15th September 1880
Jersey girl is killed by a slamming door
Centenier Le Feuvre was doubtful when, on dispatching one of his constables to Fort Regent to investigate the death of a four-year-old girl, the constable returned with a somewhat unusual story: a report that the girl, Catherine Barker, had been killed by a slamming door. Unable to leave it at that, Le Feuvre visited the fort himself to check the facts of the case.
Story rings true
At the subsequent inquest, reported in the The Jersey Weekly Press and Independent, he told the court that “I found his statement was quite correct. I saw the body of the deceased, and on examining it discovered two wounds on the back of the head… and noticed traces of blood upon the ground near, and on the door.”
The army surgeon, who had returned to Fort Regent from Elizabeth castle around 20 minutes after the accident confirmed that the door had fractured the girl’s skull. Examining the door, he noticed that the lock was badly worn, allowing the strong wind to catch it, despite the fact it was “not partly open, but pushed right back”.
Girl given brandy
The young girl wasn’t killed outright and the first people on the scene reported that she was gasping for breath. A staff sergeant pulled out her tongue to aid her breathing before giving her brandy, at which point he noticed cuts to the back of her tongue, caused by her teeth. She died ten minutes later. The jury passed a ruling of accidental death and recommended that the door in question be better fastened in the future.
FREE Jersey history newsletter
Don't miss our weekly update on Jersey's fascinating history. We promise never to sell your data to anyone else, and there's a super-easy unsubscribe link on the bottom of each email so you can leave whenever you want.
Other events that occured in September
Freemont Point transmitting station opens
- The 139m transmission tower at Freemont Point was built by the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to serve the whole Channel Islands.
- Read more…
The Superb is wrecked on Minquiers
- Despite good visibility and flat seas, the captain of the Superb still managed to drive his steamer onto Minquiers.
- Read more…
Normandie 3 starts delivering power to Jersey
- Normandie 3 is a 35km-long, £45m cable linking Jersey to the French power network that went into service in September 2014.
- Read more…
The mail packet ‘Express’ is wrecked
- The Express mail packet hit rocks close to La Corbiere on a journey from Weymouth to Jersey via Guernsey.
- Read more…