STRANGE CASE OF ATTEMPTED MURDER

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1648, 29 August 1887, Page 3

STRANGE CASE OF ATTEMPTED MURDER

An extraordinary case of attempted murder has been tried at Caen. About 17 years ago Lieutenant Gontant took for his mlstrew a certain Mdle Royer, by whom he had three children, One died, the ■eeond. Gabriel, 1b 15 years old ; and the third, Jeannle, la 12. In 1883 he deserted hia family, leaving them penniless, m order to marry a rloh widow. The mother of his children took legal proceedings •gainst him, and obtained a monthly allowance of £5. Last year he left the dlitrtrt and cffered her £2 a month, which the refused to accept Beduced to indigenoe, the unfortunate woman spent the last money she had m the purch&Be of a revolver and In provldinß her son with the means of reaching his father's residence at Bayeux, where she charged the boy to ihoot the woman who had supplanted her. This he did, emptying three barrels of the revolver at her. Two of the bullet* missed their afm, and the third inflicted a severe wound m the ihonlder of Madam Gontant Then the boy gave himself up atid wrote to his mother that he had failed to kill " the beggar." She repled, "It Is a pity you aaustd her, but you have done your duty, and I bless you," and thereupon demanded to be arrested as her son's accomplice. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty In both instances, amidst a demonstration of tumultuous applauie.