The Sun. — 1844-02-22 (London, England)

MURDERS BY A YOUNG CHILD. On Monday was committed to Lincoln Castle, for trial, charged with the wilful murder of her two little brothers (on the mother's side), Mary Johnson, a girl not -yet thirteen. The inquest was held at Benington, near Boston, the place where the parties reside, and it has proved a most painful and intricate investigation. The prisoner's improbable story is as follows : She went to Mr. Overton's shop, the Post-offica, to inquire for a letter ; there not being one, she went out again, and in about ten minutes returned, and asked for a pennyworth of arsenic, which, after a deal of -hesitation, she obtained. The same ni flit, when partaking of their meal, the two children were poisoned, and died the next morning, within two hours of each 4other. On the night in question, after their meal was egyer, Farr (the father) and his housekeeper went to a ranting chapel, in an adjoining parish, and upon their Teturn homo they found the two children at a neighbour's house, under the same roof, retching, purging, :land vomiting, which continued with but little intermission until they died. The father fetched Mr. Cummack, •a surgeon, but upon his arrival William expired. -The day after the death of the two children, the father, hearing that the prisoner had procured poison et Mr. Overton's, took her with him, and confronted her . with Mr. Overton, putting the question, " this ;girl get any poison here ?" Being answered in the affirmative, the father then asked the girl what she did i with t ? She replied, " I gave it to a woman on the road, who sent me for it." At another stage of the :investigation, being asked by the Coroner if she should ;know the woman again, or describe her dress and person, :she answered, she had never seen her before or since, mat she was a tall woman, wearing a brown cloak, a white straw bonnet with Coloured ribands, and , carrying a reticule basket; and that she accompanied 'the woman on the high-road as far as the guide-post leadins,g to Butterwick, being a distance of between 200 and 300* yards from Mr. Overton's, where the woman left her, it.nd pursued her journey towards Boston, and the girl returned hoe. After vigilant inquiry by the officers and polieenosueh woman can be found. At this stage of the proceedings a witness was produced who completely refuted the statement of the prisoner, and swore that on the day in question she was _going on the high-road to Boston, and saw a woman •comb's. over Mr. Overton's stile, and that she also saw the prisoner, but that they never came near one another, and that no communication did or could take -.place between them. Mr. Overton proved serving the prisoner with a quarter of a pound of arsenic, and he asked her how they were going to use it ? She said "to poison mice." lie advised the girl to be very cautious where she put it, as it was highly dangerous, and then took the precaution of duly labelling it with the word "poison." Mr. Cummack made apost mortem examination of both bodies, and detected arsenic in their stomachs. The housekeeper underwent a severe cross-examination by the Coroner, but nothing could be elicited from