The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1896-06-17
MRS. DYER HANGED.
ETLED BABIES AND THREW
THEM INTO THE RIVER.
Fan Baby Farm in the Outskirts of Lon-
don and Committed Murder by
Wholesale. Confessed
Her Grimes.
Her Grimes.

Her Grimes.
A cable from London, dated April 10th,
saws that Mrs. Annie Dyer, the baby
farmer of Reading, on the charge of
numbering many infants entrusted to Der
care, was hanged Ill Newgate prison that
morning at nine o'clock.
Mrs. Dyer was one of the most extra
ordinary criminals of the age, whole
sale. cold-blooded murderess. The po-
lice first became suspicious of her and
her son-in-law, Arthur E. Palmer, early
in April, when the bodies of number
of children, apparently strangled to
death, we're recovered from the river
Thames, where they had been thrown,
weighted down with bricks, etc. An
Investigation led to the arrest of Mrs.
Dyer and Mr.. Palmer.
Letters found in her house showed
that many of the parents with whom she
and her az complete lad dealings were
aware of the fate intended for
the infants. The letters were
from persons in all ranks of society.
The coroner had long been puzzled at
the fact that so many infants were
found in the Thames between Mapping
and Battersea, some of them naked and
others wrapped in old linen or brown pa
per, but lot of them weighted down
in some way or another, and all of them
evidently strangled to death. The pre-.
limlnary examination developed most
horrifying state of affairs.
SLAUGHTER OF THE INNocENTs.
1t was proved that since Christmas at
least 20 children have been entrusted to
Mrs. Dyer's keeping, and Of this number
only four were still living. In addition,
prior to Christmas, many other children
had been placed in the woman's charge,
and are unaccounted for and are
admitted to have been murder
ed. A conservative estimate places
the number of children killed at
40, but other estimates have it
that as many as 100 infants were either
strangled or drowned by Mrs. Dyer.
Mrs. Dyer and her son-in-law lived in
Reading, where they had a great reputA-
ton for piety. Over the door of her
home was figure of Jesus Christ, be-
meath which was the inscriptions: "Suf-
fer little children to come unto me, and
forbid them not, for of such is the king
dom of heaven"
The baby farmer was gaunt yet fair
ly good-looking woman of about so years
of age, and she seems to have derived
quite good income from her crimes.
Three children were found at Mrs.
Dyer's residence when she was arrested.
They were boy, seven years of age, a
girl of eight years and boy of three
months. There is little doubt that they
would have gone tie way of the others
had not the woman been arrested.
MADE MONEY BY MURDER.
Some idea of the extent of the business
done by Mrs. Dyer may be gathered
from the statement that baby clothes
weighing nearly 800 pounds were found
at her house when the police made the
first search. A box containing the de-
composed body of an infant was also
discovered in The .womans dwelling, evil
IDENTIFY having been placed there while
she awaited an opportunity to throw it
into the Thames.
In all cases Mrs. Dyer has insisted up
on being paid before taking charge of an
infant sums varying from $50 to $500.
She also made considerable money by
pawning or selling the wardrobes with
which nearly all the infants were fur
nished
The particular prey of the baby farmer
were single women who had been misled,
or servants and poor working women
who were unwilling or unable to take
care of their children. In such cases
Mrs. Dyer would write that she was
glad to have the chance of having a
dear little baby to bring up and call her
own, not for the sake of money, but for
the darling's sake.'
CONFESSED HER CRIMES.
In some cases parents tried to regain
possession of their children. But
when they became too pressing and dan.
ger was in the air Mrs. Dyer would move
and the parents, generally to poor to en-
ploy legal assistance, would give IN