The Savannah morning news., 1901-01-17
KILLED her CHILD.
FOSTER MOTHER BEAT TEN
MONTHS BABE TO DEATH.
CH0KED 1T WITH DIRTY WATER
EMMA ANDERSON, COLORED, AR
RESTED FOR THE MURDER.

Jnnde Bennett, Cousin of the Alleged
Murderess, Also Held by the COrO-
ner-The Woman Denied She
struck the Child, but Witnesses
say They saw and Heard the
BIOws-The Little Ones Arm and
Nose Broken and Its Face Covered
with Bruises.
Marguerite Anderson, colored, 10 months
old, was beaten to death yesterday af-
ternoon. Emma Anderson, aged "a years,
and the infants foster mother. is held at
the police station house on a charge of
infanticide and her guilt will be deter
mined at an inquest to be held by Cor
oner Keller in the police court room this
afternoon.
Abbie Ryals. a negro woman living in
Anderson, street lane, between Price and
Habersham streets, telephoned Desk Ser
geant Baughn that woman had killed
her baby and asked that an officer be
sent TO investigate the killing. Mounted
Patrolmen Kearney and Herman were
sent out and found Emma Anderson in
the house with the dead baby. jamie
an. was also in the house, which is across
from the Ryals womans home and both
were placed under arrest The baby had
been washed, but marks Of violence were
still on its face and person. The Ryals
woman was sent to the police station as
a witness and was held until the arrival
of Coroner Keller, when she was re-
leased.
The Anderson woman denied that she
had killed the child. She said that she
had been its only support since almost
the hour of its birth, it's mother, Ellen
Smith, having died at that time The al
legged murderess said that she and the
Smith woman had been close friends and
that she had taken the baby at the ur-
gent request of the mother. on her death
bed
1.-The child had been i'll for several days
end was teething" said the woman This
afternoon about 4 O'Clock l tied the baby
in a chair in front of the fire and went
on with my washing. Marguerite cried
and 1 went to see what the trouble was.
She only screamed louder and 1 scolded
her. Then l slapped my hands together
twice to make her hush, but l never hit
her l took a rag and wiped her face Off
and she died about 6 O'Clock. People
might have thought that I hit the baby
but 1 did not"
Abbie Ryals, the woman who reported
the matter at headquarters, stated that
she saw the infants foster mother strike
1t several hard blows in the face and
that the child died a few minutes later.
The witness said that she could see what
was going on from her room and that
too, she heard the blows and the child's
screams.
Emma hit the baby several times and
then wiped its face off with a wet rag
and squeezed the dirty water in the
baby's face, almost strangling it. The lit
tie thing threw its head back and died
just after Emma had let the dirty water
run in its eyes, mouth and nose"
jamie Bennett, the Anderson woman's
cousin. who also lives in the same house,
was ordered held by Coroner Keller, and
may be charged with being an accessory.
at least, after the crime The Bennett
woman washed the blood from the child's
face after its death. although she now
claims that she thought that it had only
tainted.
The woman admits having heard the
child's screams and the blows as they
fell on it's face. She said she was in
an adjoining ROOM but her statement was
not credited by the police or the coroner.
Coroner Keller went to the scene of the
homicide shortly after the arrest of the
foster mother and made an examination
of the child's body. He found the right
arm broken, the nose broken and several
bruises and cuts about the face. There
was a deep confusion over the left eye,
and this wound alone would have been
sufficient to have produced death. The
child was scarcely two feet long and
must have been severely handled. Per-
mission was given the uncles of the dead
infant to bury the body