(Before MR. JUSTICE HAWKINS.)
ROSE MAYERSBETH, 27, was indicted for that she, having the custody charge, and care of Ethel Rose Mayersbeth, a girl under the age of 16 years, unlawfully neglected her in a manner likely to cause her unnecessary suffering and injury to her health.
Mr. A. Hutton prosecuted.
The prisoner was a married woman, but her husband did not reside with her. They had six children. Her husband paid the rent and gave her £1 7s. 6d. a week to maintain herself and the children, and he also bought clothing for the children when they required it. It was alleged that the prisoner used to leave the rooms in which she lodged early in the morning and did not return until 5 o'clock in the afternoon, during which time the children were left alone, and that the rooms were found to be in a very filthy condition. The children were well fed. The neglect alleged against the prisoner was that she allowed the rooms to be in the filthy condition in which they were found. The prisoner went to a shop to make a purchase, and she was then carrying in her arms the child Ethel Rose Mayersbeth, which was not quite two years old. The child, which suffered from pneumonia, was found dead in her arms.
The jury found the prisoner Guilty.
MR. JUSTICE HAWKINS postponed judgement.
Source: The Times, 17 December 1897 Page 16