The Late Minnie Dean

Bruce Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 2678, 23 August 1895, Page 7

The Late Minnie Dean

SOMJS MORE REMINISCENCES.

1^ Danedin lady sent £40 to Mrs Dean nog her trial, Go help her law expenses. People who are given to tracing out eomlences recall the tact ibac 28 years ago rs Dean lived in the house now occnpied Constable Barrett, who, it will be remain red, diecovere j the bodies in Mra Dean'e rden at Winton. It is understood tbat Mrs Dean desired to 3 Esther Wallis and Miaa Cameron, and it the authorities in W ellington, on being legraphed to, refused ber request. Mrs Dean arrived iv Invercargill from tamania early in the sixties, and alter ward b nducted a school in South Invercargill. any of her old pupila are atill there, and member her great fondness for flowers — a «sion which remained with her io the iust. It has been reported that tbe oangman ied to sell Mrs Dean's boots while tiaveljg from Invercargill to Duuedin in tbe ;press. If he did ao, the boots were not rs Dean's, bat bis own — an old pair tbat i bad discarded for others bought here. — ioatbero CiO-i* .' Tno Winton correspondent of the ' Soutb■n Cross ' states tbat a number of women lop.cd their clocka and watches on Monday lOrniug, so that mey woulu not know when ie execution was taking place. It is hoped that Minnie Dean's execution ill have ua proper effect npon others of her ass who are atill at large in tha colony, for is certain the crimes of cnila-murder and rocuring abortion are increasingly present, aud want stamping out speedily. — Wanganui Herald.' After her conviction, Mrs Dean frequently yoke of the trial, and indicated how ditferitly she would have behaved bad Bhe really itended to murder the children. It is ndcrstood that Bhe was inclined when the rial was proceeding to tender evidence on er own account, and to explain that the eatb of one ohild was due to an accidental verdose of laudanum, and that of the o "her to a having fallen in the station at Clarendon, nd struck its head on a seat. It is believed hat sho was prepared with an explanation s to the skeleton foun t in her grounds, 'here were, however, obvious drawbacks to he course indicated, for if she had gone into he witaess box she would have been ex >osed to a cross-examination as to the other ihil'dren left with her, ana who remained inacconoted for. The statement left by Minnie Dean and orwarded to the Government occupied 57 iloßbl>- written pages of foolscap. It is and contaiuß many faults of \w" «;. Portion of it is of a quasi- :eligiy. -v.< if „. j;er, and the writer thon goes on to Detail her movements by rail. The whole point of her argument ia tbat Bhe always gave children laudanum when travelling, as crying infants were each annoyance. She gave the child several doses at various times, but merely for the purpose of keeping it quiet ; bat when the child died she was frightened, bnried it, and invented the story aboot planting bulbs to avert suspicion, bhe Bays : — "' I know I was the cause of child Carter's death, that I had given her an overdose of j laudanum, but with no intention of causing death, aud God knows I have been punished lor negligence. But a hair of baby Hornsby's bead 1 never injured. The baby was not 10 minnteß alive in my care altogether" Farther on Bhe says : — " The drug was given to cause sleep, noc death." The rest cf the statement ib devoted to minute details of various children committed to her care, I some of them several years ago, who are | alive now. There is frequent reference to names and initials It would be impossible J to follow her in these details nnder several j columns. Mrs Dean desired theatatement to be published, and fche proceeds g yen to her husband, after deducting £5 for Mrs Taylor, a widow.