The Potteries Examiner : — 1878-08-17 (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England)

SENSATIONAL MURDER TRIAL IN  PARIS.  Some eight months ago an old widow lady, named Cr, inieux, who was 76 years of age, and resided at Neuilly, was assassinated. One of the perpetrators of the crime appeared before the Assize Courts of the Seine on Monday morning; the other, a Belgian, will be tried at Brussels. The former is 20 years of age, the latter only 16. It was on December 19, last year, that Madame Cremienx was found on the floor of her room, bearing marks of violence. Her nose was flattened to her face, and a bandage tied across her mouth. The victim, as the act of accusation says, was entirely rlesti. tote of moral sense, and the assas. sins were addicted to the most infamous vices. It appears that Madame Cremieux led a strange life. She refused to live with her children, and preferred to remain in an inexplicable solitude. Not that she was morose or ill.natured ; on the contrary, she was very fond of receiving boys and young folks, and showing them her jewels and valuables. Three months befere the catastrophe her son wrote to , her, begging her once more to give up her eccentric , habits, which he feared would bring about some mishap sooner or later. His anticipations were soon realised, but the question was who were the murderers ? It was evident that theft had been their object, and, in fact, the jewel case was found void of its con. tents, and a sum of 3001. bad disappeared. The police were for some time at a loss, but at length the fact W. ascertained that one of the assassins had received a , wound in the struggle with the victim, which he was , imprudent enough to have dressed at a chemist's shop in the neighbourhood. This gave a clue, and the two boys—for ouch they were—were tracked from one Imig. ing house to another in Paris, where they did nothing but live in drunken debauchery. However, alley both ' succeeded in crossing the Belgian frontier. Arrived at Brussels, they squandered the jewels and money of Madame Crenneux until they were arrested. Desquiens was sent back to France, while the other—Horlieter-was claimed by the Belgian Government to be tried before the Assize Court of Brabant. One of the most , remarkable points in this disgusting case is the manner in which the injuries of the accord were turned to evidence against them. The body of Madame Cremieux was exhuined, and accurate casts taken of her jaws. Both Hodister and Desquiens had wounds on their , hands, which the doctors pronounced to be bites, and, , on applying the model of the victim's mouth, it was found to correspond exactly with the scars. There was not a large attendance at the court this morning, owi; g probably to the fact of it being knows that most of the proceedings would take place with closed doors.  Desqutens, who appears alone before the tribunal, does not seem more than 16 or 17 years old, although he is really 20. He does not at all resemble the ruffian the public has generally imagined him to be. Be has a pertectly smooth and effeminate face, with a somewhat prominent nose; his hair is carefully parted in the middle and slightly curled. His dress is carefully arranged and his hands bear no trace of work. He looks, in short, much like a city cork who piques himself on his personal appearance. lie belongs to an honourable family at Rottbnia, but at the early age of 14 he was condemned tube imprisoned for theft, and his subsequent life has been one continuous degeneracy, ending in the lowest depths of depravity. After the reading of the acts d accusation, the Court declared the huts dos for the examination of Desquiens, who persists in denying his guilt with the utmost cynicism, in spite of overwhelming evidence against him. The case was concluded on Tuesday, when Desquiens was sentenced to hard labour for life.