The Sun. — 1857-01-06 (London, England)

TWO CHILDREN POISONED BY TREIR  MOTHER.  LIVERPOOL, MONDAY.  About a fcrtnigbt ago an inquest was held before Mr. Coroner Curry, on the bodies of Margaret Cochrane, aged six years, and Catherine Cochrane, aged four years, who were supposed to have been suffocated in consequence of a fire breaking out in the room where they were sleeping, in a low Irish lodging-house, in St. Martin's-street. Mr. Kemp, the surgeon usually called to give evidence in such cases, deposed that the children bad died from suffocation. The circumstances of the case, however, were of so strange a nature, and the antecedents of the mother of so suspicious a character, that the coroner's beadle, Mr. Blake, came to the conclusion that there had been foul play in the matter. He had ascertained by inquiry that the mother had had five children by her husband, three of whom bad also come to violent deaths, either by scalding or burning; that during the absence of her husband in America she was sent to Walton Gaol, for three months, for larceny ; that there she gave birth to an illegitimate male child, which was well when she was discharged, and that it had never been seen or heard of ; and that a few days after her release, a male child, of precisely the same age, was found deserted in the street, and it died from exposure. He examined the premises in St. Martin's-street, and found appearances which led to the conclusion that the fire had been purposely made under the bed. He called in the assistance of Mr. Arnold, of Hose-vale, who examined the other body, and his testimony gave weight to the suspicions of the beadle. The inquest was several times adjourned, and when these facts were developed the coroner gave instructions for the bodies, which had been interred in Walter* Cemetery, to be exhumed, and an analysis to be made of the contents of the stomach. Up to this point the woman Cochrane had attended the investigations, wrapping herself and her thoughts closely up in her dirty and tattered shawl, her expressionless face giving no sign of emotion. When the bodies, however, weretaken from-the grave in which they would not rest, she fled and has hot since been seen. This act was an indication of what would follow. Professor Edwards analysed the contents of the stomach, and found in each sufficient traces of oxalic acid to account for death. The adjourned inquiry took place twheirsemevororlivined :_ g, at half-past 11 o'clock, when these facts A Detective Officer stated at the inquiry this morning that he and Police-constable Surrey (No. 444) bad made every possible search forthe parents of the children, having been in Woolton and Stockport, where they had lived formeriy, but they had found no traces of their whereabouts. Detective-officer Eaton stated that the woman Cochrane had been several times committed for felony at Woolton. Her husband, it was explained, bad not been seen in the town since the opening of the inquiry. In reply to a juror, the coroner said no evidence had been obtained as to the mode in which the poison had been procured, owing to the great demand for oxalic  acid for various purposes. The jury returned a verdict of wilful murder against Bridget Cochrane, and a warrant was issued for her apprehension.