Part Two: The Arrest

On Wednesday, February 1st. Esther Pay, a 35-year-old married woman was brought before Mr. Partridge at Westminster Police Court. She was charged with suspicion of causing the death of Georgina Moore.

HER MOTIVE WAS JEALOUSY

At the trial, the Inspector's testimony revealed a curious fact – during the train journey to London, and even before, the prisoner repeatedly asked him to invite Mr. Moore to ride in the same carriage with them. She also dropped hints intended to implicate the father in the murder of his own little girl. For instance, Esther said to Inspector Marshall, "Well, don't be surprised if he runs away, and then you'll find that the most guilty party is gone."

Mr. Partridge: "You're sure she said 'the most guilty'?"

The Witness: "Oh, yes. We were never alone during any part of the journey. Later on, she said, 'This child was killed out of spite towards Moore, because he has treated women very badly, and one that I know worse than me, and has treated me badly enough. Why don't you find them? Then you might be on the right track. One can only die once, and I won't die a coward. That's all.'"

THE FUNERAL AND PUBLIC OUTRAGE

A large demonstration occurred in Pimlico at the funeral of Georgina Moore that Saturday afternoon. The coffin was placed in an open car, and a crowd of over two thousand people gathered near the parents' residence on Winchester-street.  

When the father was seen entering one of the mourning coaches, he was met with boos and hisses. A large police force struggled to protect him from the mob's anger. A strong line of officers had to be formed around the vehicle, accompanying the procession to the burial site at Brompton Cemetery. The crowd grew larger along the route, and the demonstrations continued.

The scene at the cemetery was shocking and disturbing. The crowd's behavior was so threatening that the police decided to lock Mr. Moore in the chapel, preventing him from attending the graveside service or returning with the other mourners. He wasn't released to go home until after dark, when the crowd had dispersed.

MR. MOORE'S STATEMENT

Georgina’s father stated that although he had suffered greatly from the public's anger towards him since the court proceedings, he was certain that nothing the suspect could say would affect him.

He admitted to having been to Yalding, but not for two years, and neither he nor the accused tried to talk to each other at the train station after the arrest.

Moore stated that he accompanied the suspect (Pay) to London Bridge on the night of Saturday, the 28th of the previous month. He didn't believe she was going to Yalding until he saw her buy a ticket for that station at Charing Cross. He wanted to know if she was really leaving London, so he accompanied her on the train as far as his destination.

Almost the entire journey, she talked about Georgina, and she begged him to write and let her know if any information was found about her. In fact, ever since the girl went missing, she had expressed the greatest concern about the child's fate – whom she claimed to be very fond of – and she had often visited or sent someone twice a day to inquire about her.

Georgina had often gone for walks with Esther, and if she had met her and asked her, his daughter would have undoubtedly gone anywhere with her.

Georgina had an older brother, but Esther had never shown the same interest in him.

MRS. PAY AND GEORGINA MOORE: THE INVESTIGATION

The diligent reporters had made it clear days before that there would be significant evidence presented at the Westminster Police Court on Wednesday.

But it might be most impactful to present this information in a narrative form.

There's strong evidence suggesting that Georgina Moore was murdered in Yalding on the evening of the day she left her home. The date of the murder is determined in an unusual way – by the partially digested food found in her stomach. The mother remembers that the little girl ate a lot of bread and milk for breakfast and had a good portion of currant pudding for dinner. Food of the same kind was found by the doctors who performed the autopsy.

The mother can also confirm that the child hadn't changed her clothes because she had dressed her on the morning of December 20th, and the fastenings and the way the clothes were arranged hadn't been altered.

WITNESS ACCOUNTS

Early in the afternoon in question, Georgina was allegedly seen by some of her playmates and acquaintances in the company of the suspect on the street in Pimlico. A constable named Hill also saw the little girl with a woman whose face he didn't see but who matched the accused in height and other details.

However, other theories were presented. Mr. Poland, the prosecutor, dismissed the idea that the child had been murdered in London by a man and then transported to Yalding as absurd. He emphasized that while each piece of evidence might not be conclusive on its own, when considered together, they pointed to the prisoner as the one who lured the child away from Pimlico and then committed the murder in Yalding.

The prisoner was seen talking to the child in Westmoreland-street, the last time she was seen alive. Witnesses testified to seeing her in the Yalding area with a child that same night, and others saw her at the Yalding train station with her mother the following morning. The defense questioned the reliability of these witnesses' memories, but it was up to the jury to decide whether to believe them.

MRS. PAY’S MOVEMENTS

In the interviews Inspector Marshall had with her before her arrest, she only accounted for her time on the afternoon and night of December 20th by stating that she was with her sister-in-law, Mrs. Rutter, walking around Fulham, Hammersmith, and King's Road, Chelsea, window-shopping.  

She couldn't name any specific place they had been to or where she had eaten dinner. Mrs. Rutter only provided a vague confirmation of the suspect's story.

The suspect didn't get home until almost midnight on the night of December 20th, and she then said that she was soaked through from the rain and was very tired.

Stay tuned for the shocking conclusion ….