Murder Trial in Victoria. A WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH.

Evening Post, Volume XXXIV, Issue 68, 17 September 1887, Page 2 (Supplement)

Murder Trial in Victoria. A WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH.

The trial of Bridget Mipham for the murder of her sister Ann Calton at North Wangaratta, on the 6th July, has been conoluded before the Chief Justice of Viotoria at Beochworth. The sisters had lived together and constantly quarrelled, Mrs. Mipham being a hard drinker. The deceased had agreed to sell some property to her sister, but had broken the agreement, and thereupon she had ever since evinced her ill-feeling against her by threatening to have satisfaction ont of her. In May last, in the presence of deceased and a witness, she threatened to take her life, and four days before the dead body of deceased was found, she fell on her knees in the presence of a constable ami tho deceased, and clasping her hands, she said—" God is good, and I hope yon will not bo living in the morning." On the day previous to the finding: of the body, a man named M. Dean ovortook the prisoner walking towards deceased's house. Ho gave her a lift in his trap, and in the course of a conversation, she expressed her intention to kill her sister. Another witness doposed that on the afternoon beforo the body was found, the prisoner, on leaving her house, said, — "I am going over to kill the old wretch. I will have tho worth of my money out of her, if I have to go to the top of tho galiows for it." Mrs. Calton was found in an outhouse with her head fearfully broken in by an empty bottlo. She had evidently been struck repeatedly with it after she was dead. Mrs. Mipham had gone away by train, and was arrested in New_ South Wales. The jury, after deliberating for about 15 minutes, returned a verdiot of Guilty, with a recommendation to mercy. Then followed a painful scone. The prisoner asserted her innooonce, and made a long, rambling statement. She said nothing would have happened if the neighbours had not interfered. Sho and her sister could always make it up after they had a few words. Prisoner stated she was the mother of twelve ohildren, that she had brought them all up well, and that she had been a hard working, honest woman, her only fault being her fondness for the drink, and through it her poor grey head was to go down to the grave. Hor youngest ohild was only eleven years of age, and it was hard on her to be taken away. His Honour then passed sontence of death. The prisoner was deeply agitated, and on hearing the sentence, requosted that his Honour would direot that her body be handed over to her friends. His Honour said that ho had delivered the sentence as tho law directed, and the unhappy woman was removed.