The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-08-31
WOULDN'T KILL HERSELF.
So Her Selfish Husband Did the Job
Himself.
A Romantic Marriage That Game to a
Tragic EndinE-The Lover. and Muir
derer an English Generals Son.


I From the European edition Of the Herald.
Paris, Aug. Pit was a trial of re-
markable interest that was ended to-day
at Saintes, when Bernard Nottingham,
son of Gen. Nottingham, was committed
by the assize courts of numbering his
wife, the daughter of the syndic of the
pilots of Royan. Gen. Nottingham is
Mai. Gen. Paul Bernard Wittlngham late
/ of the royal engineers, who received his
! first commission in that corps seven and
| fifty years ago. became colonel in 1865 and
attained his present rank on the retired
/ list in 1871.
! Bernard Nottingham is only about 25
years of age. Two or three years ago he
made the acquaintance of the woman he
murdered, Suzanne Audon, daughter of
the syndic of the pilots of Royan. The
/ couple were married on Nov. l, 1898, in
London, in presence of the parents of the
bride, but in direct opposition to the
wishes of Gen. Wittingham.
| From the outset the union was not an
untrouoled one. Gen. Wittingham re-
fused to accept his daughter-in-iaw as a
member of his family and, according to
the prosecution, endeavored to induce his
| son to abandon Suzanne. He informed
Bernard that he should otherwise cut
him OF without even the proverbial shill-
ing, and 1t is matter of fact that he had
notices placarded throughout Royan in
timating that he (the generaD was not
responsible for any debts contracted by
his son or his sons wife. From this
period Bernard Wittngham' sole idea
| was to get rid of the matrimonial incubas
he had taken on his shoulders. He en-
| deavOred to persuade his wife that their
marriage was null and void, and one day,
at Salntes, he tried to prevail upon her
| TO commit suicide, furnishing her with
revolver with which to carry out the
| idea On another occasion, at Bordeaux,
/ he lit brazier of charcoal IN their room,
/ presumably, according to the prosecution,
with the intention of suffocating his wife
! We had agreed to die together" Wit
! tlngham declares; but the prosecution
contends that Suzanne had not even been
consulted in the matter.
THE DEATH OF SUZANNE.
At the beginning of the current year
! Nottingham sent his wife to live with
her parents, he himself going to England.
He returned to Royan on May Is, and
| drove straight to the house of the Audons.
The meeting between Nottingham and
his wife was atfectiOnate, but soon after
the prisoner was heard to threaten his
wife with a whip, saying that 1.-The
English police had assured him that he
might beat her, as he had full authorit Y
over her" Nine Audon interfered, and
was turned out of the room A few min
utes later, however, she saw him treating
his wife in the most loving fashion, and
felt reassured.
Not very long after Witt ingham came
out of the room in which he had been
| with his wife and cried OUT
Il have wounded Suzanne. Go at once
for DOCTOR
When the doctor arrived Suzanne was
dead she had been shot in the face, and
the bullet, after breaking the iawbone,
had featured the spinal cord.
Nottingham offered no resistance to
arrest. He stated that he had been show
ing his wife a Winchester rife he had
brought from London, and that he must
have unguardedly touched the trigger,
which was very easy. 1t is argued by the
prosecution that Suzanne, who had a
great dread of firearms, would not have
been likely to wish TO have the mechan-
ism of rife explained to her On the
one hand, the post norton examination
| showed that the shot had been fired
downward and not horizontally: while,
on the other hand, it was found that the
trigger was not hair trigger, and re-
! quired cOnsidera BILE pressure.
III llAo llAbSAIOSdbOIy VI inc prisoner b06
! president described him as spoiled
child, capricious, wilful and sometimes a
! little preverse, but he was also enter
! prlSlng and courageous, and had often
! gone out with the Royan lifeboat De-
! scribing the prisoners first meeting with
his future wife, the President said that
Mile. Audon and her mother were at the
| theater, and that Nottingham went up to
her and shook hands with her without
any previous introduction, quite contrary
/ to English customs. Some correspond
| ence was exchanged between the two, and
| Nottingham thus learned that Mile. Au-
don was a perfectly respectable young
woman and that he must either under
take to marry her or have no future re-
lations with her. She was dazzled at the
/ prospect of becoming the wife of a gen.
erals son. The general however. refused
his consent TO the marriage in the most
| peremptory manner.
WISHED TO ENTER A CONVENT.
On hearing this Suzanne Audon wrote
to the superior of convent with a view
of becoming a nun. The following is
passage from letter she wrote to Wit
bingham at about this period -
"Oh, Bernard, l have no illusions about
it, A convent is hell for whoever goes
there to seek anything else but God The
sackcloth robe is hard to wear, but
l Sndll Inefe weep over the love L
have lost, and l give you release from
your word "
While the president was reading this
| letter Nottingham burst into tears
On hearing of Mile. Audon's intention
of taking the veil, Nottingham said to
her: We'll, then, we will get married
without the consent of my father. / will
work" This resolution induced Suzanne
to give way, and she persuaded her pa
rents TO allow her to marry her head
strong lover. Some time afterward.
when poverty and uncongenial labor had
dissipated Wittingham'S romantic illu-
sions, he began TO ill-treat his wife. The
president of the court thus described
some Of the painful scenes which passed
between them:
CEASED TO LOVE her.
The President-Your education has not
prepared you for laborious life. You
were in needy circumstance and dreaded
poverty, and from that day you ceased to
love Suzanne and resolved 10 rid yourself
of her at whatever cost. Sensation.
You said TO her one day: you think
you are my wife-well, you are only my
mistress. Our marriage was farce0
AT this your young wife cried, THAT is
terrible. l am lost and dishonored. Well,
l will disappear; | will kill myself"
You seized the opportunity at once and
replied You wish TO kill yourself.
Well, here's a revolver, you have only To