Horrible Murder In QUEENSLAND.

Manawatu Standard, Volume 4, Issue 125, 3 May 1883, Page 3

Horrible Murder In QUEENSLAND.

At tha Mundarak Police Court two yonnggirls.inamjid^anny Parker, 13 years of age; and Florence Parker, 15 years of age; the daughters of an innkeeper of that place, have been brought up* on-a charge of murdering the infant child of the latter prisoner. The evidence disclosed an amount of cunning and that is happily rarelj found m children ot their tender years. Constable Porter, deposed to taking the twcPprraonerß Jen 15th 4»naary this year into the bush, about 125 y&. ds from Mr • Parker's house. Two aboriginal wdmen named Jinny and Lizzie, were with them. Jinny pointed out a spot and said, "That is where picanniny sit down;'* On digging into tbe sand he found the remains of of a child. He asked the' aboriginal Jinny, ,^ho pat the : picanniny there. She pointed to the two prisoners, and said >; \ •' Fanny. an&Florry put it there,' 1 ; Tjie abVigi^ nal "woman also ' said thet, the child, belonged to Florence Parker, and' that is ; was v a ! girl. He then charged , prisoners with the muider, and they made no reply. Witness producgd^a tomahawk 'which' he found'" m the kitchen of the EoyaV. Hotel. It^ had befen^Dointe^oiJt to him" by Jinny , ? the, aboriginal] afe'tihe/brie with which ."she had- seen' Florence Parker, cattipg ... up. the' bhild. 'He remembered the month of •(April,- 1882. He noticed t6ac Florence • Par kerwas enceinte. On -the 22nd of -that month he knew that the prisoner Florence Parker was laid up m bed. Immediately after that date he paw Florence Parker and she looked sick 1 and unwell, arid tery thin. , A man Franciß'' Trewern- gave corro* borative evidence as to the appearance, of 'the prisoner Florence Parker before'

and. subsequent to the 22nd April last; JamesGailagher deposed to the prisoner Fanny Parker telling him thai her Bister -Fdorrie had had a chiidi" (Jal-j lagher asked j>'< Does the old woman know about it ?'* She said " JSo, the old lady came into, 'the" room after it w«B;born.C'J;Tbe child began to make aj noise. My sister took it by the neclC and held it under the clothes while mother was in' the l room." The .man next asked what was done to the child, and Fanny Parker 'rejjlied, "We :cu^, |ts throat/ >J ' The girl then went on to tell him that they wrapped the corpse m an old rug, and' that she and the aboriginal Jinny buried it at the back pf the f ßjQ6sp yard; close to the greentopped tree. Witness found some bones near the spot indicated by Fanny Parker, fie asked Fanny Parker for further Particular^(ljut she declined to tell anything more; corroborated Constable Borter as to what took place, when] the ;bones were] dug up m the presence of thVtwb prisoners and the .aboriginals t£iany , and. Lizzie. Jinny, all aboriginal 1 servant at the house of the- accused, said -she was present whenprisoner, Florence Parker,, was deliveied 6t a child. Lizzie, the ptb^er aboriginal, was present, and Fanny.. Parker, se jother prisoner. The child cri^d . i^heii.' .it, . jWas born,. . and ; the prisoner, Fanny barker, , held its neck witH her hand. Alter getting Fi orence a drink oi water Fanny Parker went to the wood and got a; [stick. Fanny Parker struckibe child a blow on the back of the head with the] stick, and then placed the infant, m a box m the bedrapm.;;j !Yitne6s;Baid, "Don't kill the* picanniny',^ and Fanny said, « W-e-don't .want it." She also asked witness not to tell: Mr Porter (the constable) about killing the child. Some time afterwards Fanny Parker took the cfxild from the box and carried the corpse towards the sheep^yard. Florence Paiker was with her and carried a tomahawk. Florence due; a hole m the sand with the tomahawk and then handed the weapon to Fanny, who pat the corpse m two, across the loins. The parts were then ; put m, the hole and covered up; ; : The rapiii which the body hiad been , wrapped was then burDed j by /Witness, 1 Lizzie, : and the prisoner Fanny Parker. Florence' Parker was confined to her room about three days after this. Witness "identified the tomahawk produced as tb^ oup used fot burying the' child.'' When Fanny hit the chjld on the head with f he piece of wood blood came from its month. She saw blood on the floor. Fanny »sPalrker ; subsequently iurnt the ■tick. Mrs Parker, stepmother of the accused, said her atep^daughter Florence -was ill on the 19th April last. (She got' sbme J medicirie. Didn't' know Florence Parker had given birth to a child, although she occupied the same bed'jroom. I)r * Webb gave evidence that the accused, Florence Parker, had given birth to a child, and that the re" mams found by Constable Porter were thoEe of a birth, on about the ninth month. A piece of the occipital bone Jiadabcenbrokefroff before or immediately afterdealh. Such fracture was theresultof violence, -and might cause death. The prisoners were then committed to take their trial at the next Circuit Court, ■Rockhampton, on the 17th April.