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Show IltmitlKLK TllEATMKNT OP A CHILD BY ITS MOTHER. At 10 o'clock yesterdny morning Mrs. Dorris Deckman, of Dutch Kills, was arraigned for the murder of her child. Tlio indictment i-hurges murder in I ho first degree. Tho child was about nine years of agj. She wa9 umrdired by inches from the first of Octoler, 1S70, to January, J 871 . She was oimpelled to pick refuse from the trutters and to beg from tho neighbors. The mother remonstrated with the neighbors, and would confine the child "i a room and whip her when she foun 1 that she had been beggirg. the pro.-Ocution called as the first witness, Dr. liyer. lie knew Dorris Dcekman. His attention was called to the child by her going to his store, lie gave the child medicine. Ho followed fol-lowed her to her mother's house. Mr. Deekman called him in and said he thought his child was dying. Two weeks afterward the child died. Made a )ost mortem examination. The girl was extremely emaciated, the features sharp and eyes sunken, chest expanded, expand-ed, ribs prominent, abdomen sunk, skin dry, tawny and in folds, muscles soft ami flabby, scalp partly debilitated debilita-ted with sores on tho left side, sores on the hands, and two on the iliac region. re-gion. Tne lungs normal and heart free foui fat. The spleen was of normal nor-mal size, stomach empty and partially distended with gas. The small intestines intes-tines were empty, and the large ones partially inflated with gas. Some of the glands were swollen and coat ex-temely ex-temely thin. The gall bladder extended to its utmost capacity. The bladder was empty. Death occurred from gradual grad-ual starvation, brutal treatment, and exposure. Dr. Denier gave corroborative corrobora-tive testimony. John Meyer deposed : I know the parties. The child asked my wife for a drink of water. I gave the child some food. The child's mother came down after it. I told the mother she should not kick the child. There was a noise up stairs in Mrs. Deekman's rooms. I told her if she beat the child so bad I would tell the police. The child was clothed very poorly. Mrs. Meyer deposed : The girl looked poor and sickly, and was poorl clothed. She never heard the child ask its mother for food. The child asked her for water and for coffee. Mrs. Deekman cautioned me not to give the child food. Saw Mrs. Deekman Deek-man whip thechild twice. , Mrs. Douglass deposed : The child seemed to he strong and healthy when I saw her. I saw the mother lift the child from the ground by the hair. She wotdd eat very ravenously. She was at times without her shoes in very cold weather. The child at one time had a black eye. There were two sores on her elbows. Tho child told me she had not had anything to eat during the day. At this pcint of the proceedings the court took a recess for ono hour. At 2 o'clock the court re-assembled Mr. Noble stated that he desired to withdraw the plea of not guilty, and enter a plea of manslaughter iu the fourth degree. The District Attorney said he was willing to accept the plea. The court sentenced her to imprisonment imprison-ment for six mouths. Had the plea not been accepted, her couns-cl -would have raised the statutory point that a woman is not legally responsible for omitting to provide food for her child. It was the general opinion among the lawyers that the indictment could not be sustained against her. New York Sun, May, 12. |
