THE BABY FARMERS

Children are the purest form of innocence. As parents, we are meant to protect them and help guide them through life, shaping their morals and values, while sharing our love and passing down family traditions. When a child's life is taken too soon, the average person would experience immediate sadness and grief, regardless of the situation or circumstances. On the other hand, there are those who are so emotionally detached and display no empathy towards the life of another human being, let alone a child. Meet John and Sarah Makin, two of the most sadistic killers of the late 1800's. Their specialty: killing young children.

Sarah was born on December 20, 1845 in Sydney, Australia, as an only child. John Makin was born in February of 1845 in New South Wales, being the fourth out of 11 children. Both John and Sarah had previous marriages that had failed; however, they decided to take another chance at love getting married on August 27, 1871. John worked as a drayman for a brewery and eventually, they ended up having four children together, all girls. During this time John suffered a severe accident and was unable to continue working. Together the family had to come up with a plan to make some quick money fast. They became intrigued by the idea of taking care of "illegitimate" babies; the people that did this were classified as "baby farmers." John would negotiate payments with the mothers, ranging from £3 to £5, and would sign papers, showing full responsibly of the child. During this time period, the mortality rates for babies that were separated from their mothers at birth were extremely high, even public institutions were known not to admit the true percentages.

On October 11, 1892, a drainer was working, trying to dig and clear out an underground drain in the backyard of a house in a small suburb of Sydney called Macdonaldtown. James Hanoney began to notice a foul smell as he examined the cause of the blockage. He removed two bundles of foul-smelling baby clothing from the drain, soon discovering that the clothing actually contained the remains of two badly decomposed infants. The worker immediately notified the local police department of his discoveries, but nothing could prepare the police for what they were about to discover. Once at the scene, they uncovered five more infant corpses in various locations of the backyard. The detectives took a look back at the records of prior tenants who had lived in the household, which led them to the previous owners, 50-year-old John Makin and 47-year-old Sarah Makin.

The search of a nearby house in Redfern led to the discovery of the remains of even more babies. Police worked quickly to track down the Makin family and soon found them at their current home, located near Chippendale. The entire Makin family was placed under arrest, including their daughters. John and Sarah were both charged with murder. Even more remains were found in the backyard of their current home, raising the body count to 12 infants in total.

The trial was held at the Sydney Supreme Courthouse, in March 1893. The courtroom was packed with people who wanted to witness the live testimony. Excessive crowds gathered outside waiting for updates. The defense stated that the Makin's were professional "child minders," who took care of babies until their mothers come back to take the child, or had a family ready for adoption. The prosecution, on the other hand, told a much different story, stating that the Makin's had found an easy method to make money and profit from the babies if they murdered them. They collected weekly fees from the mothers, who were prevented from seeing their children through deception. The Makin's story remained consistent, denying any wrongdoing. They stated they had no knowledge of keeping any babies or taking the lives of babies.

The first witness to take the stand was Amber Murray, who at 18-years-old gave birth to her son Horace. She described how she was unable to care for the child, so she offered him up for adoption in the Sydney Morning Herald. She stated that she wanted a kind and loving mother to adopt her son. She also stated that she would pay a weekly premium for the child's support. She received a positive reply from a couple in the working class from the suburb of Redfern in Sydney, Australia. She soon met the couple and their two daughters. The family seemed to love Horace right from the start, claiming they couldn't wait to take him and give him a ton of love and attention. Amber stated she didn't find it odd that there were 6 other babies in the house because the Makin's stated they were watching them for other friends for a short period of time, also known as "baby minding." Amber felt very confident and believed she was making a great decision for young Horace. She made an agreement with the family to pay money each week, and they stated that she could visit Horace from time to time. John Makin arranged to call Amber each week to collect the money, but every time she asked to see young Horace, there was some type of an excuse. One day in particular, John Makin told Amber, as he was collecting more money, that the family had decided to move from Redfurn to Hurtsville, which was in the western Suburbs of Sydney. He stated that he would forward the address to her within six weeks, once they had settled in, but he was still collecting money week by week. In reality the Makin's were not actually moving to the western suburbs, instead they moved to nearby Macdonaldtown, at the darkest time of night.

Two other witnesses were in fact their own daughters, who chose to go against them in court. Clarice Makin, who was 16 years old at the time of the trial, stated a piece of clothing found on one of the corpses was indeed in her mothers possession at one time or another. The other daughter, Daisy Makin, stated that only two baby girls were with them at the time of the move from Redfern to Macdonaldtown, showing that young Horace had already been dead and buried at Redfurn. More grieving parents were called to the stand as the mothers identified clothing that was pawned off by Sarah Makin that belonged to the children. Another couple testified, stating they delivered their child to the Makin's with a down-payment and agreed to payments each week until they could figure out their affairs and living arrangements. They had made plans to come back for the child once they got things figured out, but oddly enough, within days the baby had died unexpectedly, with no valid reasoning given from the Makin's. The family offered to cover the funeral costs for the Makins, but the Makin's did not attend the funeral.

The townspeople were enraged by the case. A verdict was finally reached in March 1893, sentencing both John and Sarah Makin to death. The judge promised to pass on to the executive council of New South Wales to grant mercy on Sarah Makin in her defense. Two appeals were later dismissed and John Makin was hung on August 15, 1893 on the gallows at Darlinghurst Gaol. Sarah Makin was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labor at the State Reformatory for Women at Long Bay. She was eventually released in 1911, serving only 19 years behind bars and died on September 13, 1918. The case of John And Sarah Makin will never be forgotten. It arose awareness to the business of "baby farming" and led the New South Wales Legislative Assembly to establish the Children's Protection Act of 1982, which stated to bring care of any orphaned or destitute children under state control. The unforgettable case of 12 infants being murdered and buried in a backyard proves that looks can be deceiving and evil can live within anyone. The Makin's brainwashed young women, gaining their trust, when in fact they were cold-blooded killers who wanted nothing more than money to better their lives, totally disregarding the lives of others.