The Sun. — 1853-12-26 (London, England)

NAVAL OFFICER  SUICIDE AND ATTEMPTED MURDER.  A shocking case of suicide and attempted murdir, bearing a striking analogy in many of its circumstances to that of the man Mobbs, who was recently executed at the Old Bailey, occurred on Saturday night last between 8 and 9 o'clock at No. 15, King-street, Soho. In the front attic of this house, which is in the occupation of Mr. Powell, a baker, had resided for the last four months one Haeas andahis wife. The man was a German, and a tinplate worker in the employ of Messrs. Farwig and Bullock, tin and japan ware manufacturers, of 16, Rupert-streeet, Haymarket. He was about 34 or 35 years of age. The wife, Hannah Haeas, is a Lancashire woman, aged 27, and possessed of considerable personal attractions. For some time past Haeas had treated her very unkindly, and there is no doubt that latterly he had entertained suspicions which continually haunted his mind. On Wednesday last the woman was confined, and ever since the birth of the child it had been the subject of repeated taunts from her husband. It appears that a few days since Mrs. Haeas's mother, who was a stranger to London, came up from Lancashire to nurse her daughter in her confinement, and her presence operated as a considerable restraint upon the illtreatment of Haes. At tea-time upon Saturday, however, the man's bitterness again broke out, and he taunted the woman about the child. Shortly afterwards he became more claim, and he took the mother out with him with the view, as he said, of purchasing some necessaries for the infant. After they had been out some time he managed, in a crowded and intricate thoroughfare, to make his escape from the old woman, and, having thus secured that she should not be present to interfere between him and his horrible design, he rushed homewards in a frantic state, and dashed into his apartment with a sharp-pointed Italian spring knife open in his hand. His wife was lying in the bed with her infant at her breast. He made no observations, but furiously stabbed at her with the knife. She endeavoured to protect the child and herself, and thus received several severe wounds upon the fleshy part of the left arm and side • but fortunately none of them were of a decidedly fatal character. She screamed " Murder" with great violence, and succeeded in making her way past the man on to the stairs, where her strength failed her, and she fell exhausted and faint from loss of blood. She was removed into a room on the ground floor, and medical assistance was immediately sent for. Without loss of time Mr. It. E. Martin, of Frith-street, and Mr. J. F. Clarke, of Gerrard-et., surgeons, attended and dressed the wounds, after which she was removed to the workhouse in Cleveland-street, where her case met with prompt and able attention from Mr. Hutchinson, assistant to Mr. Jones, of Soho-square, the surgeon to the workhouse, under whose care she still remains.  In the meantime the police entered the attic in Kingstreet, in order to secure the perpetrator of the outrage ; but here a dreadful scene presented itself. The floor was literally a pool of blood. Haeas lay partly on the bed with his head nearly severed from his body. The carotids on both sides were completely cut through, and so were all the structures of the neck down to the cervical vertebra. ft was unusually extensive for a selfinflicted wound ; and it is needless to say that he was quite dead. The police have found both the knife before referred to and a razor smeared with blood, and there is no doubt, from the appearance of the wounds, that those on the woman were inflicted with the knife, while his own throat was cut with the razor.  It is somewhat singular that the infant, which is a veryfine one, has escaped without injury. It was completely drenched with blood from the mother's wounds ; but it was otherwise unhurt, and is now doing well at the workhouse. Mrs. Haeas is also progressing as favour. ably as, under the circumstances of loss of blood, excitement, and her recent confinement, can be expected. She is, however, in a very low and weak state, and cannot yet be pronounced to be out of danger. The body of Haeas remains locked up in the attic at No. 15, King-street, where it awaits the coroner's inquest. Mrs. Haeas had had one other child, but it died about four years,ago.