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THE MEDIA "FRENZY" cont. The article recounts her partial life story (which one supposes was gleaned from the "ladies" at 14 Broughton Street although the article insinuates that they were not close to Edna): "It is now about two years ago since the victim of Sunday morning's tragedy came to Victoria. She was then an innocent girl of sixteen years of age. It was rumoured that she had eloped from a boarding school in lower California only to be deserted by the man to whom she gave her girlish affections. Away from home, with no friends near her and ashamed to return to her parents, it was not long before she drifted into a life of shame. Her name was given as "Edna" and her companions did not care to enquire further into her personality or her past. For some time she lived in a house of questionable character on Douglas Street, and then became an inmate of a house on Broughton Street, kept by Della Wentworth, one of the demi-monde, who claims to be the dead girl's half-sister." The article goes on to speculate as to why Edna killed herself in the first place: "Some think that the deed was committed in a moment of jealous despondency, because the dead girl imagined that her love was on his way to keep an appointment with some other frail one. Others, more merciful, say that in a moment of temporary insanity, the result of a reckless life, the self-murderess met her death." There is some evidence namely in the testimony of Dr.
Helmcken that Edna may have had more than just "temporary insanity".
He states in the inquest that he had treated Edna on a few occasions in
the past and that he was not really surprised by her actions as "she
was of a very excitable disposition" and "might commit suicide
on any small provocation." Although this is mere speculation on my
part, it is possible that the girl may have suffered from mental illness
due to venereal disease. If she really was 16 years old when she started
prostituting herself then it is certainly possible that she had picked
up something along the way. Again, I must stress that this is mere speculation
on my part. She could simply have been depressed. Click HERE to go to the basic facts of the Belle Adams case. |
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