Mary Willoughby survives 3 story fall, 1893
New Jersey Courier 12 Oct 1893
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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 recit
Murder at the Almshouse, 1893
Reported in the New Jersey Mirror Aug 2 1893: What appears to have been a deliberate murder was perpetrated at the County Almshouse, on Saturday, the victim being James Reynolds, a feeble old man in his 75th year. Charles Hunter, who committed the deed, is a muscular colored man about 28 years old. There seems to have been no just cause or provocation for the murder. Hunter is subject to fits of epilepsy and previous to and after an attack becomes sullen and of an ugly disposition. This was his condition on Saturday morning. Steward Gaskill put him at work unloading coal and then left the place for Camden upon business. Hunter began to grumble and finally quit work, saying he would do no work unless he was paid for it because they were hiring tramps right under his nose and that there was going to be trouble before night. No further attention was paid to him by those who were at work or loitering about the premises. Just about the dinner hour a body was heard to fall in the hallway,
12 year old Maggie Giles beaten to death, 1893
New Jersey Mirror 10 May 1893 Maggie Giles, a daughter of Joseph Giles, of Timbuctoo, died a day or two since from the effects of a severe beating at the hands of some other children. The child had been sent on an errand by her mother and was met by two other children, who began to tease her. Finally they beat her so badly that spinal meningitis resulted and death followed in a short time. The little girl was about 12 years of age. No arrests were made.
Murder or Suicide? Pemberton, 1893
New Jersey Mirror 18 Apr 1893: The sudden death of the supposed wife of William Bloom, at Pemberton on Thursday, gave rise to the suspicion that the woman had committed suicide by taking poison, or that it had been administered to her by some other person. Dr. Hollingshead was in attendance upon the woman, but could not ascertain the cause of her illness, but thought there were symptoms of poisoning. Coroner Hibberd was notified and after hearing of some suspicious circumstances concerning the family determined to make a thorough examination. He interviewed William Bloom with whom she lived. He said he had been married to the deceased, but when a demand was made on him to produce the certificate he admitted he had told an untruth, and that he was not married to her. He said her name was Mary E. Norwood, and that he had known her about four months. When he first met her she was living on St. John street, Philadelphia, and he induced her to come to Pemberton and live with him. All h