The Blackpool Herald. — 1890-10-17 (Blackpool, Lancashire, England)

SUPPOSED CHILD MURDER  AT BLACKPOOL.  THE INQUEST.  In our last issue we gave particulars of the supposed murder of a newly-born female child by being thrown from the North Pier en Thursday last. Since then the police have made careful inquiries with respect to a woman who had frequented the pier a few days before the occurrence, and whose actions had aroused suspicion, but nothing of a definite character has as yet been ascertained with respect to her; neither has she since been seen in the town. The inquest on the body was held on Friday afternoon at the court-house, Abingdon-street, before Dr. Gilbertson, district coroner, and a jury of which Mr. J. Worthington was the foreman. John William Fenton, licensed waterman, of 108, Cocker-street, was the first witness. and his evidence went to show that about twenty minutes past twelve on the Thursday in question, when he was rowing about in his beat about 300 yards on the south side of the North Pier, he saw something drop into the water but he could not see what it was. It appeared to come from where a lady was sitting by herself on the pier, but as the parcel had reached about half-way to the water before he caught sight of it, he could not say whether it came from her or not. Neither could he see what the woman was like, except that she was wearing dark or black clothes, and a moment or two later she got up and walked down the pier, and he saw her no more. He did not search for the parcel because he thought it was of no consequence—Benjamin Caton, another boatman,of 11, Swainson-street, deposed to picking up the parcel on the south side of the pier while taking a party out in his boat. After he had landed the persons he examined the parse!, which he found to be a black bag with the body of a little child inside, and he at once gave information to the police.— Dr. Butcher testified to making a post mortem examination of the body. He did not think it was a fully grown cbild : it appeared to be about a month short of the full time. There were no bruises, scratches, or marks of violence on the body, and in his opinion it had not been born more than eight or ten hours of being found. The central portion of the child's face was a livid purple, but not swollen. Other parts of the body were cold, but of a natural colour. On opening the chest he found the diaphragm was on a level with the sixth rib, while the lungs appeared to be expanded, and almost filled the chest. They were the usual colour, and were c.spitant, which would show that they had contained air. Another proof was that portions floated in water, while en insertions being made in them, air bubbled out. There were, however, no signs of drowning, there being no water in the lungs. In his opinion the cause of death was not drowning, but from want of proper attention at birth. There was no doubt the child had been born alive. It might have , breathed and then been suffocated through the face coming in contact with the clothes. In answer to the foreman the doctor expressed the opinion that had the child been properly looked after would have lived.—Sergeant Lambert deposed to being ealled to the discovery by Caton, and afterwards the Coroner addressed the jury. He said it was not i very clear case; they could only form a conjecture, and not a definite eonelusion as to the cause of death. There was no doubt the child was barn a month before its time, but if it had had proper breath it would have lived. There was strong evidence of it having breathed freely from the peculiar discolouration of the face, but still it had not died from drowning. In his opinion the proper verdict would be to the effect that the child was found dead floating in the sea; that it had been born alive. bat that there was no evidence to show how it had come by its death.— The jury ultimately returned a verdict in accordance with the Coroner's advice.  COLSVAN'S LIEBIG'3 EXTRAcT OF Iffii.AT AND MALT Wrifg.—A es. 9d. bottle of this celebrated wine sent free by 'tercels post for 33 stamps. Over 2,000 useti• monials received from medical men. COLIOLLN Ltd., Norwich. gold everywhere.  VstusßLE DligloVAßY