Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-06-11
WOMAN HANGED FOR MURDER
Mrs. Dyer Ezpiated Many Grimes or
the ScafOld.
She Conducted a Baby Farm and
is Believed to Have Murdered 1OC
Infants - The Murderess Long
Shielded Herself Behind Repu-
tation for Great Piety.

London, June 10.-MrS. Annie Dyer,
the baby farmer, of Reading, who was
arrested on April on the charge o.
numbering many infants entrusted TO
her care, was hanged at Newgate prison
at 9 o'clock this morning.
Mrs. Dyer was one of the most extra
ordinary criminals of the age, whole
sale, co.d-blooded murderess. The
police first became suspicious OF her and
her son-in-law, Arthur Z. Palmer. early
in April, when the bodies of a number
of infants, apparently strangled to
death, we're recovered from the river
Thames, where they had been thrown,
weighted down with bricks An inves-
tigation led TO the arrest Of Mrs. Dyer
and Palmer. Letters found in her house
showed that many Of the parents with
whom she and her accomplice had deal
ings were aware Of the fate intended
for the infants. There letters were from
parents in all ranks of society. The
coroners had long been puzzled by the
fact that so many bodies OF infants
were found in the Thames between
Mapping and Battersea, some Of them
naked and others wrapped in old linen
or brown paper, but all Of them weight
ed down in some way or other, and al
of them evidently having been stran-
gled.
The preliminary examination devel-
oped a most horrifying condition. lt
was proved that since Christmas at
least twenty children had been entrust-
ed to Mrs. Dyer's keeping, and OF this
number only four were living. In addi-
sion, prior to Christmas, many other
children that had been placed in the
woman's charge were unaccOunted for,
and are admitted TO have been murder
ed. A conservative estimate places the
numberof children killedat 40; utother
estimates have it that as many as 100
infants were either strangled or drown
ed by Mrs. Dyer.
Mrs. Dyer and her sop-in-law lived
in Reading, where they had great
reputation for piety. Over the door of
her home was figure of Christ, be-
meath which was the inscription: "Suf-
fer little children to come unto me and
forbid them not, for OF such is the
kingdom of heaven"
Mrs. Dyer has been arrested on four
previous occasions, but somehow She
managed not only to escape punish
ment, but succeeded in maintaining her
reputation for piety. But in court the
woman's nerve deserted her. She had
a detected terrified look, and appar-
emily was in despair and saw the gal
lows ahead. The baby farmer was
fairly goOd-looking woman Of about 80
years of age, and she seems TO have de-
rived quite a good income from her
crimes.
Three children were found at Mrs.
Dyers residence when she was arrest
ed They were a boy, years OF age,
a girl Of years and boy months old.
There is little doubt they would have
gone the way Of the other charges Of
the baby farmer had the latter not
been arrested.
Some idea of the extent of the busin-
ess done by Mrs. Dyer may be gathered
from the statement that baby clothes
weighing nearly 300 pounds were found
at her house when the police made the
first search. A box containing the
body of an infant was also discovered
in the woman's dwelling evidently
having been placed there while she
awaited an opportunity to throw 1t in
to the Thames.
In all the cases, Mrs. Dyer insisted
upon being paid before taking charge
of an infant sums varying from $50 to
$500. She also made considerable
money by pawning or selling the ward
robes with which nearly all the infants
were furnished.
The particular prey of the baby farm
er were single women, or servants and
poor working women who were unable
or unwilling to take care Of their chill
dren. In such cases Mrs. Dyer would
write to them that she was glad 10 have
the chance of having dear little baby
10 bring up and call her own, not for
the sake of money but for the darling's
company"
In some instances parents tried TO
regain possession o. their children. But
when they became so pressing and dan
ger was in the air Mrs. Dyer would
move. and the parents, generally too
poor to employ legal assistance, would
give up their attempts.
Late in April Mrs. Dyer made a writ
ten confession, admitting the murders
of which she was accused. IL was pro-
posed to introduce the plea of insanity
in her defense. She was examined
later by a physician employed by the
home Office and was declared to be
sane.
On May q Mrs. Dyer was indicted for
murder. and on the following day she
vas sentenced to death. In prison
Mrs. Dyer made several attempts to
commit suicide. At Reading she tried
to strangle herself with her shoe laces;
some time later she tried to force a
handkerchief down her throat, and
upon another occasion she attempted to
cut her wrist against piece OF iron.
Her last attempt at suicide was on
May 26. in Newgate prison, when, while
living in bed apparently asleep, she
twisted a handkerchief around her
throat and almost succeeded in strang-
ling herself