[It’s quite hard to spot to where this refers as the road names have changed]
Mysterious Case.
Marlborough-Street.
On Saturday an investigation which excited the greatest interest, and lasted till a very late hour, came on at this office before J.E. Conant, Esq., the Sitting Magistrate. Elizabeth Barnes, 16 years of age, was brought up in the custody of Plank, the officer, charged by Mr John Wright, linen-draper, of Foley-place, Mary-le-bone, on suspicion of having at several times set fire to his house and furniture. She was also charged with having by some extraordinary means, set fire to the wearing apparel of Mrs Wright, at various times, by which her clothes were burned off her back, and injured her so dreadfully that her life is despaired of.
The office was crowded to excess. Mr Wright stated, that the prisoner had been his servant for some time past; but they never suspected her of anything wrong until they were induced from the following most extraordinary circumstances, to entertain an idea that she had intentions of destroying the house and family.
Wednesday morning, Jan.5, .about half-past 8 o’clock, his mother was sitting in the parlour by herself, and the prisoner was in the shop alone, his mother was seriously alarmed by a fire which broke out in the shop, which did considerable injury, and it commenced by some means in one of the drawers in the counter.
Friday, the 7th of January, about eleven o’clock in the morning, his mother was sitting by the fire in the kitchen, the prisoner being the only person with her, and on rising she had not gone so far as the door before all her clothes were on fire; and had it not been for speedy assistance in putting out the flames, she would have been burnt to death; she was burned dreadfully.
The next day (Saturday), about 12 o’clock in the morning, on witness’s return home, he had not been long in the place before he was alarmed by the dreadful screams of his mother, who was in the kitchen; he proceeded there, and again found her enveloped in flames; he succeeded in putting them out; there was scarcely any fire in the grate at the time; the prisoner was the only person with her; and when her clothes caught fire his mother was more than eight feet from the grate.
No suspicion was at this time formed of the prisoner, and she was ordered to protect his mother; on the Sunday he was in the parlour, and his mother and the prisoner were in the kitchen together; but being alarmed by her screams, he ran down stairs, and found her again covered with flames; he put a rug over her, and put them out, by which he saved her life. Part of her clothes were burned to a cinder, and her flesh was materially injured: the prisoner had just left the kitchen at the time this happened, and when his mother was crossing the kitchen she found herself again in flames; her clothes were burned off her back; she did not know by what means she caught fire, but wasfully confident that no spark flew on her: she thought something supernatural attended her. She described, when the flames touched her skin, that she felt it like knives crossing her.
The prisoner when this happened burst out laughing at his mother, although her life was in peril; the presumption on his mind was, that the prisoner had thrown something on her to cause the burning.
On the Sunday morning his mother was placed under the protection of his sister, but happening to go into the kitchen, where the prisoner was, her clothes by some unknown means again caught fire; her violent screams alarmed Miss Wright, who went down stairs and found her clothes all in flames; she tore off her clothes as well as she could, but she was injured so dreadfully by the fire, that she was put to bed. They left her apparently asleep, but in a short time after they were again alarmed by her screams, and on going up stairs they found her in bed; the bed and the curtains being all in a blaze, and she attempting to extinguish them; the house and property was much injured.
The prisoner was afterwards sent upstairs, and she came down again, saying the room was all on fire; they went up stairs, and found one of the rooms all in flames; they were, with much difficulty put out; the next alarm was on Tuesday evening, at half-past eight o’clock; when he returned home his sister met him and said the place had been in the utmost confusion, and again on fire; the counter (a fixture) was literally destroyed, and the place was filled with smoke and fire; there were two drawers belonging to the counter, the one marked A. and the other B.; the fire commenced in the drawer A., which was injured; and that marked B., without the least symptoms of fire in it, was given to the prisoner to take into the coal-vault; she took it down, but shortly returned, saying the vault was all on fire; on proceeding thither, he found the coals all on fire; engines arrived, and it was put out; the drawer was lying there;
the family were now in a serious state of alarm, and Mr Eden, a neighbour, proposed sitting up all night with Miss Wright to watch the house. The prisoner was ordered to go to bed at 11 o’clock, at which time she went, but she shortly returned, begging them to go upstairs, that Mr Bannister’s room (one of the lodgers) was on fire; they went up stairs to Mr Bannister’s room, and found him going to bed, and calling out fire; they were not satisfied, as they smelt fire, and witness then opened his sister’s bedroom door, when he was nearly knocked down by the flames and smoke rushing upon him; the room was filled with a dense smoke, and the room all in a blaze.
He went to a mahogany chest of drawers, the day after, all of which were locked except one, on opening which the flames rushed out on him, and the drawers were partly burnt to a cinder. At four o’clock in the afternoon of the same day, another fire broke out in the same room, although firemen were employed to stay in the house, and had stopped the preceding night.
The following morning, about 11 o’clock, another fire broke out in an apartment upstairs, and did considerable injury. The prisoner, on the discovery of the fire, was seen close by the door, under very suspicious circumstances; and he ordered her instantly to quit the house.
He spoke to Mr Lockie, of the Fire Office. The officers of this establishment were employed to make every inquiry, and since the prisoner had quitted the place they had not undergone the least alarm. His mother was confined to her bed, and was under the careof a surgeon, without hopes of recovery.
Miss Wright attended, in a very weak condition, and corroborated everything her brother had stated.
Plank, the officer, here statedthat he had made every inquiry into the characters of the lodgers, which were very good. Bannister, one of the lodgers, said he was porter in the employ of Mr Irwin, hatter, of Oxford-street. On the night of the fire he heard some person walking in the apartment over him, and afterwards heard them come down and enter Miss Wright’s chamber. He thought it was the prisoner. Shortly after he was alarmed by hearing the chamber was on fire; it was adjoining his apartment. Bannister’s wife corroborated the above.
The prisoner, in her defence, denied the charge, and said her mistress’s clothes caught fire accidentally. She knew nothing of the other accident.
Mr Conant said, of all the cases he had ever heard of, he never knew one to equal the above in atrocity, and he had no doubt but the prisoner was guilty of something which he was afraid could not be brought against her, without the attendance of Mrs Wright; the evidence was defective unless it came from her own mouth. She being unable to attend, and taking the prisoner’s youth into consideration, he would order her to find bail to keep the peace towards her until Mrs Wright was able to attend herself. Mr W. assured the Magistrate that he would use every entreaty to make her come forward, but her situation at present was most dangerous.
Morning Herald, 17th January 1820.