AN INHUMAN AUNT.

Evening Star, Issue 12674, 30 November 1905, Page 8

AN INHUMAN AUNT.

Much public interest was shown on September 3 at Kingston in the resumed hearing of the charge ot wilful murder against a w.dow named "Jimby Winslade, aired forty-seven, arising from tha death of a young pvl, Esther Longman (twelve years), who resided with tho .recused A great crowd assembled in tho vicinity of the old Assizo Court, in which tho hearing was to take place, to catch a glimpse of tho prisoner. The accused, who appeared very pale and ill, is a woman of respectable appearance. She iclt her position acutely, and sat wifh downcast eyes throughout the proceedings. The court was crowded, several ladies being on the bench. At the outset o€ the proceedings Mr said he appeared on behalf of the Director of I'ublio Prosecutions, and outlined the mam facts of tho case. Prisoner, he said, carried on an apparency lucrative laundry business at Walton, and desp/te her tender years the doceaoed had taken part in the work, never, ho believed, having been to school. Deceased was an ir.dus-nrious and hard worker, rising very early and working very late. On the Ist inst. the deceased girl went about her duties in the usual way. The first incident noticed was between four and five o'clock m the afternoon, when the accused's daughter I saw the deceased leaning ou her aunt. She I asked what was the matter, and was told to ' give the deceased a scidiitz powder—a somewhat extraordinary remedy. The srirl was taken upstairs, and a few minutes later she was dead. On the doctor's arrival he found that tho deceased had been suffering from serious injuries, there being eight lacerated wounds on the head, and the child's body one mass of bruises. Ou the. same evening tho police discovered a blood-stained hammer, and the doctor would tell them that ihe injuries could have been inflicted by such a weapon. The accused was the only person who could have inflicted the injuries, and ony doub; on the point was removed by her owu admission to the police. Sho said first: "I gave her a good thrashing, but I did not think it would end like this." Subsequently i she said : " She has driven mc to desperation, I and her father well knows it. I went to liim I a week ago, and he told me to thrash her well. She stayed out all night. She wouid ' not do any work to-day, and when I came into the laundry nothing had been done. I brat her, and "she died in my arms." Continuing, Mr Pearce said the charge was one of wilful murder, but it. was in the province of the Bench to commit on the lesser offence of manslaughter if they thought fit. The first witness was Isaac Longman, a farm laborer of Haylmg Island, who said the deceased was his child, and was twelve ve.ars of age List March. Tho accused was his sister, and two years ago, on the death of his wife, sho took the child into her care. On the 27th urt. ho saw accused at Havant. Sho said the deceased had been rather troublesome lately, and at times slow at her work. Witness said: "If sho is not a better girl you had better send her home." Did you say anything else?—l said "Give her a stripe or two and see how she goes on then." Mr Fex .(defending counsel): On that occasion prisoner looked very peculiar indeed — like a person going mad. His suggestion really was that his sister should give the girl a good thrashing, and if she was no better to send her home. When witness saw the girl in 1904 she seemed happy and cheerful. She was paid nothing for her services. Tha Chairman: Has tho girl ever been to sc ] loo lP__Witness: Yes, when she was with me. " Could she have written io you if she so desired v —l think so. Dr Percy Burrell said the dead girl had seven wounds on the brad, wiib b'.ood coming frotn them, and the back and lower part of the body was a mass of bruises. In reply to tho witness the accns;d said she knew nothing abo>t the injuries to the bead. She added . "The girl has been very troubleson e, aud I admit I thrashed her to-day, but did not, cause any injury. I gave tha girl a seidlitz powd-er. I also offered a loug prayer with the girl, praying that she might be a better girl." Witness remarked • " Neither the seidlitz powder nor the long prayer could have batocred in the girl's head like thi.-." Witness acd'd that the cause of death was tbo injury to the brain, which could only havo been ihe result of considerable violence. | Could it have been inflicted by the ham- : rucr produced?— Yes. The wound on the left temple corresponded with one of the claws. Was the body well nourished? —Rather poorly. . Mr Fox: You made it your business to examine the accused as well as the girl?—l as'scd her how the injuries had been caused. How was she?— Quite ciim and absolutely indifferent. Did not that strike you as strange?— No. What, not in ihe presence of a tragedy with the dead girl in the room?— No. You made up your mind that a cruel murder had been committed? —Yes, after I had seen the body. Could some of the wounds have been caused by the sticks produced?— Yes. Is that recent blood upon them?— Yes. In your judgment three weapons in all had been used?— Yes. Was the broken nail a recent injury?— Yes. It was still bleeding where the flesh had been torn away. A painful impression was produc-d in court when Ethel Winslade, daughter of the pri--1 soner, was called, the mother weeping silently as the witness repeated the evidence given nt the inquest with reference to tho administration of the seidlitz powder and the dealh of her cousin. Tho girl herself was much distressed, especially when describing the scenes which immediately preceded the decease of tho girl, and when asked to identify some of the latter's wearing apparel. Mrs Louise Ellis, a neighbor, said that she had been in the habit of assisting Mrs Winslade twice a week, and knew that the deceased had been there about two years. The latter worked hard—in fact, they all worked hard. About 4.30 on the Ist witness was called by Ethel Winslade, and went into tho house. The child was lying on the bfd, partly undressed, and appeared to be dead. Witness told Ethel to fetch a doctor and a policeman. She sad to the accused: " How did this happen ?" She said: " What do you think?" Shortly after Sergeant Brooks and Dr Burrell arrived, and by this time the deceased had been put into a nightdress. Witness saw tho deceased in the garden about 3.40 on the same afternoon, and noticed nothing unusual about her. I T'he Chairman : Did you hear any screams? I —Mo. If systematic cruelty had been prac- : Used by the prisoner witness must have known "of it. She had heard accused scold tho girl, but had never seen her use a stick I to her: nor had sho seen any bruises which ' might have been the result of ill-treatment. Deceased had never complained to witness, and seemed to have been treated as a member of tho family. Witness knew that . the girl had stayed out at night, and told 1 untruths about it. This was why the aunt hod to thnwh her. On August 24 accused was very strange, and witness thought a change wo'jld do her good. Accused said her head seemed very large, and she thought her brain would turn. Witness thcugnt on her return she was no better for the change. I The Chairman: Were you on such terras with the deceased that 6he complained to I you ?—She was a child who said little. i Did you ever see her with a black eye?— -. Yes, about two months ago. I Did the accused ever complain of her?— She said she was a very obstinate girl. JPolioe-eergeant Edward Brookes said that when ho charged tho prieoner with murder

she replied: "God knows I thrashed her, but I did not think it would end iike this." By Mr Fox: The prisoner was a hard-work-ing woman of temperate habits. He lived six doors from her. but had heard no enmr'-' -s of systematic ill-treatment of the deceased. a you got to the house, what was tbs accused doing-? She was sitting on a chair. She afterwards jumped up and wanted to kiss the body. This B-nch were of opinion that there was not established the premeditation necessary to support a charge of murder. It appoar-5d to have been the result of a sudden fit of passion. They therefore committed her for trial for manslaughter. ihe coroner's inquest Mrs Emily Withers deposed that erne morning in January deceased came to her house between six and seven o'clock. "Oh, Mrs Withers," she cried, according to tho witness, " do let me come in. Aunt sent me out last night to get some firewood, and I could not get any. I daro not go home, and so I stopped out under a tree and went to sleep." The Coroner: "Have you soen the girl with bruises on her? — T havo scspn her with a black eye and bruises. She was hardly over free from bruises.—Used she to stay out late at night? —That is not true. The girl never had play hours like other children. Mrs Emma Beck, another neighbor of Mrs Winslade, said that on Aucru-:* Bank holiday she saw the deceased with black bruises on one cheek and a black ey*. A fortnight ago. as she was passing the laundry, sho heard the girl groaning, and heard a cry " Don't, aunt:."—The jury expressed the opinion that there had been persistent cruelty b?,forc the crime, and returned a verdict of wilful murder.