The Potteries Examiner : — 1879-05-03 (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England)

SHOCKING CHILD. MURDER AT  WALALL.  On Saturday- night, at the Pleck, W than, Robert Pusbrooke Lines, aged twslity-thrre, a coach-furniture filer, made a turious attack upon his wife, apparently with the intention of taking her life, and afterwards killed a male child, to 1 which she had given birth on the previous day, i and of which, it is said, he repudiates the paternity. It seems that the couple have been married only six months, and have been living at the Pleck, at the house of the wife's father, a man named Russell. On Saturday sight the latter and his son-in-law were drinking ... . . .. . . , , ,  together at .1-t-iiublic-house in the neighbourhood till about ten o'clock, when Lines went home, seat a woman who had been left in care of the house in the absence of Mrs. Russell, out for a quart of ale, and then went upstairs into the room in which his wife was lying. After some conversation with her, of,a nature that at present can only be conjectured, he fetched an iron cleaver and a poker from down stairs, and with these began a murderous attack upon his wife, who either sprang out of bed or was dragged out, and who struggled with him as well as she was able in her weak state, until at last she fell downstairs. She then made her way into the street, and sought refuge in a neighbour's horse, leaving her husband and her infant still in a bed room. Her screams had meanwhile drawn to the place a number of persons, amongst whom whom was Patrol-sergeant Alden, who. on entering the bed room, found the infant quite dead, and with two wounds on the head, apparently caused by heavy blows with the chopper. He acecrdingly apprehended Lines on the charge of murder; and surgical aid was obtained for Mrs. Lines, who was suffixing severely from the effects of the injuries she had ; received.  On Monday Lines was brought up on a charge of wilfully murdering the infant son of which his wife had been delivered on Friday last. The prisoner was also charged with attempting to murder his wife at the same time.—Patrol.sergeant Milan deposed that he went to the prisoner's house and found him outside. Prisoner said, I've killed the child.' Witness found and produced a poker and , a chopper, the latter being marked with blood.— Dr. Macklachlan deposed that he saw the body of the child and also the wife of the prisoner. 'The chi:d was dead. It had two cuts, each about three inches long, and they were sufficient to account for death.- The chopper produced might cauce such wounds as the child had. The woman had a cut on the left arm and a sevete contusion on the right. Upon this evidence the Chief Constable applied for a remand, which was gaanted • for a week.  The inquest upon the body of the child was I opened the same day at the Rope and Anchcr Inn, Pleck, by Mr. A. A. Fletcher, the Borough ' Coroner, prisoner being present in custody.— Phosbe Burns, of Oxford-street, Pleek, deposed that on Saturday night prisoner's mother.in-law asked her to take charge of the house and look after prisoner's wife and the child while she (Mrs. Russell) went marketing. About a quarter to ten prisoner arrived at the house and sat for some time by the fire, lie then sent witness to get a quart of ale. Before she got back a little girl met her and said to her, Oh, Mrs. Burns, Bob's killed the baby.' She did not go back to the house. She had known prisoner about eighteen months and his wife for more, but she did not know if they had ever lived unhappily, neither did she know when they were married. —The inquiry was adjourned.