The Express. — 1867-08-23 (London, England)

DOUBLE MURDER AND SUICIDE IN LAMBETH. i• -..._  A terrible tragedy took place in Lambeth last night—vim, the murder of two children by their mother, and the suicide of the hapless woman. She wee the wife of Mr. Charles Roberts, a master plumber and painter, living at 51, Chester-street, Kennington-road. They had three children—Charles, aged 12 ; Annie, aged 10 ; and Frederick, aged 7; and it is the youngeelltwo who have met so tragic a fate. About 20 minutes to five o'clock yesterday afternoon, Mrs. Hill, a neighbour, heard loud cries of murder, and proceeded at once to the garden in front of Mr. Roberts's house. She there met the boy Charles, who, in a frightened and excited state, said, Oh, Mrs. Hill, mother has killedithe two,land will kill me." Mrs. Hill at once hastened into:theihouseby the front door, and found both parlours empty. She then proceeded to the basement floor, where in one of the rooms she found Mrs. Roberta lying near the doorway leading to the back yard, in a pool of blood, and bleeding from a frightful gash on the left arm, just above the elbow. She said, " Oh, Mrs. Roberta, what have you clone r The unfortunate woman had become so weak from the loss of blood that she could scarcely articulate, but was understood to make some mention of her children. The dying woman bad in her right hand • white-handled table knife. Mn. Hill called in a neighbour, with whose assistance the almost inanimate body was removed to the hearth rug. The alarm having been given, and medical eminence called in, it was found that the poor woman had inflicted a deep puncture in the left arm, by which the most important macdes had been divided. She was then dead. Several medical gentlemen soon arrived upon the spot. The rumour having got abroad, a large crowd assembled in the neighbourhood, and Chester-street was so besieged by idlers that it required • large body of police to keep the thoroughfare clear. The police and the medical gentlemen were induced from the expression made use of by the boy Charles to make their way upstairs. On phasing through the back bedroom over the kitchen, into a small lumber-room opening out of it, the lifeless body of Frederick was found. He was lying on his left side, with his hands clenched and covered with blood. The poor boy's throat was cut from ear to ear, and there was little evidence of any struggle having taken place. In the first floor front bedroom, lying on the floor upon her left side, was the corpse of the poor child Annie, whose bead, neck, and bosom, were besmeared with blood. She was lying outstretched between the bed and the washstand. Her right arm was extended and her left hand just visible from beneath the body was tightly clenched. The coverlet of the bed was stained with blood, as also the washstand. Here evidently • struggle had taken place between the poor child and her mother, who had, as in the case of the boy, inflicted • severe gash on the girl's throat. The eldest boy Charles, who first gave the alarm to Mrs. Hill, was afterwards taken to her house, where, on being questioned, he made the following statement :—" I was playing in the garden with Fred. between 4 and 5 o'clock this afternoon, when mother come down and said, ' Fred., I want you.' I went with her upstairs and then beard a bump. I then ran upstairs to the back room over the kitchen, and there saw Freddy 'lining in the child's chair. Mother was then in the act of sawing' hie neck with the knife. She then threw him off the chair down upon the floor, and the blood spurted all over the place. I then rushed downstairs followed by mother. I said, What's the matter with Freddy?' She said ' He's very ill.' Mother then ran upstairs again to the front bedroom, where sister Annie was lying on the bed suffering from a pain in the cheat. Mother took hold of her. Annie said, Oh, mother, for goodness' sake, what are you going to do r Mother said, ' I will stab you,' and then drew the knife backwards and forwards across Annie's throat. I was in the doorway and saw this. I was frightened, and ran away downstairs, through the front and back kitchen into the garden, and cried ' Murder,' and ' Mother stopped in the doorway of the kitchen, and I said, ' Oh, mother, what are you going to do?' and she answered, ' I'll stab myself.' I then saw her thrust the knife into her arm, and then the blood spirted out all over the place." Mr. Roberts came home from a contract he was carrying out in the Borough, pushed his way through the crowd, and soon learned the fatal news. Up to midnight the street was thronged. Another account says :—Between four and five o'clock Mrs. Roberta sent a messenger to Mr. Hargrave, grocer and tea dealer, of Chester-street, where her eldest son was employed, stating that she wanted to see hint immediately. Her son at once left the shop, and he was seen to enter has mother's house. Upon going upstairs be was horrified at seeing a large pool of blood upon the floor of the sitting room. His mother was standing at the side of the door way of the room. She was very pale, and there was • wild expression about her eye. She trembled very much, while she grasped in her right hand a large long-bladed knife. She was fully dressed. She gave • load shriek when she saw her son, and, flourishing the knife about in the air she rushed after him. He then saw th►t she intended to kill him, and he ran, or rather leaped towards the stairs, and when he got two steps from the top his fright became so great that be fell, and rolled towards the bottom of the flight. His mother rushed after him, and caught hold of him by his clothes. She grasped them tightly, but the fact of his falling caused them to tear, and he was enabled to escape. He jumped up and ran out of the house, and hastened to the shop of his employer, who at once ran to the house. A neighbour states he saw the miserable woman rash round the back garden after her son, but not seeing the knife in her hand at the time he had no idea that she contemplated murder. He saw the boy run towards • low wall and leap over it, and when he did so he ran down the road. It is said the boy had noticed that his mother had been low and desponding for some time past.