The Sun. — 1867-08-23 (London, England)

LATEST PARTICULARS-THIS DAT). This morning at an early hour numbers of persons visited the house, No. 51, Chester-street, Lower Kennington-lane, for the purpose of trying to get a look at the rooms where Mrs. Anne Roberts, aged 40 years, murdered her two children, Anne, aged nine, and Frederick, aged seven, yesterday afternoon. The would-be sightseers were disappointed, for strict orders have been given by the police to admi:, no one whatever into the rooms until Mr. Coroner Carter opens the inquest. For some hours afterwards the street in front of the house presented a very animated appearance. The crowd divided into small groups, and every item of intelligence was eagerly sought after and received, but it is needless to say that information given to the people under those circumstances was not of the most reliable character, for the individual who knew, or pretended to know, most of the details connected with the horrible tragedy gained the largest and most attentive audiences. Stories of the most improbable character of the previous life of the unfortunate victims and their wretched mother were told with a circumstantiality of detail that was positively amazing. During the narrative of one of these stories, au inmate of the house was seen to come to the door, and seeing the crowd outside that party was observed to shed tears, and the police at once ordered the crowd to disperse, and informed her that they could see nothing, and that by remaining in groups outside they were only wounding the feelings of Mr. Roberts, who was then in the house. The crowd behaved with great decorum, and moved a short distance, but only to return. As it was stated that the mother had been seen chasing her son Charles, aged 12, round the front garden with a knife in her hand, the front flower garden where the horrible chase took place was much looked at, but as the flowers had.been uninjured, there was nothing to indicate that the son had such a narrow escape of losing his life in that place. It is stated by a neighbour that when the mother, who was intent upon committing a third murder, found her son leaping over same flowers, and getting out of her way by taking a bound over the fence, she threw the knife, which she had in her right hand, after him, and it narrowly missed striking him in the back. About half-past nine o'clock this morning that boy was in so weak a condition from the shock which his nervous system had received, that when he was leaving a neighbour's house to walk throigh the crowd in Chester-street he had to be supported as he proceeded down the street. He is a very intelligent-looking lad, but to-day he was very pale, and looked like a person who had suddenly awoke up out of a horrid dream. His mother yesterday afternoon, ;when she caught hold of him by the shirt, which fortunately, tore, said, "You are very unwell." She then tried to plunge the knife into his abdomen. The boy struggled, his clothes tore, and ho eluded her grasp a second time, and then the race between the mother and the son took place. It is stated that Mrs. Roberts has for some time past been brooding over some imaginary wrong. Tho alleged wrong is stated, but as there aro the feelings of another party still living to be taken into consideration it would be most unfair to state it at present. We are informed that the conduct of the deceased woman did not give rise to uneasiness in her husband's mind, but she was morbidly jealous of him. The mother of the wretched woman died raving mad. We have been informed that soma person told the deceased of the circumstances of an occurrence, which that busy-body alleged had taken place a week before, and the relation of that story no doubt either totally un founded in part, or partly exaggerated, preyed upon the deceased's mind, and she gradually worked herself up into a state of madness.  The crime, it is now thought, was premeditated, for the murderess waited until all the lodgers in the house had left before she killed her two children, or sent for her son Charles.