DEATH SENTENCES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7589, 24 December 1902, Page 2

DEATH SENTENCES.

« GIRL MURDERERS REPRIEVED. TJhited Press Association — By Electrio Telegraph — 6qpyrigl-t. (Received Dec., 24, 8.58 a.m.) LONDON, Dec. 23. The sentences of death passed on- Emma Byron and the two Bootle girl murderers, have beea commuted to penal servitude for life. Emma Byron was convicted of murdering a member of the Stock .gxch-Mige by stabbing him, under circumstances detailed, in. a recent issue of thei "Star." The .murder of Miss Elizabeth Marsden, at Bootle, w«« committed on Oct. 8, the deceased lady being found smothered in her bed. A servant girl named Elizabeth Ham-' ilton was arrested, and at .the inquest' the Coroner informed: ths jury that on Oct. "7 Miss Marsden' engaged Eliza Haanilton as a domestic servant.' u Hamilton) went there, but returned home, netffc day, and stated that twd girls had been . adinitted to the house and had smothered Mass Marsden-. The girl's statement, as read to tbe jury by the Coroner, was to- the effect that Miss fylarsden- was visited by a lacly and gentleman', who left at 9 p.m., and that when- the deceased went to bed in an adjoining room she was not sobar. Qn coming dbwnstajirs from waiting on her aniVf:ress,~ Hainilton found in the back kitchem two women/ who stated that Miss Marsden bad asked them iitto the dining-room. The accused told Miss Marsden of this, although asked by the •■jyomen npt to do so. Hep mistress, however, took no notice. % They followed the girl Hamilton \ipstairs and got uijder her bed. Afterwards they W^t" into the deceased's rppW, ransacked the drawers, an*4 told Hamilton a'f terw-arjis that they had taken two purses and a par■cel"> s?hey gave ber.j anptiber parpelv containing clothing, which she -left in the gardehj and all tfoee left by t|ie front way. They -%d previously told her J>hat they had . smothered tlie deceased vith pijlpw-s', tjiat they had a grudge against ber," -and that they had; come Wdo it. - At tfapk Road Hamilton parted company with the women, one of whom told her she bad been in Miss Marsd-en's service under the naine of Ethel, which was not her name. Tho "Coroner added' that the police had discovered tHat Miss' Marsden bad on the day of her murder cashed two cheques, but no trace of the money (£25) had been, found. It was. also pertain that a lady and gentleman" had called^ as stated by Hamilton. The deceased, had had in Iter service a girl who called herself Ethel Rawlinson, but who ,was also known as Edith Taylor and Edith Shone, it^e police h^ been on her track, but had just failed to arrest her.' " *ir-:--A-'-,.,. ■ „ ;...-., ,- = ,r