The North-Eastern Weekly Gazette. — 1883-06-09 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

HORRIBLE DISCOVERY AT GLOUCESTER. CHARGE OF CHILD MURDER. A horrible discovery was made at Gloucester on Sunday evening. Some residents in New-street, a street near the outskirts of the city, having complained of a dreadful stench coming from a garden, the police investigated the matter, and on digging below the surface found the bodies of seven or eight infants in a decomposed state. The garden belongs to a house occupied by a family named Rees, and the mother is a monthly nurse. The man Rees and his wife were brought before the Gloucester magistrates on Monday. The police superintendent stated that he bad received private information that the female prisoner had told a neighbour that the dead body of a child of a woman she attended as nurse had been put away by the doctor's orders, and on applying to the doctor he denied all knowledge of the matter. Search was made for Mrs Rees on Friday, but she eluded the police until Sunday afternoon, and then attempted to escape but was caught. Being charged with unlawfully disposing of the dead body of a child, she took the police to her garden, and there, embedded in quicklime and charcoal, the police found buried a newly-born male child, quite naked. The garden was then dug up, and the bodies of two other children recently born, and five other bodies much decomposed, were found. The post-mortem examination of the child first found was made on Monday afternoon. The male prisoner said he knew nothing of the affair, and his wife knew he was innocent.—The female prisoner had nothing to say.—Both prisoners were remanded on the charge of the wilful murder of one child. On Monday night, the city Coroner opened an inquest on the body of one of the children.—A policeman stated that on arresting Mrs Rees she said, "Oh, dear, what shall I do? What will be the end of it? What will become of me Holder, a neighbour, said on Monday, 28th ult., she saw Mrs Rees going in and out of the house of Mrs Hancock. On Wednesday Mrs Rees , requested her not to tell the police about the affair, and also asked her if she thought she had been killing the children, to which witness replied that things looked very black indeed. On Friday evening she gave information to the police. George Hancock, husband of the woman confined, said Mrs Rees attended his wife as midwife and no doctor was engaged. Mrs Rees told him that the child was born prematurely and was dead, and she promised to see it buried.—He gave her half-acrown to pay for the burial. Mr Carter, surgeon, who made ths poa•mortem examination, gave detailed evidence that the child was fully grown, and must have been born alive. It weighed 71bs. 130 z., and was 22 inches in length. All the appearances were utterly inconsistent with the statement that it was a premature birth, and his opinion was that the child lived several minutes, and died from lnemorrhage. —The jury returned a verdict of wilful murder against Mrs Rees, an in the case of seven other bodies returned an open verdict.  " Bucunraina."—A new, quick, complete cure .or all urinary affections (smarting, frequent or difcflult) and kidney diseases. 4s. At Druggists. London Agency, No. 1, King Edward's-street.— Anrr.  RIGITI 8 AND Wrionos.—There is no property to which a man has more right than his own health; (it is often the poor t/Salell sole capital) ;oaqthiug therefore in operation to impair health, is an injury demanding a remedy: no useful purpose is served in coating or facing, the tea we drink with mineral powder, pru.ssian blue, plantbago, and other adulterants; it is done by the Chinese to increase their profit and thus pass off the worthless, wintry growth, when so coloured, as but tea. For 50 years the Public demand for Horniman'sPure Tea has increased, proving that this rich, strong, and delicious beverage is much desired. Hernia-tail's Tea is sold n 1,000 Towns by 4,000 Agents. Horrumanc Agents.—Middlesbrongh: Middleton, 13, Cleveland-terrace; Taylor, Linthorpe-road ; Hall, Marton-road. Stockton : Clarke, chemist ;Co-operative Society. South Stockton: Stonehouse,chemist. Stokealey: Scotson, book-seller. Redcar: Cooke, chemist; Pickersgill, confectioner. Brottou: Walker, chemist. Skelton: Ellis, chemist. North Ormesby: Gray, stationer. Whitby: Brooks, chemist,