The Northern Daily Times. — 1856-03-29 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

CHILD MURDER.-CAPITAL CONVICTION  On Thursday, at the Suffolk assizes, before Lord Chief Justice Jervis, Emma Mussett, a married woman, was indicted for the wilful murder of her male infant, at Nayland, on the 29th of February. Mr. Couch appeared for the prosecution, and Mr. Dasent, at the request of the learned judge, undertook the defence of the prisoner.  The prisoner is the wife of a labouring man at Nayland, and for some time before the 29th of February had been observed by her neighbours to be in the family way. She did not deny that she was enciente, and stated that she expected to be confined in May. On the afterno )n of the 29th of February she sent for Mrs. P:essney and Mrs. Oakes, two of her neighbours, and requested them to clean up the house. From what they observed, Mr. Fenn, a local surgeon, expressed his conviction, after examining her, that she had been delivered of a child. She at first denied it, but afterwards opened a box and produced the dead body of an infant, which she said was still-born. It was a full grown child, but had sustained severe injuries on the head. The principal questions for the jury were—first, whether the child was born alive? and, secondly, whether the injuries observed on it were inflicted intentionally or accidentally. Mr. Dasent, for the defenca, remarked strongly on the absence of any apparent motive for the murder, It was an undoubted medical fact that many women were affected in the most extraordinary way, not only during their confinements, but daring the whole period of gestation, and perhaps the prisoner, suffering under intense agony, and unattended by any one, might have accidentally and unintentionally injured the child. She appeared to have behaved with decency and propriety in all the relations of life ; her husband seemed to have been fond of her, and it was notorious to all the gossips of the neighbourhood that she  flceinte ; what reason, then, was there to induce her to  murder her own offspring ? The Chief Justice, in summing up, said he was sure the jury would be only too glad to take this merciful vie ,v of the case, but there were unfortunately some very serious facts against the prisoner. If the jury believed that the child was born alive, and that the unfortunate prisoner killed it, then, whatever might be the consevences, they must find her guilty of murder; if they thought that it was born dead, she would be guilty of the offence of concealing the birth. At the same time thcy must not find her guilty of concealing the birth, in order to escape the responsibility of finding her guilty of murder. The jury, after a short deliberation, returned a verdict of wilful murder against the prisoner. The Chiet Justice, in passing sentence, said his duty was most painful, but at the same time plain and simple. It would rest with others, in whose hands the merciful prerogative of the crown was vested, to take the prisoner's case hereafter into considel Eldon ; he could only pass upon her the awful sentence of death.  Tne prisoner, who had suffered throughout the proceedings from a fit of trembling, to which, it was said, she was continually subject, heard the dread sentence, which was pronounced in the usual terms, without making any exclamation, and was removed in a kind of stupor.  HAMBURG, Thursday.—The Assembly Burghers has rejected the project for a new Constitution recommended by the Germanic Diet__