The Reading Horror.

Hastings Standard, Issue 43, 16 June 1896, Page 4

The Reading Horror.

The following evidence was given at the trial of the woman Dyer, who, our cables informed us, thric" attempted suicide, but without success, ami was banged on Thursday : TITK KViDENCE OF A MOTHKR. Evelina Eilith M anion, a single woman, aged 23, said that early in March she answered an advertisement in the Uristol Times regarding the adoption of a child. Witness becaim- a mother on Jam nary the 21st, and wanted to get r. good horn*- for her child. ■ She received a reply stating that Mrs Harding, the advertiser, ■wanted •• a dear little girl—one I can bring up and call my own." The letter continued :—" We are honest people, in fairly good circumstance -. We have no children, but do not want one for ijiomy's sake, My hu-band and I will give the child a parent's love. We are Church of Kugland folk and will do our d'-tv as s oeh." V. itness wrote to Mrs Harding again asking full particulars, and received another letter stating that the 1: =tt r would take the child entirely for £lO, adding : *' Poor httl.' soul. I'll give her a mother's love ; be as aire 1 she shall he cared for."' Ultimately witness, on March "1 :t, handed over the child to Mrs Hard ing. giving her £lO, end at the same time informing her that she would, want tr> come and • e the baby. Mrs Harding aft; nrards left by train for Heading. Mr Lawrence :Is Mrs Harding identical with the female prisoner? Witness : She is the woman who took my child, giving in r name as Harding. Mr-; Harding gtve wime-s a signed agreement and a rt-eeij-.r for £lO. Witness s«-uE with the child a parcel of bah.- hm-n. and i?upred o:i Mrs Ilarding that she should w.uit to know how tfn< b-iby wa■; getting o'l from time to time. On the Saturday following the child being handed over witness wrote to the prisoner at Reading, but got no answer. On April 7th the police eomn : ai 1 with her, and -he came to the lauding Mortuary, and idenliikd the bjdy of the child found in the carpet bag in the Thames as her daughter. The clothes produced Wvre those witness gave to the female prisoner with the baby. A DRUS(!EIi's STORY. Another witness who was wanted now was not in attendance, and >o Hejiry Suiithwaite, all i p_' laborer, stepped into the bos. ih> it was who was engaged to drag t'w «iui mst arch of bodies. While he was so engaged a carpet bag wa; brought up. lie directed a police con; talk to the spot, and they opened the bag. which they found to contain the body of a male and female child, one whole brick and ;u .d a half brick. Sergeant James, on officer of tie R-ading police, was the next v. urn Ho it was who was called to the spot v here the last witness found the h }!. found two pieces of string tied t htly round the bag, and he produced in for the edification of the Court, iirst of all cut them, and then opened the bag. He found on the top a piece cf brown paper carefully adjusted, and l>eneath it the body of a female baby wrapped in a diaper. This latter article was taken by an officer across the Court and shown to Miss Mamon. who still sat near counsel, and who was understood to identify it as her property. -James went on with his story. At the bottom of the bag he found a male child, also enveloped in a diaper, and lower down the bag was half a brick. More force must have been used in despatching the unhappy little boy, for James found round his neck two pieces of tape. Detective Anderson spoke to visiting Palmer's house at Willesden and finding a batch of 10 pawn tickets. It was a singular fact that all these tickets related to babies' clothes. Anderson also visited the house of I\ver, in Kensington Road, Reading, and there found another batch of fifteen pawn tickets. The greater portion of these also related to babies' clothing pawned at Reading, and this Anderson told the court, he had traced and seen. For just a few minutes Miss Marnon went back into the box and explained that she believed the diapers produced were hers, for she made them herself, and gave to Dyer a dozen and a half when she parted with her baby. A HUNDRED CASKS. The police a Reading continue to receive by every post dozens of letters from mothers who have entrusted infants with a deposit to Mrs Dyer. About 100 coniunications have thus been received, and most of the correspondents allege that their children were handed to the female prisoner during the time she had been resident in Caversham and Reading.