SHOCKING CRIME BY A YOUTH.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Volume 2, Issue 102, 13 September 1879, Page 3

SHOCKING CRIME BY A YOUTH.

An extraordinary instance nf precocity in wickeduess Ua-s been furnished by the case nf a youth of Hi, named Eugene I lllivcr, « ho has just been just buou tried at the i'aris arnxw for the murder cf his sooond cousin, Madame Leclerc, a widow, agctl 75, in the Uu« Nollet. He replied in a firm voice to the questions of the judge, who reminded him of lit. .having, on a Uimsy pretest, left the school to which his father laid put him; of bis petty limits in a biscuit manufactory wk«rc bended as clerk, uii.l „f his piekinguip a n gistcved letter containing 800f. in bank notes, part of which niouey lie laid mil in twn watchns and 11 box of compasses. Ho admitted also that Mdme. Leclerc on New Year's Day gave him 20f., tliat he breakfasted with hor on the ?4th of March, that he called .on her next day, found her .sewing, sat by her, and read aloud from a newspaper, suddenly got up, went into the kitchen, returned with a ru]ling-pin, .and struck her a violent blow on the back of the neck as she n-as stooping over her work. Though stunned, she rase, ran in the

window, anil called for help, but she could not ojieil the window, anil fell mi tliu floor, whereupon the prisoner, it was alleged, rcpoateiLliis blows .on ,her li.>ud and knelt on her stoiunoli till life, was extinct. He acknowledged all thi« with the exception of kneeling on her stomach hut argued that he did not go with the intention trt'mnirdcr, and that the idea unaooountflibly soiced on him. tie took the deceased's watch, anil on hearing people forcing the dour hj« hid himself behind a chair in the hope of escaping, but was discovered and arrested, lie hail also taken the keys and would have found +0()0f. on the promises had he not been disturbed by the neighbours, who heard the victim's cries. One of the medical witnesses slated that, though 16J years, the prisoner is not equal in intelligence to an average youth of 15. and had not an idea o-f .tic full gravity of the crime, but, BCOtUg the watch, was probably smitten by a desire to possess it by whatever means. It appears that Ollivor, when asked on his arrest why ho did not take an axe instead of the rolhng-

(Bin, said that hj« noticed mi nxe in Iho kitchen, but thought tho.rolling-pin being lung,.mid heavy, would-do the tiling better. A minority of the jury -gave hint the bouaHt of "extenuating drcutmtau* cos," and lie was sentenced to 20 years hard labour.