SHOCKING TRAGEDY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4024, 1 February 1892, Page 2

SHOCKING TRAGEDY.

A;. ineauo Woman Waim SorF&uil?,

A crime of a peculiarly sad and ] revolting character was committed ' recently at Titchfield, a village about ' four mites from Fareham, Hants, the j viotirus being three children, named < Augusta Hudson, aged eight; Frede rick Hinton, aged 11, and William Hinton, aged nine, whose throats were ont in a shocking manner by their mother, Alice Hinton, a woman about 40 yeara old, Mrs Hintou is the wife of John Hinton, ; a harness maker, Jiving m West street, Titchfield, and she has for some lime past been guilty of serious riegleot of her family, so much so that a few months ago she was charged before the county magistrates at Fareham with oruolty to the two boys, when she received a sentence of three months hard labour. Mrs Hinton has been twice married, and licr second husband had a family when she was wedded to him. Another summons had been tauen out against her, and the hearing was fixed for Monday morning at the Fareham Police Court. Over and again she bad been heard to declare since receiving the summons that she "would do for the lads,"and that they would never Bee her at the Sessions house, No notico was taken of these emphatic threats, .which was regarded as empty brag, but on Monday morning, about 10 o'clock, two little ones belonging to a neighbour ran screaming across the street, and said Mrs Hinton was murdering her ohildren. This statement proved to be only too well founded, as the youngest boy William left the house almost immediately with blood flowing from a terrible gash in the throat. He fell down in the street, but was picked ap and taken to the house of a neighbour where be died Bhortly afterwards. Constable Harfield hurried to the house, and on effecting an entrance found the lifeless body of the girl (Mrs Hinton's child by a former husband) lying in a pool of blood .in front of the fireplace in the downstairs ' room. The girl's head was almost severed from the body. The i ohild was probably the first victim, as the carving-knife with whioh the terrible butchery was occasioned was found in a room upstairs by the side i of the boy, Froderiok Hinton, whose ■ throat had been gashed from ear to i ear. He was quite dead when found, ; As the police officer ascended the > staircase he met the murderess comi ing down, She, too, had wounds in i the.neck and throat, from whioh • blood was copiously flowing, and she , presented a sickening spectacle. In I answering to the constable's enquiry, "Whodid this?" she replied, "I i did." Both rooms had the appeari ance of shambles, The terrible swiftness of the mother's work was appalling, as the three murders and the attempt at selfdestruction must have occurred within the space of five miuuks, It

Was assumed that the woman first murdered the child Hudson and then iiiade' an attempt ' upon the bW pljam. 'He escaped from her grasp, however, ai<}' it'apje'a,rs alio then went upstairs, out the tliroats of the other boy, and afterwards failed 1 in her endeavor to commit suicide. The attendance of Dr Hoare was at once eeclired, and ho bound up the wounds in the woman's neokand those in the case of the child William. On the arrival of Superintendent, prep, 'wjjg telegraphed 1 for frbii}-.tee'hW, t|e. woman' was placed in a caj> lor ponveyanpe to the,.police station at Fareh'am. Owing to ])er vio* lenco and hor determined attempts to tear the bandages from hpr throat, she had to be guarded by two police officers, The violent behaviour of the prisoner caused the police to hasten matters as muoh as possible, and as the magistrates were still sitting when the prisoner was brought to the police station, Superintendent Brewer thought it prudent to bare her before them on the capital charge, When brought into the court blood was still flowing from' a Abandon the left sideof the neok,' &nd ; she 1 gazed' vacantly around the rooirii The proceedings were very brief,—fir Hoare sdid he : had no', hesitation'in pstjjyjn|' i tb)j prjjjon/ej; and tbejusticesat odqo her 'removal to the county lunatio asylum at Knowlo, where she was conducted by the police.