The Horrible Case of Lena Brown
(From the New Jersey Mirror, 4 Oct 1893)
A horrible tragedy was recalled when Lena Brown was brought into court yesterday to be tried for the murder of three innocent little children in September of last year. One of the children was her own five-year old son. The other two were boys aged respectively 1 1/2 and 3 years, children of William Harvey, who out of pity had taken Lena and her child off the street, where they were wandering homeless and without friends.
Lena had been sheltered in Mr. Harvey's home but a short time when with his wife he visited the Inter-State Fair, at Trenton, leaving his two boys in Lena's charge for the day. About 2 o'clock in the afternoon, Lena suddenly became possessed of a murderous hallucination and took the lives of her own infant and her benefactor's two little boys. She then went out upon the street and meeting an officer said she wanted to be arrested and told him the story of her awful crime. He was horribly shocked at the recital, but going back with her to the house found that it was all too true. There they lay, arranged upon the floor according to their size, their faces covered with cloths. Cruel black marks were to be seen about their necks, showing that the woman had strangled them. There were no evidences of a struggle about the premises, as the little ones were unable to offer any resistance to the strength of the maddened woman.
She was brought to Mount Holly and placed in jail. The little victims were buried in one grave at the expense of the township and a monument now marks the spot, provided by private contributions, and upon it is inscribed briefly the story of how they met their fate. Lena was indicted, and her case has been pending until it was called yesterday, owing to the fact that she had given birth to a child while in jail and it being too young to leave while the case was heard. When the miserable woman was brought into Court, yesterday, it was noticed that her appearance had changed but little during her incarceration. Her face bears an indifferent or vacant expression, relieved at times, it would seem, by a realization of her awful crime, when she would bend forward and sob piteously, her moaning being heard all over the Court room. She sat alone and seemed to take no interest whatever in the preliminary preparations for the trial.
Judge Garrison presided upon the bench with associates Scott, Glasgow and Lippincott. Jerome B. Grigg represented the defendant and Prosecutor E. P. Budd appeared for the State. A jury was selected without any difficulty, there being no challenges, as follows:
George P. Austin
Joseph G. Lippincott
Charles W. Hooven, Sr.
William Yap
Harry E. Rogers
Ezra Scattergood
James Mack
Jacob Mulford
Rodman P. Gaskill
Henry Frick
Franklin B. Haines
Joel P. Kirby
They were sworn and affirmed and Prosecutor Budd then arose and told the story of the crime. During its recital the woman wept bitterly and at one time came near fainting, the recital being suspended for a few moments to allow her to recover. Her story told to the officer, whom she went to after committing the deed, was very indefinite. She said her own child had fallen down stairs and cut its head; that she had pounded it upon the head a few times. She then went out and securing the two Harvey children dispatched them. Her story is the only evidence concerning the crime. No one saw her commit the deed. Her story stands alone. The Prosecutor also stated that a most careful scrutiny into the previous history of the woman and her connection with the Harvey family failed to show any motive whatever for the awful crime. The woman was in a delicate condition at the time and exactly one month later gave birth to a child in the jail. Persons were known to commit grave crimes when in this condition.
The Prosecutor had secured the best expert medical talent to examine the woman and pass upon her mental condition.
William Harvey, father of the two murdered boys was the first witness. He said Lena Brown came to his house in September last about a week before the Trenton Fair. She had a little child with her and as she had no home she was taken in and given a room on the second floor, where she remained until the day of the tragedy. The second day of the Fair witness decided to go and take his wife and also their oldest boy. Lena expressed a willingness to care for the other two children while they were gone and they were left in her charge. Witness never noticed anything wrong in Lena's conduct and upon the morning of the day she was given charge of the children there was nothing unusual in her actions.
Sarah Harvey, mother of the two children and wife of the previous witness, substantiated his story in all particulars. She said she took pity upon Lena because of her condition and took her in to live with her.
H. N. Jobes, City Marshal, being sworn, said he was approached by a woman on the day of the tragedy who said she had killed three children. He doubted her story but asked her where the children were. He finally decided to investigate the matter and accompanied by James D. Flynn, editor of the Bordentown Register he went where she had directed him. They got into the wrong house but finally found the right place and saw the three children lying upon the floor. He went away and notified the Coroner and a physician.
Afterward witness asked her why she killed her child and she said she wanted to put it out of trouble. He also asked her why she killed the Harvey boys and she replied that she did not know, but she was awfully sorry. She did not seem to be greatly excited. She was afterwards given a hearing and committed to jail.
James D. Flynn, editor of the Bordentown Register, upon being sworn stated that he walked with Marshal Jobes to the scene of the tragedy after having heard Lena Brown's story of killing three children. They found the three children lying upon their backs upon the floor and saw the marks upon their necks. He then spoke to the woman at the city hall and told her if she had any friends she needed them now and he would do anything he could for her. She said she had friends in Germany but none in this country. She was evidently a stranger in Bordentown at the time as she did not know the names of the streets. Hugh Newell described how Lena came to his place of business and asked to see the Marshall and detailed the story of her confession to that official as described above. She did not seem particularly excited.
Hon. John O. Hudson, Mayor of the city of Bordentown, receivedinformation regarding the murder of the children the same evening and took the woman's statement at the city hall. In this statement she told how she choked the children one at a time while alone with them in the house--how she held them in her grasp until they died. She could give no reasons for the deed. She said she was 29 years old and had never been married. She had been in jail once for robbing a woman.
D. W. H. Shipps, the next witness, described a visit to the house where the children were lying dead and an examination of the bodies made by him. Lena's own boy was the only one of the three which showed wounds upon the body of a serious nature other than those about the neck caused by strangulation. He also questioned Lena Brown, she described to him how she made away with the children. When her boy fell down stairs she says she saw some blood and was seized with an irresistable desire to kill him. A postmortem examination showed that death was undoubtedly due to strangulation. The State then rested.
Jerome B. Grigg, counsel for the defendant in his opening said it would not be his purpose to deny that the woman killed the children. They would show that she was of weak mind and unable to govern a spontaneous passion for murder. If not guilty of murder in the first degree she was guilty of no crime, because she was not responsible for her acts.
John W. Ward, Medical Director of the State Insane Asylum, at Trenton, with which institution he has been connected for 27 years, was the first witness. He made a personal examination of Lena Brown in the jail some time ago. She seemed in a nervous condition and laboring under a confused condition of mind. She told him at that time that the father of her unborn child killed the children; that he slipped over the fence that day and killed them. She did not seem to realize a sense of her impending danger. She was pregnant at the time. He saw her again later when she seemed to be in high spirits. Insanity has been known to develop during pregnancy from the fifth to the seventh month. It was his opinion that Lena Brown's condition was responsible for her sudden mania for murder. The nature of the crime would indicate that she was laboring under insane delusions at the time. A woman who could commit such a cool, deliberate and atrocious murder must have been insane at the time. Insanity resulting during pregnancy is in the proportion of 1 in 1000 cases. Recurrences were quite frequent in future pregnancy and the insanity is usually suicidal or homicidal. It may also continue to occur until there is a change of life.
Dr. Richard C. Barrington, of Mount Holly, was called and said he was prison physician while Lena Brown was in jail and during her pregnancy and gave her medical attendance during her confinement, assisting in the delivery of her child. Witness upon first seeing the defendant in the jail, found her depressed and melancholy. Later she became excited, talkative, dancing and singing. This lasted for two months, when she again assumed a melancholy condition. In his judgment, the woman was insane at the time she committed the crime. Defence then rested and the case was submitted to the jury without argument. Judge Garrison dwelt briefly upon the case. He cited the case as being a horrible one but if the condition of mind of the perpetrator was found to be unsound, the law made other provision than the administration of criminal punishment. If this defendant was of sound mind at the time of committing the crime, she was then acknowledged guilty of the highest grade of murder. If insane at the time, she was not responsible. He requested the jury to render their verdict under the statute. If they decided she was insane at the time of committing the act, they should so state. Also that they should instruct the Court as to the desirability of detaining her as an insane person in some institution. The Jury retired and in a few moments returned with a verdict that the crime was committed by the prisoner while insane and irresponsible and advised that she be removed to the insane asylum.
There is surprisingly little information after this, but it was noted two weeks after the trial that:
Lena Brown, the Bordentown murderess, who was adjudged responsible for the killing of her boy and two others belonging to William Harvey, has been removed to the State Insane Asylum at Trenton.
And the child she bore in prison did not last the month,dying at St. Vincent's Home, Philadelphia,. according to the Mirror on 22 Nov 1893.
A horrible tragedy was recalled when Lena Brown was brought into court yesterday to be tried for the murder of three innocent little children in September of last year. One of the children was her own five-year old son. The other two were boys aged respectively 1 1/2 and 3 years, children of William Harvey, who out of pity had taken Lena and her child off the street, where they were wandering homeless and without friends.
Lena had been sheltered in Mr. Harvey's home but a short time when with his wife he visited the Inter-State Fair, at Trenton, leaving his two boys in Lena's charge for the day. About 2 o'clock in the afternoon, Lena suddenly became possessed of a murderous hallucination and took the lives of her own infant and her benefactor's two little boys. She then went out upon the street and meeting an officer said she wanted to be arrested and told him the story of her awful crime. He was horribly shocked at the recital, but going back with her to the house found that it was all too true. There they lay, arranged upon the floor according to their size, their faces covered with cloths. Cruel black marks were to be seen about their necks, showing that the woman had strangled them. There were no evidences of a struggle about the premises, as the little ones were unable to offer any resistance to the strength of the maddened woman.
She was brought to Mount Holly and placed in jail. The little victims were buried in one grave at the expense of the township and a monument now marks the spot, provided by private contributions, and upon it is inscribed briefly the story of how they met their fate. Lena was indicted, and her case has been pending until it was called yesterday, owing to the fact that she had given birth to a child while in jail and it being too young to leave while the case was heard. When the miserable woman was brought into Court, yesterday, it was noticed that her appearance had changed but little during her incarceration. Her face bears an indifferent or vacant expression, relieved at times, it would seem, by a realization of her awful crime, when she would bend forward and sob piteously, her moaning being heard all over the Court room. She sat alone and seemed to take no interest whatever in the preliminary preparations for the trial.
Judge Garrison presided upon the bench with associates Scott, Glasgow and Lippincott. Jerome B. Grigg represented the defendant and Prosecutor E. P. Budd appeared for the State. A jury was selected without any difficulty, there being no challenges, as follows:
George P. Austin
Joseph G. Lippincott
Charles W. Hooven, Sr.
William Yap
Harry E. Rogers
Ezra Scattergood
James Mack
Jacob Mulford
Rodman P. Gaskill
Henry Frick
Franklin B. Haines
Joel P. Kirby
They were sworn and affirmed and Prosecutor Budd then arose and told the story of the crime. During its recital the woman wept bitterly and at one time came near fainting, the recital being suspended for a few moments to allow her to recover. Her story told to the officer, whom she went to after committing the deed, was very indefinite. She said her own child had fallen down stairs and cut its head; that she had pounded it upon the head a few times. She then went out and securing the two Harvey children dispatched them. Her story is the only evidence concerning the crime. No one saw her commit the deed. Her story stands alone. The Prosecutor also stated that a most careful scrutiny into the previous history of the woman and her connection with the Harvey family failed to show any motive whatever for the awful crime. The woman was in a delicate condition at the time and exactly one month later gave birth to a child in the jail. Persons were known to commit grave crimes when in this condition.
The Prosecutor had secured the best expert medical talent to examine the woman and pass upon her mental condition.
William Harvey, father of the two murdered boys was the first witness. He said Lena Brown came to his house in September last about a week before the Trenton Fair. She had a little child with her and as she had no home she was taken in and given a room on the second floor, where she remained until the day of the tragedy. The second day of the Fair witness decided to go and take his wife and also their oldest boy. Lena expressed a willingness to care for the other two children while they were gone and they were left in her charge. Witness never noticed anything wrong in Lena's conduct and upon the morning of the day she was given charge of the children there was nothing unusual in her actions.
Sarah Harvey, mother of the two children and wife of the previous witness, substantiated his story in all particulars. She said she took pity upon Lena because of her condition and took her in to live with her.
H. N. Jobes, City Marshal, being sworn, said he was approached by a woman on the day of the tragedy who said she had killed three children. He doubted her story but asked her where the children were. He finally decided to investigate the matter and accompanied by James D. Flynn, editor of the Bordentown Register he went where she had directed him. They got into the wrong house but finally found the right place and saw the three children lying upon the floor. He went away and notified the Coroner and a physician.
Afterward witness asked her why she killed her child and she said she wanted to put it out of trouble. He also asked her why she killed the Harvey boys and she replied that she did not know, but she was awfully sorry. She did not seem to be greatly excited. She was afterwards given a hearing and committed to jail.
James D. Flynn, editor of the Bordentown Register, upon being sworn stated that he walked with Marshal Jobes to the scene of the tragedy after having heard Lena Brown's story of killing three children. They found the three children lying upon their backs upon the floor and saw the marks upon their necks. He then spoke to the woman at the city hall and told her if she had any friends she needed them now and he would do anything he could for her. She said she had friends in Germany but none in this country. She was evidently a stranger in Bordentown at the time as she did not know the names of the streets. Hugh Newell described how Lena came to his place of business and asked to see the Marshall and detailed the story of her confession to that official as described above. She did not seem particularly excited.
Hon. John O. Hudson, Mayor of the city of Bordentown, receivedinformation regarding the murder of the children the same evening and took the woman's statement at the city hall. In this statement she told how she choked the children one at a time while alone with them in the house--how she held them in her grasp until they died. She could give no reasons for the deed. She said she was 29 years old and had never been married. She had been in jail once for robbing a woman.
D. W. H. Shipps, the next witness, described a visit to the house where the children were lying dead and an examination of the bodies made by him. Lena's own boy was the only one of the three which showed wounds upon the body of a serious nature other than those about the neck caused by strangulation. He also questioned Lena Brown, she described to him how she made away with the children. When her boy fell down stairs she says she saw some blood and was seized with an irresistable desire to kill him. A postmortem examination showed that death was undoubtedly due to strangulation. The State then rested.
Jerome B. Grigg, counsel for the defendant in his opening said it would not be his purpose to deny that the woman killed the children. They would show that she was of weak mind and unable to govern a spontaneous passion for murder. If not guilty of murder in the first degree she was guilty of no crime, because she was not responsible for her acts.
John W. Ward, Medical Director of the State Insane Asylum, at Trenton, with which institution he has been connected for 27 years, was the first witness. He made a personal examination of Lena Brown in the jail some time ago. She seemed in a nervous condition and laboring under a confused condition of mind. She told him at that time that the father of her unborn child killed the children; that he slipped over the fence that day and killed them. She did not seem to realize a sense of her impending danger. She was pregnant at the time. He saw her again later when she seemed to be in high spirits. Insanity has been known to develop during pregnancy from the fifth to the seventh month. It was his opinion that Lena Brown's condition was responsible for her sudden mania for murder. The nature of the crime would indicate that she was laboring under insane delusions at the time. A woman who could commit such a cool, deliberate and atrocious murder must have been insane at the time. Insanity resulting during pregnancy is in the proportion of 1 in 1000 cases. Recurrences were quite frequent in future pregnancy and the insanity is usually suicidal or homicidal. It may also continue to occur until there is a change of life.
Dr. Richard C. Barrington, of Mount Holly, was called and said he was prison physician while Lena Brown was in jail and during her pregnancy and gave her medical attendance during her confinement, assisting in the delivery of her child. Witness upon first seeing the defendant in the jail, found her depressed and melancholy. Later she became excited, talkative, dancing and singing. This lasted for two months, when she again assumed a melancholy condition. In his judgment, the woman was insane at the time she committed the crime. Defence then rested and the case was submitted to the jury without argument. Judge Garrison dwelt briefly upon the case. He cited the case as being a horrible one but if the condition of mind of the perpetrator was found to be unsound, the law made other provision than the administration of criminal punishment. If this defendant was of sound mind at the time of committing the crime, she was then acknowledged guilty of the highest grade of murder. If insane at the time, she was not responsible. He requested the jury to render their verdict under the statute. If they decided she was insane at the time of committing the act, they should so state. Also that they should instruct the Court as to the desirability of detaining her as an insane person in some institution. The Jury retired and in a few moments returned with a verdict that the crime was committed by the prisoner while insane and irresponsible and advised that she be removed to the insane asylum.
There is surprisingly little information after this, but it was noted two weeks after the trial that:
Lena Brown, the Bordentown murderess, who was adjudged responsible for the killing of her boy and two others belonging to William Harvey, has been removed to the State Insane Asylum at Trenton.
And the child she bore in prison did not last the month,dying at St. Vincent's Home, Philadelphia,. according to the Mirror on 22 Nov 1893.
Comments
Post a Comment