Biography

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In 1843, Louisa Baxter was born to Ann and John Baxter in Suffolk, England. She was baptized at St. Mary Church, Suffolk, where she would later get married. She worked as a laundress during her teen years. At the age of 27, Louisa married John Barker on July 17, 1871. John worked as a “maltster,” who prepared the malt from grain in order to create beer and spirits. They had two sons, Alfred Harry Barker in 1872, and Arthur Edward Barker in 1874. Both died in their infancy. In 1878, Louisa gave birth to a daughter named Jessica Nellie Barker.

 

Crime

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On the morning of January 16, 1877, John left for work, and Louisa took her daughter, Jessica Nellie, out into the washhouse and drowned her in a copper drum of water. According to testimony given by John, he returned home an hour after leaving and found Louisa with a butter knife in her hand and in a “great state of excitement.” On seeing her husband, Louisa dropped the knife, and John went through to the washhouse and found his daughter dead. He sent for medical assistance immediately.

 

Inquest

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The inquest into the death of Jessica Nelly Barker was held later that afternoon before C. C. Brooke, Esq. (coroner), and a “respectable” Jury. Louisa’s husband, John, gave his witness statement in which he described how he found his wife and deceased daughter. Mrs. Ann Shimming, the wife of John’s colleague, stated that she went to the Barker’s house and heard Louisa say, “I have drowned my dear baby, I am an unhappy woman.” Shimming also testified to Louisa’s love for her child and that a “better mother could not have been previously.” She also stated that John and Louisa had an “affectionate” relationship and Louisa did not exhibit any strange behavior, although she had been known to say she was unhappy and had suffered “severely” since her confinement. Other witnesses testified that they had not known her to suffer from mental illness, and she had a “good character.” Louisa was called to testify, and she stated that:

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            “I did it, but what made me do it I don’t know. I did my best for it as long as I could, and when it was ill, I got Mr. Hanley (surgeon) to it.”

 

Louisa appeared to be of sound mind at the time of the inquest and “sobbed and cried” as she signed her statement. John was recalled after Louisa’s account and attested to their happy marriage as well as her “odd” behavior” during her confinement as she had been “very dull and low-spirited; he though in consequence of her fretting.” After all the witness statements, the Jury returned a verdict of wilful murder against Louisa Barker.

 

            “She is a fresh-looking woman of about 30 years of age, and seems to have been a very industrious woman, and a good wife and mother.” – Description of Louisa at the Inquest

 

Trial

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The trial of Louisa Barker was held at the Suffolk Assizes before Mr. J. De Grey. Mr. Blofeld prosecuted the case while Mr. W. Wightman Wood appeared for Louisa. The newspapers did not offer much description of the trial but outlined the defense’s argument that Louisa was insane at the time of the crime. The Jury found her “Not guilty, on the ground of insanity” and she was to be held during “Her Majesty’s Pleasure.” She was held at Ipswich Prison before she was transferred to Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum.

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Broadmoor

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On her admission to Broadmoor Asylum, Louisa was diagnosed with “melancholia with delusions and a suicidal tendency.” By 1882, Dr. William Orange had stated that she had recovered from her disorder and had remained in a “tranquil frame of mind” and is not “likely to be dangerous to herself, or to others.” In his report on her mental state, Orange acknowledged that while she was recovering well, she could relapse if she fell pregnant again. He outlined that her family history of insanity – a brother and grandfather had died in an asylum – meant she was highly susceptible to mental illness. From the early nineteenth century, alienists considered “hereditary tendencies” as a leading factor in diagnosing insanity in patients. They believed that a family history of insanity identified a genetic predisposition for insanity in patients. This hereditary predisposition was directly linked to the diagnosis of puerperal insanity.

 

While the specific term “puerperal insanity” was not used in her medical records, her crime and symptoms mirror those attributed to the disorder. On her admission to the asylum, the cause of her insanity was identified as “pregnancy confinement.” Alienists’ linked the childbirth process directly to “puerperal insanity” and believed it to be one of the most curable disorders. However, the diagnosis also meant that a woman could recover, and then suffer from it once she got pregnant again. Puerperal insanity presented in two ways – mania and melancholia – and could be diagnosed in women from pregnancy to months after the birth of a child. The act of nursing, and its draining effects on the mother’s mind and body, was identified by alienists to cause puerperal insanity in its melancholia form.

 

“Melancholia presented as depressive episodes, delusions, a debilitated state of health, and suicidal thoughts in women.”

 

During her time at Broadmoor Louisa’s husband, John Barker petitioned for her conditional release and had displayed his “anxiety” for her discharge in his letters to Superintendent Orange. Dr. Orange stated in his examination that Louisa had recovered as much as she could in Broadmoor and would not benefit from continued detention. After providing “certificates of character” that proved John was a “respectable” individual who could support his wife, Louisa was released on March 17, 1882.

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After Broadmoor

 

Louisa was released into the care of her husband and she lived with him until her death in 1904 at the age of 60.