The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-04-07 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCI

SOUTH LANCASHIRE SPRING ASSIZES

CROWN COU RT.-TUESDAY

Before Mr. BaronARKE.)
His Lordship took his seat at a few minutes past nine

MURDER.
nettY Eccles, aged 38, was indicted fur the wilful. murder,
at Bolton of William Eccles, her stepson, by administering
i
arsenic in his food. The prisoner also stood charget,withtbt,
the murder of Alice Ilaslam and William Haslani .
same means. It appeared by the calendar that the prisoner
Could could read, though she was not able to write. Long
the Judge entered the court, every convenient
was
space
crowded with auditors, and a number of elegantly-dressed
ladies were present.
The prisoner appeared deeply to feel her awful position,
a
though she pleaded not guilty to e several indictments with
ante firm voice. She ,vas decently dressed, and had no appear:
of .atrocity which would lead any person to suppose sn
could have been guilty of the crime with which she
was
charged.
Mr. Armstrong, (IX., and Mr. Brandt appeared for the
prosecution; and Dr. Brown defended the prisoner. .
On the application of Dr. BROWN all the witnesses, in-
cluding, the medipal men, were ordered out of court.
Mr. ARMSTRONG stated the principal features of the case,
which afterwards came out in the evidence, which we sub-
join :--
John Wood, examined by Mr. BRANDT, said,--I am in
the employ of Messrs. Eden and Co., bleachers, near Bol-
ton, I knew the deceased, Wm. Eccles. He was 15 years of
age, and was in the employ of Messrs. Eden arid Co. He
generally enjoyed good health. I remember his coming to
work on the 26th September. He worked till 4 past 11.
He had to go about a mile to his dinner. He was well when
he left, and appeared in good spirits. He came to the works
at two o'clock, an hour later than usual, but he had an errand
or two to go. He went to work and appeared very sickly and
kept heaving at the chest. I spoke to him about it and he
put his hand to
not vomit his stomach and said he was sickly. He did
an anything hour but a greenish fluid. He continued
and he lef
on the premises
about three. 'and then I told him to go home,
t
Iv Cross-examined.—He had
been in the service about three
eeks and earned 3s. a week. He had to go to the railway,
earlier than
on an errand for one of the servants e left half an hour
back at one. His usual hour;
usual.
asHtwelve, and he came
At her own request the prisoner, was accommodated with
a chair.
Thomas Daavendport.-1 am a bleacher in the employ of
Messrs Ede
deuce of theng Co,
This witness corroborated the e vhie-
works about 4 o
~velionunritt:vitness, and went on to say, I left
the
About
a quarter of a mile from
works I found the deceased. I asked him what made him lie
there, and lie said he could get no further. I got him out
of the ditch and he complained of being ill and kept heav-
rigand throwing up like water. I helped him on his way
Lyonhome and inlet his mother (the prisoner). She said," What,
bayed brought him home, have you?" 1 said nothing to
Lief: when she made that remark.
I-!s, the JuDGEI was supporting the boy at the time.
By Mr. ARMSTRONG.--I said get him home as soon as
You can, and give him some hot tea. She said " she had
me tea ready for him." The deceased was not in the habit
olgoing home to his tea.
By Dr
en BROWN.—The prisoner was alone. dmy
teas Mother as soon as I got home what the prisoner hadtol said. I
was tak before the coroner on
'Wednesda It cy, and the de.
ihaed Was poorly on the Monday previous.
tlyhrrd Eccles.--I am 13 years of age. Wm. Eccles was
other. I have a sister named Mary Eccles. Betty
Eccles (the prisoner) is not my own mother. My father
Is nt to work on Sunday, and was not accustomed to return
ffine last I remember my brother William Eccles dying.
b 4 ast time I saw him was when he was coming out of the
his() 1• lie had had his dinner. I know my brother had had
(Miner, because he said so. There was potatoe ash for
nl,l.lnyledsinner in the oven. Sometimes we dined at different
When. I eat my dinner, and no one else eat off that dish
~I was there. My mother said she had had her dinner
(,)t
uprotatoe ash. I was in the house about a quarter of an
..,n,oiln; I went back to my work. I was quite well after my
(), r. We generally dine at 12 o'clock. I worked at the
satse
B...iitett place as my brother William, and gave our wages to
Y Eccles. I got half-a-crown a week, Betty Eccles got
et
chi
lollthersngs wantedfor the house, and she cooked them. No
Byperson was employed. No one lived in the house but
ister, and brother, arid Betty Eccles. I remember
death, Eccles getting into liquor shortly before William's
Wouldl sae said he would tell his father. She said " she
brother be shot of him if he did tell his father." She beat my
ini sometimes. We were not troubled with rats or mice
tlO hnuse• A girl of the name of Alice Haslam died in
swirl' house a for before my brother. My sister Mary
grave." ' ?, week after Alice died, " Let us go and see Alice's
_ ve. She said " No, I have trouble enough on my mind;
we shall have another dead in our house before long." (Sen-
sation in court.) Cross-exarnined.—My
Betty
sister is 10 years old. Alice was
get homileeeles' own child. It takes us a quarter of an hour to
old, Eccles, a nice intelligent girl, said she was 10 years
, and went to school every day. She said she said her
PraYers, and knew. it was bad thing to tell lies.
By Dr, BR() , 8 a
lies on we w-.-- he was told it was a bad thing to tell
say
se. driesday last, and if any one asked her she was to
Ta,his witness was subjected to a 'rood deal of examination
~ .certain whether she was capable of giving evidence, and
nis Lordship decided she was fit.
_ Examination coutinued.—l am ten years old. I remember
Ladimmy b.rother William dying. On that day I had " taty " ash
ier. illy mother dined with me. 1 did not see Wil-
get his dinner, I was *one to school. My mother said
Reshould have a dainson-p6udding for dinner.
the
When I got
Potatoe ash
1)e . had
dill not I asked for the damson-pudding, and she said
111,.. not time to make it, but would make it the day after,
""L do so. I
was very
Poorly at night. My brother lay
. Cross-examined.—My mother and I had gone to some fire-
works at the rearing of a chimney.
Mary Ann Hopkinson was then called. but as she did not
answer, her recognizances were estreated. A traits would
arrive at a quarter before twelve, by which she might come;
and his Lordship directed the case to proceed.
Elizabeth Fell.—I live next door to the prisoner. I rd-
that going into her house on the night her stepson died.
.',saw the prisoner, and I asked if it was her son Richard
taat had died. She said no, it was her son William. She
;tau lie had died of inflammation.
..1 said 1 thought it str.ange
113 dYing so soon. 1 told her to have the body examined,
te. cause I was afraid of infection. She said she had had
,!ntible enough. Other persons were present in the house.
she was very angry at what I said.
irer°BB.eXamined.—What the prisoner said she said openly.
so'sllnmas Haslam•
—I am a waggoner. I am acquainted
iiri, Henry Eccles.. I remember the death of Wrn. Eccles.
tty Eccles told me of it the morning after be died. She
:'said she had news for me to tell Henry (husband of the pia-
W,nter,•) She told me to tell him, that " William came home
t1,,,,,in5, dinner -esterda and eat heartily, and they brought
i— "'lle ill tilt hay' and
he died at eight, and that she
°ught of burying him on Friday." I called at the house on
Thu ,
rhda, arid henry told me it was no use of him corning
itliziTilluFriday. She said then that two policemen had searched
use, and two doctors had come and od the od
had that I must tell Henry that all was right opened
and that they ,
y
di n found nothing. I asked what the boy had had to his
17
~utier, and she said he had a damson dumpling. She said
wanted her husband to conic home that day, for she had
been for the clu tooney, and they would not give it, which I
Tr!le,iilt9_((i wasbe had at the works.
leTe
atleuriner.—l am bookkeeper at Messr. Eden and Co.
40 persons employed there. W e have a burial
elah at...the works. The deceased was a member of that
club,
of s 1 remember Betty Eccles corning to me on the 10th
far ~eP,te,mber last, and she claimed the benefit of the fund
aliCi,,cund (a girl.) I told her she was not entitled to any
but i;iice, the father of the child not working at the works,
mould n,er husband had worked there as formerly then she
pleyed "aye been entitled. I told her that children em-
ber •• °n the prernises would have the benefit, or fathers
IN children employed 1 advanced 10s. on the 10th of
wapstember, and I lent 15s more on the 15th. The money
~ to be to ) d
.1 told lPe out of the wages of William and Richard.
gloved her that children more than seven years old cm-
there wldh v r 0 I William on the Mon-
ioaltdn sjelliKelyw. as vorhis waayetdo stile works, He looked. anxious
I saw the prisoner the next morning at, thee
1 A.
,Lnig..l,ouse.
She said she wanted the funeral allowance.
next gutriot give her the money, but said she was to come. again
lie we''''lii"g• I refused the money, from some suspicions.
j went
away, and did not come the next morning.
an'es Harris, inspector of police at Bolton.—On the 2th
ePterriber 1 went to the prisoner's house, as ordered by the
coroner
*leave, • I took her into custody the next
.day. I wenti to
il,ualu the house,
When I took her I cautioned her in t le
Wiii,wa.Y. told her she was charged with the murder orf
been "ta Eccles, by poison. I asked her how long he lia...
11;„ Poorly before he died ? She said, he had eaten. his
~,,,Zker very heartily on the Monday, and returned from
hud teen,Seen to him ? She said she had called on Dr. Mal-
seanntl‘ he was from home. She had administered. some
after" at'd salts herself, and that he died about six hours
if
81. I had been to Moscroft's ; and after that I asked her
dialoglci'e had ever any poison in the house for the purpose. of
liaver,inin 1 Shc said, to the best of her recollFction
„e,.1 nad• I asked her if she knew Mr. Moscroft 's, the
cAaritr's" Fold's-road ? She said she did, and had fre-
e.shY.., ':Right snuff and trifling articles. I asked her if
Oe the bought any poison there? and she said she had n9t.
he ktie f°ll°wing day the apprentice of Mr. said,Moscroft.
whiel es, the prisoner, and that she had bought poison
.1.1,2,'_he denied. It has the appearance of a new house..
itici;a_e Judge.--There was souse brown sugar in the house,
dr4„is'ird I..larlow, apprentice to M.r. Moscroft, Bolton,
to etil, ',) said, the prisoner has been in the i
abit. of. corning
Abs,„ s,IOP for live or six months before site was taken_
epr.
she ca'..itie latter end of August or beginning of
.Sepiatemitlio ,
She carne
gt,o our shop, arid master and I were in
will let
roe p .
have it' want pennyworth of arsenic if you .
..
there i; Mr. Moscroft said, I cannot let you have it unless
to do
anyseule one else with you. She said she did not %..an
still • hurt with it it was only for the mice. My master
caea:!refused to let h'er have it. She then went away, and
euii." g!tia in about half-an-hour with a female, and then at
di
.A.er: ot. arsenic was given to her by Mr. Moscroft, labelled
litheset,ues.—oison." This was put in another wrapper,
the
prejus with.similar words but longer. I have no doubt but.e
4 Week
titillTi r
il 8 the woman. The prisoner came once or twice
Thema I generally supplied her,
W0e,,,, Moseroft, druggist, Bolton, said, I remember. a
4iritiil:l,coining to my shop at the latter end of August or blei:
nieny 401 f. September. This witness corroborated the tests-
, that the l' apprentice, but he would not undertake to swear
Cross Prisoner was the woman who called. .
verinin se:sainined.—Arsenic is often used for killing rats and
inJose ',and is frequently mixed with whitewashing,
Sept.l ripe
nl'eo, Denham, surgeon, Bolton.--On the 28th S,ats
in ar, ain the body of
ThieleWlm Eccles. The prisoner w.
(°g rotim xternal appearance of the body
lir. perfectly health •
'lag was i.y. I opened the s.tomach. The mucous
was ad,‘
.11 a high state of inflammation. Aw i P .
ahotit r"trmg to the coats of the stomach. I observed
the
Btoiour (sauces of a dirty .brownish red fluid.
. I took
l
these anleh out and the bowel adjoining. I delivered a
~,, to m,.. ~.
. I,casori ittiZditetecrsed die'd fr'oanieskeimuneisitri?iftagreat
eminence
poison.
quatit:y
to I would expect from poison. T
l''
s mna itio I d
hie ila':.l
found 0 produce death is 4.1 grains, and Mr. NA Watson
f,,iied.r witlrvottZitins The taking of arsenic is acssomo
about half an hour. I found..ni,
tak4lairtlie.storoaeli. The countenance of a person
.hasenns.
anxiety arse
is generally pinched and has an appearane
c. I
Crei;.. Ur' Howarth assisted thine in opening the stoma
an
stixious,•exaulinedA person in great fear would have
e
White „,aPnearance. Medical men have frequently foundL_...
Psis Powder in the stomach and supposed it to have. been
nation. but were found to be mistaken on a chemical exam'.
TI,
*heti thestiowarth, physician, Bolton, said lie was present
,f th last w:idy was opened, He corroborated the testimony
oft•Liiiet;eidi
he Or witness as to the appearance of the body, and
otitLhoa.lid died frouiarsenic.
t ur• 1)* It " "(
-431, 4ou tor a low, t. on
dtsoo, chemist, Bolcon.—l
b er the e(plt . nue• I received
from Mr. De.n-
an, 11_ • ems of a stomach of a boy .
of a coarsrsh
White thwea2sBtah pupil Sp.
pow.dceontents of the stomach consisted
milted th r, a lotionp adhering to the stomach.dI sub-
thanhe wii„,. Powder '
• mination, an
'ls gen li Chemical exd • applied not
4_,po -a-wdoa4zetturedeiuffiee.
bah. era y sold tests I he„ I found
foundfeiNtvetor
c wder
der
rent
eo, and fromall t
1 Ileeted 28 grains of the pow

after the experiments. (The witness here produced the pow-
der which resulted from his examinations, along with the
king portion in the state in which it was found in the
1. These were examined b}• his lordship and th
1 have no doubt it is arsenic that
-examined.—Doubts have been thrown on t

tomaci

in the body

pearances which I have here noticed
produce the same appearances. (The witness was directed to
procure an ounce of arsenic from a neighbouring druggist.)
Richard Eccles was then recalled icy his Lordship, and
said, that he had never seen any white sugar in the house.
Mary Eccles said the same.
Dr. BROWN then proceeded to address the jury on be-
half of the prisoner. He said that the jury must be satis-
fied that the child died from the arsenic, and argued that
the motives alleged for the prisoner having administered it
were insufficient to induce her to commit so abominable
an cffence. lie went on to notice several particulars in
which the evidence, on which he alleged the counsel for the
prosecution relied so strongly, did not in any way impli-
cate the prisoner in any guilt, but might all have happened
with the most perfect innocence on her part.
During the delivery of the learned counsel's address, Mr.
Watson returned with a small bottle which contained an
ounce of arsenic, procured at a druggist's shop in Tithebarn-
street, and which was handed to his Lordship and the jury,
and inspected by them.
His LORDSHIP proceeded to sum up the evidence at great
length, commenting on every portion making for or against
the prisoner.

Tartar emetic

The jury then retired ; and, after an absence of an hour
and a half, returned into court, and pronounced the prisoner
guilty.

Silence having been proclaimed, his Lordship put on the
black cap and passed the awful sentence of death upon the
prisoner in the following terms :—Betty Eccles, that fearful
crime which you have certainly committed, and which you
probably hoped would be concealed from the eye of man, has
been discovered, and you are now to receive from the of-
fended laws of your country that sentence which is most
justly due to guilt such as yours; for the jury are satisfied,
and I am satisfied too, from the legal evidence in this case,
that you have been guilty of the detestable crime of depriving
your stepson of life, for the purpose, probably, of receiving
some small amount of money, but under a violation and total
disregard of every feeling of human affection, and of every
feeling of duty. I have spoken of your conduct only as it
appears from the legal evidence in this case ; but, as I know
all that was disclosed before the coroner's jury, I am satis-
fied that I see before me the murderer of three human beings,
probably of five; because there is not the least doubt that
you destroyed two of your own children, if not two others,
by the same infamous means as you used in the case which
has formed the painful subject of inquiry to-day. The
punishment that you will receive will, I trust, be a warn-
ing to others. lam unwilling to say any more of your guilt,
because it is not my object to harrow up your feelings, but
only to impress you with a sense of your fearful situation,
and to exhort you to spend the few remaining days which the
humanity of the law now allows you, but which you did not
allow to the unfortunate victims you have murdered. in seek-
ing pardon for your sins where alone pardon can be obtained ;
for many hours you cannot expect to have in this world, and
I should be wanting in a sense of duty, if I held out the least
hope or expectation that pardon was to be obtained from
any thing human. It will be for you now, profiting by the
instructions you will receive, to endeavour to excite in your
mind any feeling of repentance you may be capable of ;
for upon that alone your hopes of pardon from God will rest.
But I can say no more, only to advise you to spend the few
remaining days of your existence in the endeavour to obtain
that divine mercy which I cannot hold out to you. But it
becomes now my duty to pass upon you that awful sentence
of the law which your enormous guilt richly deserves. I be-
lieve I may say, from the evidence brought before this jury,
and which might have been brought, that, in the annals of
crime, great and odious as the crimes are that have been com-
mitted by human beings, there is none equal to yours. The
sentence upon you is, that, for the crime which you have
committed, and of which you have been found guilty, you be
taken hence to the place from whence you came, and from
thence to the place of execution ; that you be then hanged by
the neck until you are dead, and that your body be taken
down and buried within the precincts of the gaol in which
you will be confined after being taken from this court ; and
may the Lord have mercy on your guilty soul !
The prisoEer heard her sentence with firmness ; and, at its
conclusion, she clasped her hands, and exclaimed, I ask for
mercy, my lord. The Judge.—Oh, that cannot be obtained.
Prisoner.—Oh, mercy, my lord. If only you will have
mercy upon me this time, my lord. The Judge.—Take her
down. The prisoner was then removed.