Biography

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Rebecca Halpin was born on March 1853 in Cork, Ireland, to Anne and Patrick Halpin. Rebecca had a younger sister called Sophia Halpin, who was born in 1858 in Shorncliffe, Kent. Rebecca’s father was a Private in the British Army and had served overseas during his military career and was awarded a medal for his service during the Indian Mutiny (1857-1858). Rebecca married Richard Bell in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) around 1867, at just 14 years old. Several years later, Sophia, aged 16, followed in her sister’s footsteps and married Rueben James Lock, a British soldier ten years her senior in Bengal, India. Rebecca gave birth to at least two daughters in Bengal, India. Mary Ann was born in 1869, and Sophia Selina was born in 1873. However, both infants died before they turned two. Richard stated later that they had a third child while in India who also died in infancy. Rebecca and Richard moved back to England in the 1870s and had their fourth child, Lucy Harriet, in 1876 at Shorncliffe Camp, Kent. They moved to the Lancaster Barracks, where Richard accepted the position of Staff Sergeant with the First Royal Lancashire Militia.

 

Crime

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According to contemporary newspaper articles, on August 7th, 1877, Rebecca walked to the canal with her daughter, Lucy Harriet, and attempted to drown herself and the child. After drowning Lucy, she tried to drown herself but was unsuccessful. Just an hour before the incident, Rebecca had left the house of Mr. and Mrs. Walters, family friends and neighbors, whom she had eaten with that evening. Mrs. Elizabeth Walters stated that Rebecca seemed “in her usual condition” when she left them. Rebecca was discovered by Mr. James Condon, a post-messenger, who heard a “gurgling sound” when he was crossing Friarage Bridge over the canal and ran to see her holding onto the banks. When he approached her, Rebecca admitted to him that she had drowned her child, and he helped her out of the water. Mr. Condon then walked her “with no resistance” to the police station. The body of Lucy was not found at the scene and would not be discovered for several days.

 

According to Superintendent Pye, when Rebecca entered the police station, she stated:

 

            “I feel I am in the way. I cannot lay out my husband’s money to advantage the same as other women. I cannot cut out anything. I cannot keep house. I feel I am in the way. I had made up my mind two or three days since to drown the child. I did not want to leave it behind me for people to knock about.”

 

Inquest

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At the Inquest to investigate the death of Lucy Harriet Bell, Richard offered evidence to Rebecca’s state of mind leading up to the crime. He stated that “there was a strange appearance about” her in the days leading up to the murder. Richard had been away in Blackburn at the time of the crime and returned the day after Rebecca was arrested. He stated that she had been complaining of “pains” in her head and had been very unsettled when he left. He offered examples of her behavior that underlined her mental instability since the birth of their daughter. He said she was prone to suddenly stopping what she was doing to “look for things she had not lost, or that she did not want.” She also had periods when she would have a “vacant stare in her eyes.” He summarized that she had lost three of their children in infancy, and now “all of their children were dead.” Mrs. Elizabeth Walters, an “intimate friend” of Rebecca, supported Richard’s statements and outlined that Rebecca would suffer from severe headaches and also exhibited a fondness for her daughter. Mrs. Walters also stated that on the night of the crime, Rebecca had expressed disappointment that her husband had not returned that night and said that while she drank a “little whiskey and water” at supper, she was perfectly sober. On this evidence, the jury found a verdict of “wilful murder” against Rebecca.

 

Trial

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The trial opened before Mr. Justice Lush at the Manchester Assizes. Mr. Shea prosecuted the case, while Mr. Addison defended Rebecca. In his opening statement, Mr. Shea outlined the timeline of the case and underlined that Rebecca had drunk a “little whisky” an hour before the incident. Due to evidence given by the police constables, witnesses, and Rebecca’s confession, the lawyers’ strategy was not to prove Rebecca’s guilt, but rather her criminal responsibility and state of mind. Mr. Addison, the defense lawyer, asked “very few questions in cross-examination” of the prosecution witnesses. Instead, he argued that Rebecca could not be found criminally responsible as she was “bereft of her reason” and had a “painful” life. He outlined that the loss of her three children in India due to the “exposure to the climate” and “unsettled camp life” resulted in her developing a “morbid fondness” for Lucy. Dr. M’Call, the chief surgeon of the regiment, had attended Rebecca after childbirth and found her to be mentally deranged for around 50 to 60 hours and required constant supervision. Mr. Addison offered more witnesses to support his narrative; however, they were not called as the Judge stated that their testimony was not necessary for the jury to make a decision. They found her “not guilty on the grounds of insanity,” and she was to be detained “during her Majesty’s pleasure.”

 

Newspapers reported on every aspect of the murder, from the Inquest to the trial. Many outlets reported in their coverage that Rebecca “was no doubt suffering from insanity” at the time of the murder. For example, The Leicester Chronicle, on August 18th, 1877, reported that it was also clear that she had “previously exhibited signs of mental disorder, though they were not considered by her husband to be of such a nature as to lead her to commit” murder.