The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — 1846-02-24 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

MURDERS AND SUICIDE AT CAMBERWELL.  Shortly after seven o'clock on Monday morning, the neighbourhood of Southampton-street, Camberwell, was thrown into consternation by the frantic screams of a woman who had just made her escape, by the back door of No. 5, Wellington-place, a small cottage residence t nly one story high. The first person who repaired to the spot was Mr. Pratt, a surgeon, who resided at No. 4, and who, upon entering, was horror-struck at the scene. In an upper room, upon the floor, lay the lifeless body of M. Philarete Hot eau, a Frenchman, aged 53, with his throat cut from ear to ear ; on the bed, his son, aged 13, quite dead, shockingly mutilated about the throat; and in the lower room, an3ther son, aged 11, with his throat cut, a wound on the cheek, and his hand much lacerated, who was at first supposed to be dead, but afterwards showed  some symptoms of life, though unable to articulate or give the least account of the dreadful catastrophe; and in a short time aft .rwaras, a female child, aged eight months, was found dead in a rain-butt which stood in the garden, but having no wounds whatever about its person. Upon investigation we find that the unfortunate man had resided at No. 5 for nearly the last twelvemonth, supporting his family as a teacher of languages; but this mode of existence had been so precarious, that for some time past they bad suffered extreme privation and great pecuniary embarrassment. M. Horeau had been in the habit of rising about seven in the morning, and usually took down stairs with him one of the twin infants (a male and a female), who slept in the same bed as he and the mother.  On Monday morning, upon dressing himself, he did the same thing, taking the female child with him, and leaving the male infant in bed with the mother. In a few minutes the mother was alarmed by a loud shrieking, which she at first attributed to the two elder boys quarrelling, and therefore took no farther notice of the matter for a few moments, but the shrieking being continued, she went to the room, and upon opening the door was met by the younger boy, who immediately ran down stairs bleeding, at the bottom of which he fell down apparently lifeless ; and, on entering the room, Mrs. Horeau saw her unfortunate husband in the act of cutting his own throat, and before she could interpose he had fallen down a corpse. On looking farther, she discovered her eldest son dead in the bed, but could not perceive any trace of her infant child, who was, however, shortly afterwards discovered to have been drowned in the rain butt. There is no doubt whatever but that the unfortunate father proceeded to the garden instantly on leaving his bed-room, and having drowned the child, then ascended to the children's room, where he afterwards perpetrated the other murder, committing suicide the moment an alarm was raised. As no vital organ bas been severed, hopes are entertained that the younger boy's life will be saved. There seems to be little doubt that, owing to their privations, temporary insanity was the immediate cause of this shocking affair, as his pecuniary embarrassments had for some weeks past induced great depression of spirits.