Horsham, Wednesday, March...
The Times, 1824-03-25T00:00:00

Itsilier L-orrtisg was put to the bar, charged on the Coroner's in- ynisition with the wilful murder of Martha Ann Sewell, by drown- Ing her, at East Grinstead, on the 14th of February last. rhis case excited very general interest. l'he prisoner, who had attained her 15th year since her commitment, was a slight interest- ing child, and appeared greatly afiected at her situati6n. Mlr. COL'RTHOPE stated the case for the prosecution in the most dispassionate manner, and suggested such topics as were most favourable to the prisoner. He put it to the jury, whether the fatal event which they were assembled to inquireinito was not more nro bably the result of pure accident, than any vilful or malicious f5eel- ing which might have entered the heart of sc young a person as the prisoner, who, bevond all quiestion, had alvays shown the greatest affection for the deceased. The parcnts of the deceased were not in- fluenced by any unkind f eeling towards the Trisoner; on the contrary, they were most willing to suppose that her conduct was free from moral blame. This prosecution was conducted at tite instance of the parish otficers of East Grinstead, who had no other motive than to see justice fairly administered, as well to tite public as to the prison- cr. After entering into a detail of the facts of the case, he called the following witnesses:- Mlrs. Sewell, mother of the deceased, depospd, that on Saturdav evening thc 14th of February, about six o'clock, she utndressed the child for the purpose of pitting it in the cradle. Being obliged to go into the shop, she put the child into the cradle. Sli eft Iter eldest girl, Lucy, and two boys, in the cate of the prisoner, to be washed and puIt to bed. The prisoner brought the boys otie by one after slie had washe(Il them to be kissed by witness. About an hour and a half afterwards she ,vent into the kitchen for some- thing for the little girl Lucy. In passing the cradle where she had left the chlild, she touched it, and foutnd the child gone. Witness asked the prisoner where the child was; she said it was in the cradle; witness said it was not there: slte again said it was. The prisoner tLlen camne fbrward half wav in grea6agitation, as if to look itto the cradle. She then sent her to Mlr. Isted's, next door, to see if the child was there; she initnediately returned, andsaid the child was net there. Wl'itness asked her if Mir. anid Airs. Isted were at home; she replied that they were gene ttp stairs to bed. She then came crying roundl to witness, who desired her to go and search for the child; she asked !where she should go ? Site answered, that she must go and look till she found it. Wtitness asked her if the wash- hOUSe was locked; she answeied that it was locked before the child was lost. The prisoner went and gave the alarm in the neightbosr- hood. Thencightbours came frotmalldirections. The cradle was placed in mIte same situation as if the child was in it; the clothes were the sanmc as when witness left. the child there. Xvery search was made by the neighbours in the house, with the exception of the wash-house; the reason why that was not searched was, that the prisoner had a second time said that it was locked. Whei the prisoner was sent to alarm the neigltbaurs, she remained out for sotne time; when she came in, slie was very wet, and said shie had been to a neighbour's a quarter of a mile off, to desire them to assist in the search ; witness desired her to go and change lierself. In the course of tle evenittg, seeing witness cry, the prisoner said, " Don't cry, Mia'am, the child will be found." There is a small passage between witness's shop and the kitchen, the doors leading from one to the other are opposite each other: both doors had been left open during the whole evening. The child hail been ill witlh the hooping cough, but at that time it was better; had the child made any noise she mugt have heard it, from the rel4tive situation of the shop and the kitchen. The wash-house is at a distance from the shop; persons might conie into the other parts of the kit- clien without her hearing them. Mlost of the time she was engaged in serving customers. When witness found that the cradle was empty, the prisoner was in an adjoining rootit, cleaning shoes. Wit- ness's other children slept in a room upstairs, over the kitchen, whi- ther the prisoner had carried them, except her daughter Lucv, who remained in the shop with witness. There were five doors altogether in the kitchen. There is a copper in the wash-house. In the evenitig, witness had desired the prisoner to fill the copper with the rain water they had caught. Witnest saw her fetch the water accordindly fbr that purpose. The water had been put in for the purpose cf washing on the following Monday. The copperwasso high, thatwitness could cot drop a child 'in by accident herself. There was a little stone which laid by the copper, but she did hot koow whether it was there at that time. It was generallv there. The stone was left there to get up to the copper in case it was wanted. It was not fixed, but moveable. It was large evough to be safe to stand upon,being wide in dimensions. 'i'he prisoner's bed liad been brought into witness's room a week before on account of the other children being poorly. Niltness's husband had been away a-week. Her husband came honie that evening. About three o'clock on the Sunday morning, hefore the child was fouind, the prisoner asked witness if she should reniove the bed. Witne:ss said she might do as she liked. Her husband told her she need not, but she did remove it into the front room, opposite the one from whieh she removed it. SlIe did not always sleep in that room. She usually slept in the garret. Witness saw ito more of her until six in the morning, when witness went up to the other children. She asked witness if she should go and sit with the children, and said, " Poor things, they are afraid, I have no doubt." WVitness said she light. Cross-examined by AMr. ADoLIHus.-The prisgner had lived in wxitness's service a year and a few days. At this time she was 14 years of age. Since then, she had become 15 years of age. The child and prisoner appeared very niuch attached to each other. The other children were all very fond of the prisoner. Until the body was found, it nevercrossed witness's mind to suppose that the pri. soner had hurt the child. Did not even believe it when she was taken away. The children were generally washed in waTri water; and the prisoner might go to the copper for soft water. It was not raining that night to witness's knowied-e but she had to cross a flood in the way to the house where she said she went for assistance. George Butcher, living with MIr. Isted, the butelser, heard, about seven o'clock on the 14th, that tha child was lost, and he went to assist in the search. Hle went to the wash-house; the door of the wash-house tlhen stood wide open. He did not go in. In three quarters of an hour aiterwards he found the door shut and locked. There were a great many people going in and out of the house on this occasion. WN'illiam Isted proved, that about seven o'clock on the Sunday morning, he found the body of the child in the copper. It was three parts full of water. The child was taken next door bv John Isted, who proved thlat he took the child out of the copper. It was quite dead. It was placed on a table in the house next door. There was a large square stone near the copper. From the top of the stone to the top of the copper was about three feet. The copper was about half full when the child was taken out. The stotte appeared to be firm; but a young person in order to get water, mnust stoop forward for ttat purpose. It was a moon-liglst night. John Sewell. father of the deceased, proved that lie found the washhouse locked on the Sunday moniing. Cross-exaimineI..-The prisoner had always treated witness's children with the greatest kindness and affection ; and his children were all particularly fbnd of her. iHe never saw the slightest indi. cation to the contrary. He had the greatest confidence in the pri- soner's kindness and affection towards the children. When differ ent people went in search of the child, the prisoner seemed deeply affected, and was crying bitterly. There was no sucb thing as anv unkindness or quarrel between the prisoner and the deceased before this time. Thomas Waghorn, the constable, deposed that he came to Mr. Sewell's house about nine o'clock on the Sunday moriming. The child was then at AIr. Isted's, lying on the table- Witness took the prisoner into the room where the child was. As soon as she went in, Francis Isted went to the child and uncovered it; the prisoner went to it, kissed it, aud cried. Witness asked her what nad occasioned the child's death ? she replied, she did not know. Witness asked her if she had let it drop in by accident ; and whe- titer she left it on the head of tise capper, whileth se went elsewhere, or whether she wilfully did it ; and she replied no. WVilliamn Rose, the master of the Dorset Arms, and Francis Bedford, caine in; and Rose said, " Can yon take this child's ann in your hand, and declare solemnly that you are net the niurderer of it ; and that you don't know what caused its death ?" She took the arm, and declared to Almighty God that she knew nothing about it. Nothing further passed. The prisoner went upstairs to put on soene further clothes, and witness took her to East Grinetead. On the way to East Grinstead, witneAs told her he tlhought she had better tell the truth than be made to do it, He then took her to East Grinstead, to the Dorset Arms. They got there about 11 o'clock, and Mr. Alagens, the magistrate, came about two. The prisoner said to him she was innocent. After Mllr. Mlagens went, witness and Airs. Rose were talking about the atrocity of the crime, and the prisoner said, " If you will go along with me into arnother room, Mr. W-ghorm, I'll tael you xiore of it." Mrs. Rose and aservant were present at this time. He then took her into I another room alone; and she said she had been up stairs to put the two children to bed ; she came down again, and took the kettle from the fire, and with the child in her arms, took the kettle to the copper tofll it with water, to wash Lucy, the eldest daughter, would not be washed in the other water, there being no more water warm; and in filling the kettle from the copper, she let the child fall in by accident, and then she fell backwards ; she then took the kettle to the pump. and filled it. She said she was so frightened that she was at'raid to make it known to the mother. Mr. Magens afterwards came on the Alonday, and tookher examination. The prisoner's statement was then put in and read. It was to the same effect as her account of the transaction as given to the constable. She stated, that in going to fill the kettle at the co per,vwith the child in her arms, the child slipped out of her arms irto the water. The constable, on his cross-examination, stated, thlt helad been a constable about three months before this time. Ile almitted he was wroing in allowing wthat had passed in endeavouring to extract a confession from the prisoner. He was a shoemaker by tradle, and was about twenty.four years of age. He hadt said that he wished to extract the truth from her. The Loamn CHrEF BARON interfered, and reDrehended this part of the constable's conduct. He had been guilty of a grosr breach of his duty in endeavouring to extort a confession. The deposition made by tbe constable, as taken down by the co- roner, wasread, and it appeared that his deposition, asnow given, was very different from what he had stated on the inquest. he LORD CHIEF BARON again reprimanded the constable, and said, " Your conduct has been highly imnproper. You have no right to extort a confession from any prisoner, still less from a person of the prisoner's tender age. Your condu"ct was grossly improper. No doubt you expected to make her confess for the purpose of givine evidence against her, in order that she might be convicted. Go down, Sir." Mlr. Collins, a surgeon, gave it as Isis opinion that the child died from suffocation. This was the case for the Crown. The prisoner being 'alled on for her defence, put in a written statemeit. to the fblloweing cffect:_" 'WMhen the child aw-oke, I took it from the cradle, and carried it with me into the wash.house, that it might be quiet, and while dipping the kettle into the copper to fill it, to wash another of the children of the name of' Lucy, the child swayed back and fell into the copper, which alarmedi me so much that I fell back into the wash-house. When rny mistress asked me where the child was, I was afraid to tell her. I declare most so- lemnly that I had no disposition to murder the child. having ever loved it most affectionatcly. I believc in my terror I mav not have said what was true; but I declare most solemnly that the child's death was occasioned by accident." The LoRD CHIsEF BARON- summed up the evidence with gre t feling, suggesting that there was a tota,l absence of anv malicious motive imputable to the prisoner. Indeed, it was hhrhl improbable that any such feeling could have been harboured. The probability was, that the poor infant lost its life in the manner stated by tlie prisoner; and ir the jury were of this opinion, they would say so by their verdict. The jury immediateiy found the prisoner N'ot Gutilty. Some humane persons present kindly oftered to take care of, and provide for her. HORSIHAM, WEDNESDAY, MIARCH 24. MlURDER.