ann Browne, the wife of Charles
Browne, but not the mother of the deceased, coming
down stairs from the first fl or, which they occupied;
she was calling out to her husband, " Charles, I have
done it, I have cl.me it." 1 then opened my door, which
looks into the passage, and saw Mrs. Browne, with her
hands covered with blood, and calling cut, as before,
" I have done it, I hive done it." IL-r husbind asked
her what she had done, had she cut her finger? but she
made no other reply Visa " I have done it. I have done
it." I then ran upstairs, as did her husband also, and
we entered, nearly at the same time, a small apartment
on the first floor, where the deceased child was in the
habit of sleeping in a little bed by itself. Chas. Bros ne,
the father, exclaimed to me, 44 Oh! Price ! look at my
child ! look at my baby !" I then saw the &ceased
lying on the floor by the side of the red, and close by a
wooden box, with its head almost severed from its body
and one of its little fingers nearly cut otF ; and a third
wound—as a stab near the collar hone in the lower
part of the neck. I then saw Coatles Browne go to a
sort of cistern, which was in the room for washing, and
take out of it a large carving knife stained all over with
blood; by this time Mrs. Browne came up stairs and
entered the apartment, still calling out " Ihave done
it." The husband clung round her neck, and they both
sunk upon a sofa in the room, when he kissed her se-
veral times, at the same time exclaiming, " Oh,
Anne, why did you do it? why did you kill my child?"
,but she made no reply, further than that she had
done it. The floor, and the child's bed-gown and
body, were saturated and covered with blood. By
this time one of the beadl s of the parish, who was sent
for, arrived, and took the woman, Mrs. Browne, away
with him to the parish workhouse in custody. This
Ilwitness, in continuation, said, that the father of the
child is about 25 years of age, and his wife, Anne
Browne, to whom he has been married about eight
years, is about 60 years o!d now. She has no children
by her husband. Tne deceased was a child that had
been sworn to 'the husbaud. About 18 months ago, Mrs. ,
Browne persuaded him to bring the child home, rather
than be paying the parish for its support. The child'
had remained with them ever since, and M. s. Browne
seemed do trngly fond of it. Her husband and she
lied on very go >d tel rns, except occasioaally a little'
bickering. Ste wax always a very steady, sedate, sober
wonia.i, never drag':, or appeared intoxicated.
CosONZA—Did you ever perceive any symptoms of derange-
ment about her.

%Vitness—Never the slightest: quite the contrary.
She was a very sensible woman ; after this act she
seemed quite wild, but she soon became perfectly calm.
'l-he husband tore his hair, and seemed quite distracted,
when lie saw the child dead. To another question, wit-
ness said, he could not tell whether or not the child was
warm when he first saw it dead, for he did not feel it;
he was so horror-struck that he could not go near it.
The next witness was George Pond, one of the beadles
of St. Giles's parish, who deposed that he was called in
to the house No. 20, Queen-street, Seven Dials, about a
quarter past nine o'clock that ms)rning, to take charge
of a woman, who was said to ha►e committed murder.
On entering the first room on the first A or, he saw
Mrs. Browne sitting on a sofa, and her husband and
another man holding her; the deceased child was then
lying dead, with its throat cut from ear to ear.
The next witness was Mr. Andrew Tweedle, surgeon
to the Infirmary of St. Giles's parish, who deposed that
he called in that morning to see the deceased child ; he
Mond it quite dead, its throat cut from ear to ear, and
the carotid artery completely divided; the child bad
another slight cut below the longer gash, and a third,
apparently a stab from a knife, stall lower dawn on the
neck, near the collar bone; the child seemed to have
struggled a little, and put up its hand to guard itself,
for one of its fingers was nearly cut off. The deceased
must have died instantly.
Another Surgeon gave similar testimony to the last witness.
Samuel Foramen, roundhouse keeper, and constable
of St. Giles's parish, deposed, that he went, in conse-
quence of information be received of a murder having