ALLEGED INFANTICIDE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 5180, 13 November 1895, Page 2

ALLEGED INFANTICIDE.

ut —f . Bk, The adjourned inquest on tbe - of the female infant child found in a e bedroom in a house on the Terrace a e fortnight ago last Sunday, was hold ii at the. Mount Cook Police Station yesterday afternoon, beforo Mr Askii croft (coroner), and a jury of which i, Mr G. fc. Elsen was foreman, Inspec--0 tor Ponder was present on behalf of ,s the police, and Mr Skerrett appeared if for the girl Mary Davis, who, it is alleged, was tho mother of the child, , s and who was present in tho custody of Chief-Dotectivo Campbell on a ■o charge of wilful murder. The evidence taken on tho first g day of tho inquiry was read by tbe j. Coronor, ~ Helen Agnos Wilkes, Hospital sister, residing at Mr Tiinibull's house, Elibank, Wellington, said tho girl Mary Davis was in Mr Turnbull's service as housemaid. On I 1 riday, 2Cth Octobor, witness heard she was ill, and on Saturday saw her 1 in bed in her room. The girl said she did not want to see tho doctor, but would be up in the afternoon, L she was feeling better. EvcnlualljH however, at witness' suggestion, Dr. Pollen was sent for. At 8 p.m. witness was sent for into tlio drawing room, and one of the persons present asked her to go up to Mary Davis' l- room, as it was thought the child io must be in the house. Witness did so, and asked tbe girl to tell her 10 where tho child was. She said a n woman came at D o'clock in the 10 morning, that tho?chi)d was bom on is the Hags, and that tho woman had y taken it away with her. Sho did not is know tho name of tho woman, who had been sent for by tho father of tho child, whoso name she did not givo, She said she had a namo from tho father, but had forgotten it, and did not know whether it was his right name, Witness said sho wanted tho child. The girl asked "How did , you know?" and witness replied "Never mind, I did know." The '' girl then told her the child was in a corner of the wardrobe, where wit- ' liess found it, under a quantity <£_ „ ' clothes. The body was wrapped jattk towels. To Inspector Pender: IWt ' girl told witness that she did not know whether the child was alivo when born, but that it did not cry. Dr. Pollen ro-ca!led, said ho saw the girl Davis about 4 o'clock ou Saturday afternoon, October 26th. lie found she had given birth to a child, and ho asked to see tho baby, She said it had been taken away by a woman who lived in Webb-stroot, She begged of him not to say anything about the matter, and he said there would bo no occasion to say anything if the baby was produced, Q and ho found there was nothing ■ wrong with it; but if it bad boon taken away, it would bo his duty to ' 0 inform the police, Sho said ho ® could tell the police, so long as no ' oiio in the house knew of it. Sho said the father had arranged with a woman to come every night to tho 1 house for a week before tho baby 11 was born, and at 3 p.m. that day tho ' woman came, tho baby was born in & the hack-yard, and tho woman took F it away. Witness saw the baby at the Police Station, and was rfv opinion that it was born alivo. Chief-Detective Campbell staloiT tlmt ho had that day charged Mary Davis with tho murder of tho child, j She made no reply. (p Ihe Coroner, in summing up tho evidence, said, of courso the jury were not trying a case against'any person, but had simply to consider ' whether there was suilicient evidenco ' implicate any person in a crimo. Of course they could realise the state of mind the girl was in, but nothing ! ™ u ' t ' justify such concealment of ' birth as would be likely to put tho ! ' ( ' 111 any jeopardy, It was tightly * wrapped up in the towels, and as tho cord was untied it might have bled ■ to death. He did not sco how tho ' alternative of manslaughter could ; arise, but they must not allow their ' feeling to prevent them giving full . weight to the evidence which had , been placed before them. _ Mr Skerrett remarked that tho ' jury were at liberty to find that the " 1 child died from hiumorrhnge, without saying anything further. After a brief retirement the jury returned, and the foroman said they were of opinion that the girl wniA guilty of concealment of birth, The Coroner said bo could not * take that as a verdict of the cause of death. The forman said the jury were of opinion that death was due to hajmorrhage caused by tho umbilical cord being left untied. This was accepted as tho verdict, and tlio euquiiy then concluded. Ihe jury first, however, expressed the opinion that the namo of the father should have been disclosed, and that he should havo made proper arrangements for the delivery of tlio child.—N.Z. Times.