The Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle. — 1864-11-19 (Stourbridge, West Midlands, England)

THE DOUBLE CHILD MURDER AT BOULOGNE -SUR-MER.  A letter from &mimes°. elves the followlng particulars of this dreadful murder of two ehiliren  Le Ines', who destroyed his two children, has confessed his crime. He was, notwithstanding, brought up to the Palais de Justice again to•day to be further questioned. A considerable crowd waited in front on the." Place" to see his egress from the Court House; and as violence was apprehended he was removed by a side door, and escorted by the gendarmes along the ramparts, a very circuitous route, back again to the prison. The cnme of this man is of the worst description, and public indignation has gained strength rather than otherwise by his confession. According to hie own account he took the two poor children that gloomy raw November evening down the quays to a secluded bank of the Liane River, and droweed them both. making a vain effort to drown himself also. But his appearance directly after the murder negatived entirely , the truth of his alleged attempt at self•destruction ' • It was stated that his clothes were wet, but only partially so. His wife, an honest, hard-working woman, holding a respectable position in her sphere of life here, testifies that his trousers were wet no farther than the knees, and the shirt which he still wears appears to have been saturated with muddy water, and dried aPerwiards from the waist to the elbow only. None of his garments bear a trace of entire immersion. The ljane at the bank side is shallow, with occasional pits, and it is perfectly obvious that he must have held the children forcibly down , beneath the surface to effect their suffocation. Their ' death by simple drowning was plain enough. They had no other marks of injury or violence on their bodies, excepting a few nail scratches on the face of the eller child, the result of his being able to struggle a little against his unnatural parent's hideous death gripe. Distress is the motive alleged by the murderer for an act without a parallel, except in that of the Road murder. He could gain no employment, his children were threater esl by starvation, his wife had dis-carded them and him, and the Evil one I tempted him to a devil's act. But even this motive is without palliation. He had deserted his wife and legitimate children (two grriwn-up daughters). Its lived in sin with a woman whom he had reduced; and these two poor innocents were the victims of parental misconduct -the old story. It is thouaht their soother, Ann Campbell, residing in Dover, has been duped into parting with her children-for they were in excellent health, plump in body, quite cleanly, comfortably, and even warmly clad. When found the younger boy, a remarkably fine little fellow, had gloN ed hands, and wore polished shoe. The appearance of this child in particular, lying as in sleep, with half. parted lips, a very clear complexion, and dazzling fair hair, powerfully affected all who saw it. They were buried on Friday. A requisition has been made by the authorities here to the proper quarter in England for the compulsory attendance of Anne Campbell as witneiss in this ease; and we doubt not, from what we hear, but that her evidence will aggravate the murderer's guilt. He will be tried at the Assize Court at St. Omer abon's Dec. 15, and will probably be guillotined, as there can be no extenuating circumstances in such a case. He is a small, square built man, with a low forehead, long nose, deep set eyes, and a crafty, shifting expression. The writer of this helped to shield the wretch from the fury of the mob.