In 1899 Ada Wilcox was a housemaid employed by a Mr W J Cockayne of Broomgrove Road, Sheffield. On the morning of Sunday 22 October she was busy making the fires for the family, when her mistress Mrs Cockayne told her that there was something lying in the ashpit. Ada and a day girl who was also employed at the house called Sarah Watts went immediately to the ashpit, which was situated in an outhouse behind her masters house. There the two girls found a piece of rough matting. Lifting it up, Ada found underneath it a parcel wrapped up in some coarse material. Sarah opened it gingerly, before the two girls were faced with the body of a newly born, male child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Needless to say, the police were called and Inspector Thompson of Broomhill ordered enquiries to be made into all the staff working for the family. This included a thirty-eight year old cook called Elizabeth Turner, who had been employed by the family since 18 October of the previous year. It seems that she had been unwell for some time, Indeed that very day she had been sent home to be cared for by her family at Oughtibridge, Sheffield. The family physician, Dr Alfred Reckless had examined her and found that she had recently given birth. She had confessed to him to being the mother of the dead child. However, she claimed that it had been a miscarriage and the child had been born dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Needless to say, an inquest on the little body was held at the Sheffield Royal Hospital on Tuesday 24 October 1899. There, the City Coroner, Mr D Wightman informed the jury that information had been given as to who the mother of the child was. However, as she was too ill to be be present at the inquest that day, he would be unable to conclude the enquiry without giving her the opportunity to speak for herself. Therefore the jury would just hear the basic details that day. Ada Wilcox was the first witness and she told the coroner that from the first she had suspected that Elizabeth had been the mother of the deceased child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ada said that the cook had been previously married, although she was aware that her husband had deserted her. The witness also stated that Elizabeth had given birth to another child, a few years previously, who had been a girl who now lived with her parents. Dr Reckless, was the next witness and he said that he had examined the body of the child, that had been found in the ashpit. He said its organs had been healthy and it weighed around 5\u00bclbs. However the surgeon stated that the cause of death was due to the fact that child\u2019s throat had been cut and the right side of the skull had been smashed in. There had also been other bruises on its face and a wound to the angle of the right jaw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After being shown a knife which had belonged to Elizabeth, Dr Reckless confirmed that the wounds on the throat might well have been inflicted by such a knife. His descriptions of the injuries was confirmed by Mr Thomas Priestly, the house surgeon at the Royal Hospital. He told the coroner that he had held a post mortem on the child\u2019s remains. However he condemned Elizabeth\u2019s statement that the child had been born dead, when he crucially stated that the child had air in its lungs. This meant that it had clearly taken a breath and therefore led, what was termed as \u2018a separate existence to its mother\u2019. After hearing from these two witnesses, Mr Wightman adjourned the inquest until Tuesday 7 November in order that the mother of the child could attend and give her own evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However this second inquest was again of short duration as Elizabeth was simply remanded as she was due to appear before the Sheffield Magistrates the following day. There she readily admitted that she had been the wife of a man called Robert Turner, although the couple had not lived together for some years. Elizabeth admitted that she had given birth to the child in the closet (toilet) and the child\u2019s injuries to its skull had been caused, when it accidentally fell onto the stone floor beneath. Dr Priestly stated that his own examination had proved that the child had lived for some moments after birth, and that such a fall would not have caused those particular wounds to its skull.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However the surgeon could not confirm whether the wounds were inflicted before or after death. Needless to say, that inquest too was of very short duration and after hearing from the same witnesses, the prisoner Elizabeth Turner was found guilty of infanticide and committed to take her trial at the next assizes. Accordingly, she was brought before Mr Justice Wright at the West Riding Assizes held at Leeds on Friday 8 December 1899. The prisoner was charged with the wilful murder of her own child and the prosecution, Mr Mellor outlined the case for the jury. However he readily admitted as to the uncertainty of whether or not the injuries had been inflicted before or after the child\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said that therefore he did not think it right to ask the jury to take on the responsibility of making that crucial decision for themselves. Nevertheless he added that \u2018they still had to decide whether it was a case of murder, manslaughter or concealment of birth.\u2019 Thankfully, the latter much less serious verdict was given. The matter was simplified, when the prisoners defence Mr Kershaw, added that his client had already agreed to plead guilty to that lesser charge. Thankfully, the jury therefore brought in the verdict that Elizabeth Turner had been found guilty of concealment of birth. The judge then ordered that the prisoner was to be sent to prison for six months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In 1899 Ada Wilcox was a housemaid employed by a Mr W J Cockayne of Broomgrove Road, Sheffield. On the morning of Sunday 22 October she was busy making the fires for the family, when her mistress Mrs Cockayne told her that there was something lying in the ashpit. Ada and a day girl who … Continue reading The body in the Outhouse.<\/span>