The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1894-02-07 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

TRAGIC AFFRAY AT SEACOMBIE. A MURDER AND SUICIDE BY A MpTHER. A tragic; loocurrenoe took place on Frills), night last at SewAlabe, when • young IniuTietSthowo=x named Hannah Adams, wife of • dock residing at 21, Shakespeare-road committed suicide in • mural pit at the end of Geneva-road. It appears that the woman had only been confined on the previous Sunday, and during Friday night she was missed from the bedroom along with her child. The alarm was given by the husband, who was assisted in the search by the police, but it wee not until the following morning that the bodies of both the unfortunate woman and her infant were found drowned in a pit a short distance away. The sad affair naturally caused much excitement in the  neighbourhood. On Monday morning an inquest was held on the two bodies at the Bird-in-Hand Hotel, before Mr. Churton. Mr W. Danger (Clerk to the Local Board) was present at the inquiry. The first witness called was Joseph Adams, dock labourer, 21, Shakespeare-road, who said the deceased woman was he wife, and was aged 29. The child was hardly a week old, having been born on •Saturday, e 29th January. His wife was attended by a midwife,th and she was going on pretty well after her confinement, this was her second child, the first being still-born. The child appeared to be very healthy, and had taken to the breast the second day. Since the Tuesday after her confinement the deceased had been at times very strange. She rambled from one subject to another, but never gave him any idea that she intended to do anything tolerself or her child. He last saw his wife alive on Friday night, when she was joking and jesting with him. She did not complain of any pain at all, but she was very excited all the week. On Friday night the baby was in the same bed with the mother, and witness had a shakedown on the floor. He went to bed at 8-30, being very and at 11-30 he woke up with the cold, as the ere bad gone out. He raked the ashes out, and then looked towards the bed, and found his wife was not there. Thinking she had gone downstairs, as was her habit when she had the first child, he shouted at the top of the stairs, " Huffish." He got no answer, and then he went to the bed and looked under the clothes, and found that the baby was also gone. The lamp was burning as before, and underneath the lamp he found a piece of paper with these words written on :—" Don't blame anyone, for what I have done—Hannah Adams." It was in her handwriting, but was written in a trembling hand. He then went downstairs, and , found the book door (which he had looked the night before) wide open. He informed his next-door neighbour of what had occurred, and a search was, instituted. At twenty minutes peat 7 the following morning he found the body of his wife in the pit, got it out with a clothes prop. She was quite dearly He did not then see anything of thebody of the child. The witness added that his wife, when found, was not dressed, haying merely thrown her ulster over the things she lay, in. If she had wanted her clothes she would have had to pass over his feet. P.C. Sudlow stated that about -10-30 on Saturday morainic he recovered the body of the child from the same pit from which the mother had been previously taken, and conveyed it to the home of the father. There were no marks of injury on the child. The Coroner said it was • very melancholy case, and all their sympathies must be with the father under such painful -circumstances. He thought if his recollection was right that he had never had a similar case in that parish although he had had them elaewhere. Such oases were by no means noveL It frequently happened that when a young married woman gave birth to children they had often time • large overflow of milk into the breast, commonly called ladtation. There could be no doubt that at such times they were subject to a complaint called puerperal fever, and numberless oases had • been quoted by the best authorities in the country, among the net by Professor Taylor. All the mann,* and • conduct of this poor woman quite coincided Willi the general view taken by medical men in such like caries. There could be no doubt that she left the house and took with her her I child People were given in her state of mind to aiudden - impulses, and often a suicidal tendency =Waite itself. No power on'earth could have preventgd her, except her husband had happened to lie ;wake. There could be no doubt she must have destroyed her child herself and committed a suicidal act by throwing herself into the same pit, which was a very deep and dangerous one. No doubt in the first place she was responsible, and would have been reeponsible for the life of that child haq she lived herself, and no doubt might have been committed for wilful murder. With regard to herself there could be no doubt that she committed suicide while labouring under temporary insanity, and being in that state would scarcely be responruble for any action she committed. After • brief consultation the jury found that the deceased woman had destroyed her child, and committed suicide herself while labouring under temporary insanity.  Barr Pates for Old Gold and bilver, Dental Gold, Diamonds, Curious, &a —C. Li vltpTiothiust (late Barris Gibson), 73, Renshaw-at d2m3o War Burris Pant I—Brookes' Fir Oils is • positive cure for Rheumatism, Sciatica, and all muscular pain. Bold by all chemists mla bottles. Hundreds oared. Wholesale: Thompson. Liverpool. sepl3amr7 Torrath Oorrennrnow Oeime, RVLsa, aer BOOKS; outhouse in the teede.—N Brothers mid vomp, Ltet.,-uhreeter-eteed, head. - - -!• -