The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1886-12-02
AN AWFUL CRIME.
AN OLD WOMAN BURNED ALIVE BY
HER CHILDREN.

HER CHILDREN.
Horrible Details of the Murder Brought
Out in the Trial-vain Attempt of tho
Defence to Persuade the Jury to Attri-
butte the Crime to Superstition.
BLOIs, November 23.-'Hhe most re-
Voting case of matricide-;l mother
burned alive 10y her four children--that
has come before the French tribunals
in many years is now before the Court
of .AsSiZes of Blois. Thousands Of
people from far and wide are tiocking
to the court room, and the population
are only prevented by the gendarmes
from lynchiDg the alleged murderers.
Mime. Lebon, an old woman of seventy,
lived with her daughter and son-ln-laW.
named Thomas, in the village OF
Juneau. The widows two sons, who
lived some way off, and her daughter
had endeavorel to get their mother
into an asylum at Blois, but having
failed in this they decided to do away
with the old woman and divide the few
hundred francs she had saved among
them. When it was known in the
village on July 9th that Nine. Lebon
was dead crime was ut once suspected,
and the gendarmerie Immediately
visited her house. \ horrible sight
awaited them. In the fireplace were
the charred remains of the old woman.
Nothing was left but the herd, the two
feet. one arm and the thigh bones. The
right arm Of the victim, shrivelled and
twisted, was round the head. Next
day the evidence Of the two sons,
daughter and son-in-law was found To
be contradictory, and they began 10
| accuse each other. The declaration or
the murdered woman's granddaughter,
Il little girl of seven, cleared up ;lll
doubts. She stated That her two uncles
had come on Il visit. and that While at
dinner her mother had suddenly Salu.
"We must get rid of the old one" Then
her uncle Alexander ran to the bed and
seized hold Of his mother by the head.
the other son. Alexis. taking herby the
feet, and between them they carried
her to the fire, which the little girls
father and mother had i'll the mean
time prepared. The poor woman mad
at Iirst called ont, but her cries gradu-
ally became weaker. The woman
Thomas then took Il handful Of straw
from the mattress and gave it to her
husband to set fire to their victims
clothes. The black bonnet worn by the
murdered woman, which was not burn
ed waS found to have heen soaked
with petroleum. There is, therefore,
little doubt that the wretchcs had
poured petroleum over her clothes to
make them burn setter. Her son-ln-
law showed the body with his foot TO
prevent it from falling out OF the fire
place. Before committing the crime
the murdercrs had sent for il priest to
confess their mother. .andsimneediHttelyy
afterward Alexis and Alexandra Lebon
confessed to the priest, their sister
doing the same little lateron. The
accused arc defended ably and elo-
quently by Maitre Laguerre, the young
Radical Deputy. Gcorgette Lebon, the
wife of Thomas, is 4 dark, croSS-eyed
little peasant woman Of twenty-five,
but looks as ii she were fifty. Thomas
is great, staggering rustic, with long,
yellow mustache. Alexis Lebon is 81
years of age, thin. sallow and malicious,
and has a terrible wound III his face
from the corner of his mouth to his
cheek, so that when he speaks he has
the appearance Of trying to bite off
his ear Alexandra LeDOn is a great,
fat boy, and cries all the time the trial
is going OIL.
Questioned by the Judge, Georgette
Lebon refused to relate how the crime
happened.
The Judge asked: "You sprinkled
petroleum over her, didn't you"
Georgette-No; she had bottle OF
spirits in her pocket that she used for
cabaliStic purposes; this bottle must
have broken when she was on fire, be-
cause the old woman all ut once burst
ont into a tremendous flame, just as Il
newspaper does when thrown into the
fire.
The next witness was little Eugenie,
Il bright little girl, who related the
story of the crime just as she had al
ready done at the preliminary investl-
cation.
Judge-NNho lighted the fire after
your grandmother was placed i'll the
fireplace?
Eugenip-My mother lighted the fire.
AS soon as grandma burst into blaze
papa told me to say. if anybody asked,
that grandma had tumblcd into the lire
by accident.
This evidence made profOund I'M
preston and the child seemed evident
is to be speaking The truth. Maitrc
Lagurrre this afternoon made Il most
eloquent speech for the defense. and
with great tact trir'! TO pnrsuadr the
Jury to attribute the crime to SupcrSti-
tion. on the ground that the prisoners
considered their mother to he Il witch
and that She had Il habit Of casting
magic spells over them. Lagurrrc, for
the defense. cited AL the weird c;lScs Of
Witchcrait that have occurred in lilo!S
in the last century, but the jury did not
scc it in that light, and the court scn
fenced Gcnrgrttr and her husband to
death. .llcNandrc L"hon To the gaileyS
for life and Alexis to the gal!cyS Tor
twenty years. The news WAS received
hv The excited crowds III the court
house AMI streets with shouts of serve
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