The death under shocking circumstances of a married woman, named Hannah Church, at Bucklebury, near Newbury, has formed the subject of inquiry before the coroner. The deceased, who was rather more than fifty years of age, lived with her husband in a cottage close to Bucklebury Common. This morning the husband had left home to call upon a neighbour. On his return he found his wife was out, and after waiting about a quarter of an hour he heard his donkey bray louder than usual, and on going out saw that the animal had left its stable. The thought then crossed his mind that as his wife regularly went to the stable to feed the donkey, something might have befallen her. He went at once to the stable, where he saw stretched upon the ground the lifeless body of his missing wife. Her face was downwards, and her shoes, bonnet, cap, and apron had evidently been torn off by the donkey. One of her hands had been bitten completely through, and the bones were fractured. Even her stockings were much torn. She had been in the habit of feeding the donkey, but on no occasions during the three years the parties had had the animal had it shown any viciousness. The jury returned a verdict of “Kicked and bitten to death by a donkey".
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