THE MAIL.

Auckland Star, Volume II, Issue 550, 14 October 1871, Page 2

THE MAIL.

CHILD-MURDER- BY A L4DY, AND SOICIDE OF THE ACCUSED. Tub most profound sensation lias been produced throughout the county of Hereford by a. report that Miss Fanny (loss, the sister of the rector of Kingsland, in that county, had murdered a child to which she had given birth, and on being accused of the offence hud committed suicide, in her own bedroom. These facts are unfortunately too true. It appears that on the 11th instant James Merrick, the' gardener at tho rectory, discovered tho dead b'idy of ti full.grown .infant child in a drain connected with a watercloset which he hud a few days bo fore been requested by Miss Gross to " lime," but. which he had declined to do, as the-closet drain debouched into the river, and the limo would kill tho fish. Merrick communicated the fact of finding the body to the rector, the Rev. W. Gloss, aud also to the police,, and on the following day an inquest was held upon tho body by Mr. H. Moore, tlie coroner for that part of the county of Hereford. The evidence went to show that the child had been murdered, a string being tied tightly round its throat. The inquest was then adjourn..l to the 2St.h inst., to giro the police time i o make inquiries with the view of fixing th_ maternity of the chili!, and the consequence was that a strict watch was kept, on tho inmates of the house, and tho coroner, from what had come to his knowledge, thought proper to direct that the females connected with tlie establishment should all undergo a medical examination to satisfy the demand of justice that no one of them had recently given birth to a child. The medical gentlemen who received the coroner's precept to perform the duty were Mr. Barnett, of Leominster, and Mr. Cbattaway, of Kingsland, and on Saturday last these gentlemen visited the rectory just in time to prevent Miss Goss taking her leave for Barrow-in-Furness, whither she was going for tho benefit of change of air. Miss Gross was apprised by tlie police, as she was going to the railway-station with her brother, that she must return, and submit herself lo tho examination of Drs. Barnett and Chat taw ay. .Sho returned to the rectory (her brother j proceeding on by rail to Hereford, to see tlie bishop of tho diocese), but she deelinod to allow herself to be communicated with until her brother's return from Hereford in tlie evening, and she therefore locked herself up in her bedroom. Messrs. Barnett and Cbattaway first communiuated with Miss Goss through the medium of Mary Price, the mad, but -Miss Goss refused to see them. Alter waiting for a time Mr. Cbattaway proceeded to Miss Goss's bedroom door, and begged her to lose no time in removing this foul blot from her name, but she still declined to sco them until the return of her brother, which she said would be by the three o'clock train. They therefore proceeded to the garden, about which they walked for some time, awaiting the return of the rector. While doing so they heard Miss Goss crying in her bedroom, " Oh, dear, what, shall I do?" They became alarmed, and returned to the house, and asked the servant if she knew whether any poison was kept in the house, and the reply they got was that Miss Goss was in hysterics, i'liey then tried to get, a bidder to obtain admission through Miss Goss's bedroom window, but while tle-y were d dug co Mr. Cbattaway discovered a way through the rector's bedroom, which enabled him to go into the room occu; ied by Miss G-oss. Hot hud no sooner done so than he cried out to J Mr. Harnett, "For God's sake come up,! suicide has been committed V They entered; the room, and found Miss Goss lying a rossff tho bed with her left arm awfully sororeai«| ftiUf places, and a basin containing the! enormous quantity of ninety ounces of bloody besides what saturated the bed. She had'inflicted the wounds wiffi one of her Oro.therjffl razors, and tho determined nature of the actjj muy be inferred frjm the fact that, in onef instance, nob only the flush and blood-vessels I but the muscles above the elbow of the leff arm were completely severed, unci death mimes have followed in the course of seven or eight) minutes. Au exa -,':i:i!i .n of the body left uo doubd whatever lit it Miss Goss had given birth tm tlie child limit i >n the lith in the drain, ancrji that she bad delivered herself without anj assistance whatever. Tho inquest on tho body commenced .at :> if o'clock on August 22, and did not terminal* before seven on the s:imc evening. The ovilf dene." was voluminous, and that of mo gill Price and a widow named Bray, who alteodel : Miss Goss while she was ill iv bed after bel confinement, was of such a character that.l par-son of ordinary information must have bu«| peeled that something wrong had been done;, Slid they both protested that they hadno susj pici m whatever that Miss Goss had give! j birth to a child. f f The testimony of Mr. .Cbattaway went als^ to show th.it some days after tA. birth must have taken place, Miss Goss consulted hitm j and complained to him of some uterine dil arrangements, for which ho reeoinmended till bracing air of -Barrow-in-Furness.- -'• $■ In reply to Mr. Gwillirn, of Hereford, whf | watched the inquiry on the part of tho rela tives of the deceased, Messrs. Barnett anl Cbattaway said that from the dreadful stall 1 of distress in which she appeared while the* - wore waiting in the garden for the ra|u_ l'n c the rector, they were of opinion that her rjsJ son hud become so upset that she was scarcely answorablo for her own actions. They di£ not think that any woman in a sound slate 1 1 mind could have done as deceased had. In the first instance, the jury after somV _, Considerable deliberation, returned a verdicj I of concealment of birth ; and, in the second, tht. •"' Miss Goss committed suicide while labouvJb.l under temporary insanity. They a'so adde| _.' that they absolved the rector from tiny kuowl ledge that, his sister badgi^evi birth to a chilcf and desired to sympathise with him in hfe'^ deep distress of mind. fry