The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle. — 1870-03-12 (Stourbridge, West Midlands, England)

EXTRAORDINARY CASE.  At the assizes held at Chelmsford, Mica Smart, forty, was indicted for the wilful murder of the child of her danghter, Rebecca Smart, of the age of one hour ' or thereabouts, by strangling it. Mr. Walford and Mr. Edwin Lucas, conducted the prosecution, and thejarisoner was defended by Mr. Codd. This was a very remarkable case, as will be seen by the following outline of the trial. The prisoner was a married woman, the wife of a labourer, residing at Nazeing in the county of Essex, and the allegation on the part of the prosecution was that she had murdered her grandchild, the illegitimate offspring of her daughter Rebecca, a young woman of twenty. The principal witness for the prosecution was a married woman named Susan Starks, and, according to her evidence, she actually saw the prisoner commit the murder, and there was this corroboration of her testimony that upon a search being made in the garden attached to the cottage of the prisoner the bones and other de. composed remains of a child were discovered. The murder was represented to have been committed in August last, but no information appeared to have been given by the witness respecting it until several months afterwards ; and, upon inquries being made by the police, the result WWI that the prisoner was committed fir trial upon the present charge. Susan Starks, who was the first witness examined, said: In August last I lived next door to the prisoner and her husb .nd st Nazelng, and I remember being called up In the night on account of the prisoner's daughter being confined. After the child had been born, the prisoner put one of her fingers into its mouth, and the baby cried and the prisoner's daughter said to her, "Dan! mother, don't let the baby cry." The pris-nor replied, " Don't fear; It will not trouble anyli,dy bug" The prisoner then asked me what she was to do, and I replied, Please yoursell, Mrs Smart; you know your own ease hest." The prisoner then took MI one of her garters and tied it round the baby's neck, and tied it on the bet, and I went away and never LW the child again. Two days after this the prisoner told me that she had burled the child in the garden. i Cross-examined: When I was first examined, I told the magistrate that the prisoner put her finger down the throat of the child. I did not know what the prisoner was going to do when she took off her garter and pot it round the child's neck.  --Mr. Dodd: What did you do when you new her, as you say, tie her garter round the throat of an Infant just born 1-1 did not do anything. The Lord chief Justice to the witness: Did you believe that the prisoner was going to murder the child I—l did not know what she was going to do. His lordship : What did you mean by saying to the prisoner "Please yourself," when she put the question to you what she was to do ?--Witness (hesitating) : I understood her to ask me whether she was to kill the child or not. (Sensation. His lordship And you coolly told her to please her,elf. Is that what you mean to say I—The witness made no answer. In further cross-examination, the witness said she would swear that she did not say to the prisoner, "If I were you I would but let the child live, and no one should know any thing about It. She did not mention anything of what had happened until five months afterwards, and the reason for her silence was that the prisoner told her not to tell anybody what had taken place. Her COUScibIICO woad not let her keep the secret any longer.