The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-06-14 00:00:00

WILFUL MURDER OF A MALE CHILD-AND

COMMITMENT OF THE PRISONER

An inquest was yesterday held before Mr. Cur
rough coroner - . body of a new

r, on view of

The-mother had been taken into Custody on suspic

ing murdered it_
Mary Cole, the first witness, deposed that she resided in
Sandon-street. The prisoner Elizabeth Russell was a ser-
vant in her erhploy. On Thursday week witness went out
and left the prisoner in charge of the house. Her (witness's)
mother and a lady who resided with them were in the house.
Witness returned home at nine o'clock the same evening,
when the prisoner complained of being ill, but she did not
'observe anything particular in her appearance then. Wit-
ness told her to go to bed, which she did, and next morning
resumed her duty. There was a little girl named Mary Bruce,
who used to assist in the house, but did not live there. On
Thursday last she did not come as usual, and witness went to
her mother to ascertain the reason, when she informed her
that her daughter had been put to work that was not fit for
her, and from what she said some suspicion rose in witness's
mind that there was something wrong. Witness went and
informed her sister, who advised her to question the prisoner
as to whether anything had been the matter beyond the com-
mon course of nature. Witness did question her, but she
denied anything of the sort. This was on Wednesday last,
and witness told prisoner she would call on Dr. Blackburn.
Next day witness's sister sent up a woman named Agnes
Harding to question the prisoner, and who informed witness
that the same day she had confessed to having been delivered
of a child, and that from what the prisoner and she supposed
the child had been born dead. Dr. Blackburn was immedi-
ately informed of what bad occurred.
Mrs. Agnes Harding, a widow said
the service of Mr. and Mrs. Beckwith
Great George-street. Mrs. Beckwith sent me up on Thurs-
day to question Betsey Russell about this transaction. I
went. The prisoner was in the kitchen, and opened the door
and let me in. I asked her what had been the matter with
her. The prisoner rather hesitated, and I then said, " Betsey,
tell the truth;" and asked her, " Is there a child born ? '
and the prisoner said, " Yes." I asked her how long she
had been gone with child, and if she had been seven months,
and she said, " Yes, she might." I asked her if the child
was alive, and she answered " No." I asked her if she had
ever felt the child alive, and she said she had not felt it much.
I asked her what she had done with the child, and she said
it was in the privy. I asked her if she had got any milk,
and she said " No." I then returned home, and gave an
account of what she had acknowledged, and I know nothing
more about it.

.—I acted as

They re

le at 35,

Ann Smith, a girl, said she resided in Pruss,.
Thursday last she was in bridewell, for having some words
with a man. " ,ner was brought
there. One

treet. 0

The same evening ti
f the turnkeys asked
did so. Witn

continued : I asked

she was brought there for, and she said it was for a child. I
asked her if she had killed it. She did not say whether she
had or had not. She said the child did not cry, and for fear
of its doing so she had tied a towel round its head. She said
she had put the child in the midden, and that she did not in-
tend to leave it there, but to take it away on the morning she
was taken, but had not an opportunity. She did not, she
said, know whether it was a boy or a girl, as she was in such
a hurry to put it away, as some of the family were in the
house.

Mr. Thomas Blackburn, surgeon, being sworn said—l was
consulted about this case by some of Miss Cole's friends,
and went to her house on Thursday evening last. I there
saw the prisoner. I questioned her about the child, and she
acknowledged that she had given birth to a child. From the
previous information I had received, as well as her own ad-
mission, I considered it my duty to give information to the

. . ~
police. I was present when the dead body of a male child
was taken out of the privy by a police-officer. On the follow-
ing morning I examined the body in the presence of, and
with the assistance of Mr. Batty and Mr. Blower

I hive m

doubt the child had arrived at its full period. The general
appearance of the child's body was that of one born alive
and in health, with the exception of the head, which was
very much injured—the bones being all loose, and the whole
having the aspect of a loose bag filled with a fluid or semi-fluid
substance. On a more minute inspection, an opening into
the cavity of the head was discovered on the right side, a
little above and behind the ear ; it had all the appearance of
a wound inflicted by violence, and probably with a sharp, or,
at least, a pointed instrument—such as c,
or a kitchen skewer of a flat form. The wound was
half an inch in length, and penetrated between the upper
edge of the temporal and the lower edge of parietal bone ; and
there was a corresponding perforation in the dura mater,
with a ragged edge, indicating that force had been used. The
dura mater was torn open very extensively, and the inside of
the cranium occupied with grumous blood ; and the sub-
stance of the brain mixed together in such a way as could
not, in my opinion, have been produced except by external
' violence. The frontal bone was fractured, and the bones
generally loose, and separated from the general suters. The
integuments of the head were not in a state of putrescence,
but firm, though black and bruised, and every other part of
the body was perfectly free from any approach to decompo-
sition,—having all the appearance of recent death. The
neck was carefully examined, with a view of ascertaining
whether strangulation had taken place, but there was no
trace of extravasation or aquamosis, nor was the tongue at
all black or discoloured, as would have been the case had the
child been strangled. The chest was opened and examined.
The lungs fully occupied the cavity, and had the usual ap-
pearance of lungs that had been distended by air. They
were fully expanded in every part ' • and I have, therefore, no
doubt but the child had breathed fully. On removing these
from the chest they floated on the surface of the water. The
state of the abdomen was perfectly natural, and the bowels
contained the meconium. In my opinion, from a careful
examination, the child was born alive, and bad been destroyed
by the injury done to the brain as described.
James Ainsworth said—l am a constable. Thursday last
I went to Miss Cole's, and in company with Dr. Blackburn
and another officer we proceeded to search the privy. We
found a bundle containing a child. It was wrapped in a
towel, and its head much bruised. Mr. Blackburn gave the
information. I took the prisoner into custody.
The prisoner declined to question any of the witnesses.
On being cautioned as to what she might think proper to say,
she merely said—" I have nothing to say only that I did not
hear the child cry."
The Coroner said that be bad never known a case in which
the cruelty of a mother to her offspring had been so r•-
fully shewn as in this. They had first to en•-'
the child was born alive, and if so.

hether

The prisoner bad herself admitted to one of the witnesses
that she had delivered herself of a child. With respect to
its having lived, they had the evidence of Dr. Blackburn,
which appeared to him to be conclusive; After a careful
examination, in conjunction with other medical gentlemen,
that witness gave his express and decided opinion that it had
been born alive, and that its death had been caused by the
infliction of injuries on the head, which, besides being
shattered, had been perforated with some pointed instru-
ment—such as a pair of scissors, or a skewer. There was
no positive evidence that the prisoner did the deed—for no
one saw her; but such a chain of circumstantial evidence
against the prisoner as, he thought, would lead them, pain-
ful as the duty was, to a proper verdict. He defined the
legal difference between manslaughter and murder, and left
them to decide by an unbiassed consideration of the evidence.
The jury, after a very short consideration, returned a ver-
dict of wilful murder against the prisoner, Elizabeth Rus-
sell, and she was committed to take her trial at the next

assizes.
The prisoner is a little slender-looking woman, appa-
rently about 28 or 30 pears of age. She was a good deal
agitated when the first witnesses were examined, and as she
appeared faint, was supplied by a female present with a
smelling bottle. She seemed to recover her composure
towards the close, and did not evince any strong or peculiar
feeling beyond a serious look, on hearing the verdict.
The witnesses were bound over to appear, and give evi-
dence on the trial, in the sum of £lOO each. She was taken
away in custody in a car to the Workhouse, to be thence
sent, if her state of health would permit, to Kirkdale Gaol.

HORRIBLE MUTILATION OF A. STILL-BORN

INFANT

An inquest was held yesterday before P. F. Curry, Esq.,
touching the death of a new-born female child, the horrible
mutilation of whose body, by (as is supposed) the mother,

excited a strong degree-o'f Horror and Ihdignitionamon,

all who became-cognizant of the revolting fact

In conse-

. .
quence of the mother being, at the time-of her apprehen-
sion, in a feeble state, from her recent accouchemcnt, she
was taken to the Workhouse, and the investigation took
place in the Board Room of that establishment, she not
having sufficiently recovered to be taken to the coroner's

office.
Nancy Friel, wife of Stephen Friel, said :—I live in
Crooked-lane. The prisoner was a lodger in our house.
She gave her name as Mrs. Babbington. She was large
looking, as if in a family way, but I imputed it to her clothes.
On Thursday last, she and I were sitting in our place and
she said she had been taken ill in the night, and that as it
was dark she had stained the floor, but had wiped it up as
well as she could. When it was convenient I went up and
examined the bed. I found it a good deal out of order. I
saw the bed, and the sheets likewise, stained with blood, and
also a little blood on the floor. I. went down stairs and told
the prisoner she had done a bad job for me. Before I went
down I had observed that the bed was turned upside down.
She said she was very sorry for it. In the afternoon I went
to the petty, and in the soil saw two pieces of flannel, and,
thinking they might be useful, took them and washed them.
There was a good quantity of blood on them. When my
husband came home I told him all I have stated. He told
me to look sharp, but to say nothing. He, on Sunday morn-
ing, discovered the arm of a little infant in the soil of the
privy. He came to the house and called me and two lodgers
up to come and see it. I saw the arm also. My husband
went and fetched a police officer. Some police officers came,
who made a further search, and the body and limbs of a
child were brought up one piece after another.
Betsey llall, a widow, said,—l live in Crooked-lane, and
get my living by charring. , I know Mrs. Friel, who keeps a
lodging-house in the same street. Last Monday I was in
Mrs. Friel's house, and I saw the prisoner there. I re-
marked to her that I thought she (prisoner) was in the fa-
mily way. Prisoner's appearance is now much altered. I
know nothing more about the matter.
_ Stephen Friel said,—l am a porter, and live in Crooked.

know not wh

lane. I know the prisoner, who lodged in our house. She
had lodged with us before. About a fortnight ago, I went to
meet her at the railway, having received a letter from her to

I did not take-notice Whether she was in the family

way or not. On Thursday last my mistress told me that the
bed on which the prisoner slept had been greatly abused.
Having some suspicion, I examined the petty on Saturday
night. I found some cloths in it. The first thing on Sun-
day morning I made a further search. I found a black cloth,
and underneath that another, and then the hand and arm of
a child appeared to me. I covered it up again, and went
and wakened my mistress and told her. I also wakened the
two lodgers, who came down and saw the same. We con-
sulted, and I went and brought a police-officer immediately.
One of the officers went into the privy ; and I afterwards
saw the head, body, arms, and legs of an infant in a tub in
the yard. They took away the body and limbs. The pri-
soner had been poorly a day or two after she came to the
house, but I did not afterwards take particular notice of her
appearance.
Joseph Appleton, inspector of police, said,—On Sunday
morning, in consequence of information I received, I and
two other officers proceeded to the house of Stephen Friel,
in Crooked-lane. I went into the midden-stead accompanied
by one of the officers. Immediately under the seat in the
privy I found four pieces of cloth, one of them a black one.
Two of the other pieces appeared to have been a flannel
petticoat cut in two. I got a candle and examined under-
neath, and found the arm and leg of an infant. I searched
further, and found another arm and leg. I then pushed-my
arm down lower, and brought up the trunk, and afterwards
the head, of a child. They were all taken to the dead-house.
I then sent for my superintendent, and proceeded to the
room where the prisoner slept, and betwixt the quilt and the
sheet of the bed I found a white bed-gown, the sleeves and
different parts of which were covered with blood. I asked
her if the bed-gown was hers, and she said it was. My
superintendent found a pair of scissors covered with blood
in the window. A phial was found, marked hellibore. Mr.
M'Clelland, of the Dispensary, was sent for.
Mr. Andrew M'Clelland, surgeon, said,—l was sent for to
Crooked-lane on Sunday, to look at the head, limbs, and
body of a child found in a privy. It was apparently full-
grown.
decidedly
of opinion that the
child was not bornalive. I was directed to make an The head was severed from the body at the lower
part of the neck, the arms at the shoulder joints, and the
thighs t
jaotn theof
the hip
body. I !na
joints. I afterwards
exami-
of the person of the prisoner. She was asked when she had
' been confined, and she seemed not to understand what was