A PROFESSIONAL STRANGLER'S CAREER.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 11021, 11 September 1897, Page 1 (Supplement)

A PROFESSIONAL STRANGLER'S CAREER.

A TERRIBLE RECORD.

The Paris correspondent of the Pall Mall Gazette says: — A man named Simon, aged thirty, has just been condemned by the Assize Court of the Eure to transportation foMife. This sentence concerns only" the crimes committed by Simon in one department of France. Several capital charges will be brought against him in other districts, and his career as a murderer and robber has been so extraordinary that his nickname of Simon the Strang-ler seems to be well deserved. Not even Tropmann was more bloodthirsty than he. His favourite pursuit was the pillaging- of lonely country cottages, whose occupants were very old. On the 16th of December last year he committed a burglary at a house at Bois-A nzeray, and it is for this crime that he has been condemned. Two days later he broke into the dwelling-house of an old widow named Herbert at Sebecourt, and after stretching her senseless on the floor with, a blow on the head, passed a handkerchief round her neck and strangled her. he then rifled the place of the few valuables that it contained. A fortnight later he commed a robbery together with an attempt to murder at GlosLa-Ferriere, and two days later entered a house at Beaufai-sur-Risle, in the department of the Orne, occupied by two farmers, whom he attempted to strangle, and robbed them of all they possessed. In less than a month's time he committed another burglary at Chandai, and again sought to strangle his victim, but was frightened away. On the 22nd of February, he presented himself at the house of a widow, aged seventynine, named Carrier, living at Lisieux, and begged for charity. The old lady gave him food, and he went away thanking her effusively. But at night he broke into her house, gagged her with a handkerchief, bound her hand and foot, and stole all the money he could lay,his hands on. On March 25th he perpetrated' a robbery with violence, this time at Chailloue, near Alencon, again at Vaux-sur-Rille, on April 9th, and then at Gauville, two days before his arrest, where he stole 1,030 francs from an old woman whom he gagged and nearly throttled.

On many foreign railway lines smoking is so general that carriages are set apart for non-smokers, and so labelled. I In the Court of Appeal, on July, 19th, before the Master of the Rolls and Lord Justices A. L. Smith and Rigby, a Mr Edwards rose from the well of the court, and said he j i had a paper whic.i he desired to j hand up to -their lordships. The Master of the Rolls: How often, Mr Edwards, have you put this paper into my hands? Mr Edwards: It is impossible for me to say, my lord. The Master of the Rolls: Quite impossible, I should think; but I fancy it has been * every Monday that we have sat to hear j ex parte motions for the last five years. Mr Edwards thought perhaps that was so (laughter). The Master of the Rolls: At any rate, this is the 24th time this year. | I think you have done very well, and I am sorry I can do nothing more for you than put it on my desk. I have told you so re- j peatedly. Mr Edwards then with- i drew.

FRENCH SUICIDE MANIA. The mania for suicide has reached even the children in Paris. Two girls, both under 15 years of age, committed suicide on July 18th. The suicides had no connection with each other. Maria Sueur, 14 years old, killed herself apparently from grief. She had been brokenhearted since her father suddenly disappeared about a year ago. Her mother kept a shop lor the sale of artificial flowers and feathers. Marie had collected a small sum of money for her mother from a customer. On the way back to the shep she gave the money to her sister Marguerite, kissed her, and sent her home. She then walked directly to the Seine and drowned herself. The other child who tired so soon of life was Josephine Joly, only 13 years old. She had been the pet of her neighbourhood 00 account of her pretty face. Some time ago she was severely burned, and was horribly scarred. She stood her affliction as long as she could, and then decided to die. She also drowned herself in the Seine. A man and his wife were also found dead in their room at Sevres. They left a note sayingthey had killed themselves because business was bad. It remained, however, for a blacksmith at Mareuil-sur-Mauldre to commit suicide under really extraordinary conditions. This, man, Amadee Fauveau, 38 years old, having decided to kill himself, deliberately forged a cannon for the purpose. He then charged it with powder and old iron, and placing the mouth of it to his head set fire to the touchhole. His head was found blown to pieces when the neighbours, attracted by the explosion, rushed in to see what was the matter.