Transcription
THE HADDINGTON MURDERS! The Life, History, and Transactions of Robert Emonds, with his Confession of the manner in
which he committed the Murders; also the Life and History of his wife, and Mrs Franks and
her daughter; together with the full particulars of Emond's Behaviour and Conversation in
the Jail up to this day,, Monday 15th February. IN laying before our readers the
following particulars respect-
ing Emond, we assure them that
they contain the substance of e-
very thing- that has transpired re-
garding that individual and his
unfortunate victims. To a gentle-
man in the jail, the North Briton
Newspaper,and a native of Selkirk
we are endebted for our informa-
tion. We shall therefore commence
with the history of Emond, as re-
lated to us by a school-fellow of
his own. Emond was born in Sel-
kirk, his father was a labourer,
and both his parents were account- ed people of quiet and bonest dis- positions. While at school Emond
showed various examples of his
cunning and ferocity, and would punished for faults which his low self to them. He was universally
hated and feared by his play fel-
lows, and so fiendish his disposi-
tion, that he was generally known
by the nick-name of the Fiend.
From the general hatred borne
to him in the village, through his
own hypocritical and disobliging
manner, he left it in the early part
of his life, and entered into his
majesty's service. After being
discharged, he returned to his
mother's, his father having died: his demeanour was uncommon good, attended divine worship re-
signs of inebriety. Having paid
attention to his education, and
could write a very good hand /ill/with
a knowledge of Arithmetic, and
at the same time very sensible in his conversation on a varicty of topics, he was advised to open a
school in the village, which, he did for some time; but as this is an employment not congenial to per- sons of a ferocious and impatient temperament, his cruelty soon
left his benches unocoupied. This
plan failing, he purchased a quan
tity of worsted, and other soft
goods, with which he travelled During his peregrenations as a packman, he met with his present wife who was know for many years all over the border by the
name of Highland Mary: she
was brought up on the Duke of
Gordon's estates, and came to
North Berwick as a Highland
shearer, and by industry and fru-
gality, by travelling with a pack, she was known often to have a stock of Lace, silk mercery, and other fashionable haberdashery
goods, worth from three to tour
hundred pounds. Her partiality
for Emonds astonished those who were acquainted with them, and his great sobriety and steadiness,
and being in possession of a pack
also Pretty valuable ; he was nev-
er seen to join in that social and
jocular bursts of good humour so
characteristic of scotch pedlars,
and which makes them receive so
hearty a welcome to the farmer's
blazing ingle. It is only three
yeare since Emond and his wife
took up house, first in Suderland
and then in North Berwick, and
it is said, with what truth we
know not, that their children were
born before their marriage was
publicly acknowledged. They
were far from being happy toge-
ther, as they had continud bick-
erings, and his usage of her was
very harsh.; in fact, her spiri was
so much broke down by him that
from the neat, clean, and tildy
appearance she was always
markable for, she become sloven- ly and quite careless of herself
she found her profits disappearing without knowing where, although
she was in possession of a very
good business, until she saw E- mond abstracting cash daily from the drawer and hiding it in a
coal cellar, where he had kept a hoard for some time. His wife and her sister Mrs
Franks had a considerable sum of money deposited in a bank in thier joint names. this sum,above two hundred pounds. Emond was wishing to get hold of to enter in. to a speculation which he said would make his fortune. the obstinate refusal of Mrs Franks,
and the repeated advice she gave
to her sister Dot to consent to it
was the reason he bore Mrs F.
such deadly enmity; and it was for antipathy against the haber-
dasher in the south, who supplied
Emond with goods, and whose
advice was asked by the sisters,
Under the influence of this feeling
he meditated revenge on the par-
ties and on the sunday before he
committed the horrid deeds, he
had a serious quarrel with his wife on the subject, and so savage was his determination that he actually
forced her to the side of a deep draw well and was in the act of throwing her bodily into it, when
she was happily rescued by a
woman who had heard her stiffled
cries The following is his own account of the manner in which he accomplished the murders: During the evening stricken
with remorse for his usage of his wife, he determind to be reveng- ed on the person he believed to be
the cause of his domestic disquieti-
tude, and accordingly left his ing she door inside, to make his
family believe that he was in bed,
and set out for Abbey with a pre-
determined purpose to murder Mrs
Franks. When he reached the
cottage he knocked at the garden
door, at the same time announcing himeself, and Mrs Franks knowing his voice, after a short time ad-
mitted him. 'T hen Emond con-
trived to lead her into convers-
ation, and having thus thrown
her off her guard, he struck her a
violent blow with a bludgeon,
which however, had not the effect
of stunning or depriving her of her
senses; for, strong with terror
and the love of life, she ran out
of the house and fled towards
the garden-door, pursued by Emond. He overtook her near the pigstye, seized hold of her,
cut her throat with his penknife and then threw her into the pig-
stye. He next bethought him
self that Magdalene Franks was
still alive and might bear wit.
ness against him ; so having dis-
patched her mother, be instantly
returned to the house, and beat in
the brains of the daughter with
some heavy instrument which he
calls a bludgeon, but which, from
the nature of the wounds indicted
must have had sharp angles. He had no sooner done so. however, then he was struck with remorse, and in order to conceal from his
view the shattered head of his in- nocent victim he covered it up hastily with the carpet. And hav-
ing thus murdered Magdalene
Franks, he took a table knife dab-
bed it in blood, stuck on it some,
gray bairs, torn from the bead of
Mrs Franks, in order to creat a
belief that the murders had been
perpetrated by this instrument,
and. then threw it carelessly from
him. Emond is about 36 years of age,
of a thin make and middle sized;
the following is a correct portrait. Mrs Franks enjoyed a pension
from the present Lord Elcbo's
grandfather, the earl of Wemyss,
whom her husband had long serv-
ed in the capacity of butler; to
this person his lordshiplately made
an addition. She was of a kind
and obliging disposition.
Magdalene was about fifteen years
of age, and remarkably pretty, at-
tentive to her lessons, and shewed
considerable aptness for the ac-
quisition of knowledge; she was
uncommonly dutiful to her mother
and to her acquaintances kind and
obliging; she was also very tiddy
and neat in her dress, and it was
affecting to observe her parasol,
frills, reticule, and sundry other
article, of wearing apparel lying
in the same state of careful order
in which she had left them, neatly
folded and covered, with handker-
chiefs, probably not many hours
before her young head was literally
shattered by the deadly blows of a
ferocious murderer- Indeed, from all we have learned of her. Mag-
dulere Franks appears to have
can a single child of nature the
more interesting that he was just ursting into womanhood: She was the favourite of every body ;
her beauty. her innocence, her
eleverness, her good humour and
narivele engaged the good will of
all whowere aceqneinted with her.
the old woman who streaked the
two bodies remarked that "Mag- dalene Frank was the pride or the village for her modest demean- our. and friendly way in which she
reated all who had the pleasure of
ceing her. Mrs Franks has a younger daughter surviving. and lives with her aunt, Mrs Emonds, who still retains the same premis- es in North Berwick but she has resumed her maiden name and got
Magdalene Munro" printed on
the sign-board above her shop door. Emond appeared quite compos-
ed during his trial, and after he
left the Court he remained silent
ill he had entered the Lock-np-
house, when he begged the turn-
key lor a draught of water, which
was given him ; alter which he ask
ed for bread, which be also got
and ate greedily. He then demand
ed his day's aliment, to purchase
pens, ink, and paper, and after
seme talk with Christie the turnkey
received sixpence in lieu of it He
exclaimed much against the evi- dence of Tait saying he never made such a declaration as that fellow swore to, to any person on earth, or until that moment when he acknowledged his guilt and
snidhe felt, much relieved in con-
ed to my fate' He ascribed bis the southside who he believed was
the cause of the mischief between
him and his wife; but he had
determined to publish the whole
history of the ease, as well as how the munder were done, and the great provocation he got Nothing
he said grieved him so much as the
thought of his poor mother, who
lives in Selkirk, and is now up- wards of foursconre, as he was sure his unhappy fate would bring her to the grave. He had also a brother he said for whom he was also a brother While eating his brand be ob-
served, " You may perhaps think I am a hardened man, but you are mistaken, Iam not ; and although
there can be no pardon in my case
from man, there is pardon from
the Almighty, and to that I trust.
About 5 o'clock tuesday morning.
Emond was brought to the Calton
Jail from the Lock-up-hoUse in a hackney coach : on alighting and
entering the ontler gate, and ap-
pearing to be in a very cheerful
and communicative mood, with A
great deal of levity in his manner
and bearing, be was accosted by
an individual present as follows -
Emond, I think you onght to drop
that levity now'. He replied, Mr -----I ,am happier now than I have been since I was in jail' Mr----- then said, I hope you are eased of
a burden by having made confes-
son, of the facts. To which he
answered, I never-denied them,
but have to acknowledge the jus-
tice of God in all things.' Mr----- then said, ' Emond are you guilty
of the murders or not ?' He repli-
ed in the affirmative; I am the man who committed the murder for which I am justly condemned.
He several times repeated the
words. God is just in all I his ways,
with reference to his own case;
this took place on his way from the
gate to his cell, After the trial was over a bed was made down for him: on his entering the cell and looking at the bed, he said,' I
suppose you have been prepared
for me during the day.' He was
answered 'Not so; the preparations have only been made since the trial was concluded.' He then
submitted very quietly to bo
ironed. During this appaling con-
versation his firmness and self-
possession continued unshaken,
and he slept soundly for several
hours thereafter. Emond frankly confesses that
he intended to commit suicide if
his trial went against him, but on
reading one of Doddridge's works
given him by a humane individual, convinced him that such an act would only add one crime more to the catalogue of his enormities.
His nights are passed in broken
slumbers, from which he generally
awakes in hurried starts, betraying
an awful state of mind which he
feels himself quite unable to de-
scribe. In the daytime he exhibits the same restlessness and uneasi- ness, and is haunted by the phan-
toms of his bleeding victim, until
his mind,overwhelmed by midnight
visions and day dreams of guilt
and punishment becomes excited
to a state bordering on frenzy,
under the influence of which he
talks wildly and incoherently; but
these paroxysms are seldom of very long continuance, as he generally finds relief in tears, and when he his mind is somewhat cased, he resumes his natural manner. He done not seem much concerned when the murder of Mrs Franks
is mentioned, but whenever the
name of Magdalene Franks is men.
tioned, or the idea shoots across
his mind, he is immediately seized
with the most dreadful fits of dis
pair, and exclaims, 'The innocent
blood calls for vengeance The
miserable wretch has not yet ex.
plained in what way he left the
premises When speaking of the
pen knife, he said ' Little did the
superintendent of police for Had-
ilington ken what the whittle did
which be carries in his pocket. To
those pious men who visit him he
converses freely- and seems anxious
to apply himself in the only way
that will entitle him to hope for
the pardon of his sins. Glass, Printer 9,S Niddry street, Edinburgh.
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