Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-02-22
speeIal Correspondence.

Special Correspondence.
~ ARTS, Feb. 13.-one of the most
- extraordinary and perp!exing
cases among French criminal
records OF recent years is as
suredly that OF Jeanne Weber. the meek
and timid little Breton woman whom
the popular voice branded with the
terrible name of "The ogress CT the
Goutte dor" and who, after three
years of martyrdom, has at last been
released from the clutches OF justice,
or, rather, OF judge d'instrucuon.
Apart from the intrinsic interest
which attaches to every human trag-
ody. especially where there Is an add
ed element of unexplained and mex
plioable mystery. this case has served
to throw disquieting sidelight on
the cumbrous machine of French ju-
dicial procedure, and particularly on
that medieval ana inquisltorial iigure,
the Judge dinstruction. The magis-
trate thus entitled Is a kind of COM
bination of Judge and jury, his es-
pecial mission being to get up the
criminal case" against the accused
and decide whether there is prina faeie
evidence of guilt sufficient TO send him
TO the assizes. AS this funcionary
does not ofliciate In open court, but
In his private room, to which the
public is, OF course, denied admittance,
and as the only spectator Ia the clerk,
II IL easy to SEQ how III the accused
person may fare mt the hands OF the
Judge dlnstruction II the latter be in
clined to play the inquisitor. Such
proves to have been Jeanne Wehers
fate at the hands of NJ. Belleau, the
judge d'instructlon of Chateauroux
FATE poGGED HER FOOTSTEPS
Fate, indeed has dogged the foot
steps of poor Jeanne Weber since the
month OF March, 1905. She was then
living with her husband In the Goutte
dor. an Industrial quarter In the north
of Paris. Their life was that of the
working population. Jeanne he'd been
domestic servant. She was now 80
years OF age and her little hoy, Mar
eel was just old enough TO go to school
ON March 2. Georgette, her brother
in-law's little daughter, suddenly fell
Ill and az suddenly died. Nine days
later another little niece, Susanna, died
in the same sudden manner. A fort
night after that a third niece, Ger
Jeanne's own little boy. Marcel. 1t
was noticed that In each case---was II
by a strange fatality or was II by
dlahollcal plan2--Jeanne Weber was
alone with the dying childgen. In
one case the father was away at work
and Jeanne sent the mother FOR doc
tor: In another the mother was absent
and the father, hastily summoned, was
sent back to his work with the assur-
ance that the little sufferer was al
rendy better. Again. the children's
end was identical The face turned
purple, the limbs were contracted, the
eyes were starting from their sockets
81, II.
ally, on April 3, Jeanne's little nephew.
Maurice, was attacked while his aunt
was with him. This time, however,
the mother was at hand and ran with
her child to the nearest hospital. TO
the mothers horror the doctor and hls
assistant both diagnosed commence
mcnt OF strangulatlon and detected 30
they said, q black line around the neck.
The whole quarter which had been
commenting IN itH own rough and
ready fashion on this startling series
Of deaths In the Weber families, now
with one voice accused the unhappy
Jeanne Weber OF being murderess.
Tho public prosecutor took up the
case, Jeanne was arrested. and three
experts, Drs Brouardel, Thoinot and
Descouis, were instructed 10 hold a
post norton examination on All the
deceased children except Marcel Weber.
whose death had been certified as hay
Ing been caused by diphtheria.
BIG SENSATION.
The affair created tremendous sem
satlOn, For weeks columns OF matter
daily appeared I'm the newspapers about
tho "Ogfoss OF the Goutte dor" No one
lifted his voice in her defense, for her
guilt appeared beyond question. Her
past life, her words. her actions. every
thing was slfted and scrutinized. The
public voice declared her to have been
faithless wife, that she had been in
texlcated frequently there was some
thing" disquieting, mysterious, diaboli-
cal, about her, though no one could
quite say what her notorious affoctlon
for children was only pretext 10 get
them into her clutches, and so ON. For