Star. — London, England, 1816-04-08 00:00:00

7> in ce KINGSD3N4SSIZES,.4PRIL 5. PA URIC! DM Richard Russell was indicted for the wilful murder of his owu father, at Thames Oitton, on the 26. h of October last. Mr. BCLLAND stated the case on the part of dm prose( in ion. Thomas Francis deposed, that he resided at Thames Di•ton ; knew the deceased, who also lived there : knew the prisoner eleven years, who had been abroad, but had lately come from sea ; remembers seeinghim on tl,e 26cbof October, in the evening, meat- his fa ther's house ; he was dressed in a blue jacket and trcwsers, and glazed hat, and was proceeding to wards his lather's. Saw him again on the following vetoing going Om the house, of his father towards E her. Jonathan Coombe also saw the prisoner on the 27th 0 1 October, proceeding from the house of the de ceased towards Esher, and, bid him good bye ; had known the prisoner for years. Joseph Bland deposed, that on the 26th of October lie was returning home to Esher, when he met the prisoner and his father walking home together. It was about six o'clock in the evening; the prisoner was dressed in a blue jacket and trowsers ; the de ceased was in conversation, and said, come, let us go home, l have got a little prevision there, although a ll my children have lett me." The deceased and pri soner then hid him good night. James Hebbarti lives at Cobhans—knew the de- ceased, and remembers hearing of his murder, on 'Easy morning, the 27th of October. On the even betr.re he saw a man in the garden of the de wed, dressed in a blue jacket and trowsers, stooping beneath a !ledge ; at ter a short time he rose up, looked A bout, and then went into a turnip field. In abrut an hour atter saw the deceased in his own house ; not long after witness had gone into his own house, he hog& a noise in the ;louse of the deceased, as if some pason bad tumbled doviu stairs. The mother of wit ness immedittely tan out and asked, • " What's the matter i" A voice instantly replied, 6. , Nothing."— Witness thought he heard a person as if violently sick and vonating in the house, aed soon after heard some one come down and luck the door ; witness bolted cut and saw a man going from the places Mary flubbard confirmed the testimony of the last witness, and stated in addition to the noise, and seeing a man go - from the gate t f the deceased, that tat die morning of the 27th she discovered a quantity of blood About the door of the deceased. Could not tell how the man the saw leave the door of the de- ceased was dressed• Thomas Hampton keeps the Coach and Horses poblic-house at kingst6n ; remembers a man dressed ioa blue jacket and tit-ts-ars, and a shining hat, caning to his house on the evening of the 16ib of October, about eight o'cleck, and inquiring for a re turn chaise to Loridon. The man was excetdingly warm, and hail some rum to drink. He paid him by changing afl note. On the following morning witness heard of the murder of the deceased, and found, upon txamining. the note, there appeared upon ita slight mark ct blood, as if impressed w iiti the thumb AV iiness had kept the note in his posstissioli erer since , and now pro:',uced ir. William Wr;glit livid in f:ireenwich in Ociober tut. knew Cie ptisi in. r, who e. ),,ung woman, now the wile of the prisoner, lived in the Louse of the wimess at the tune. About balf.past tut o'clock be was disturbed from hes bed by the pfiso art, sit kn at the door and asked to come in. Witness at:visea him to go to his own tottglivo, but he reused n very violent language. The clung tit. :!.i. t!:e noise, got up, and e n treated the titoess to i.'t r, m in, as he oppe.tred to be in iiquur. and tile prisoner slept on a cat pet, on the ti: s! 11 u 7. 'Cite prisoner said he had been to bow, wl,t t• ;:ac!.got some money from his uncle. Cli; is; sail NtLvi;it: li pr op: letOT ot the Tor itay puhiic house, a: Greenwich. The prisoner lodged there seven weeks, arid dept at li nne on the 25tis of October last. A pers , ,n :.arried li..lniptain also. lodged there. On the nanin. ; o! tic the prisoner lest the house exult bah •past nine o'cls.ck. He eici not return home tlintiaY, Inr did he sleep there.that night. On the coruhig of the 27th, 'however, he came and asked 1%116 bill, which witness handed to him ; it amounted lea Pl.. and the prisoner tendered a £lO note. Vitness d'.d not know of the prisoner having any witt, bcfore, and he said that he had got the money from his uncle—knew the prisoner had been ire tilently at the Prize•oflice, at Greenwich, to apply klmr)ner, but did not receive it. lhi mas Carter resides at Hare•lane, near the house al deceased. There is a road and foot-path lead rr from the door to Esher. On the morning of the 27th of October witness was alarmed by the neigh turg, on account of blood being perceived about the scar of th e d ecease d. Wi tness got a l a dd er , and orirT, kulred in at the chamber window of the de- oh.Lerved a man lying apparently dead on the. Itivlive, it): ced in toe window, be found that to deceased, who was covered with rugs and a bolster, Ltd been murdered. A hammer was lying near the body, and he was covered with blood. Jan R , ,sseli is brother to the prisoner. Remem- Leo heating of the murder of • his father on the 27th of October. The hammier which was found near his 11 "dY Was one in general use in the house, and his ;tiller kept his money in a tin box, which was pad .,Fcked• certain that, about three weeks before me ratirder );ad been committed, his father had de tc!ited in the bex, two notes of £l9 each, and one iA (4 On tte rh:lning when the murder was dis it.rered tl,c i'/LA Was found open, and the money gone. M. a $ll-geon residing at Thames Ditto:), Cal: t 1.9 Lel 9 l.lle the body of the deceased, and that two fractures had been inflicted on the , r art of the he a d, anot h er h a d been effected t!;' 'ernporal bone, and one on the back of the Zezi Thvse appeared to have been done with an t.nm or blunt i nstrument ; hi s t h roat was a l s o tut, .! I :is de at h was occasioned in consequence. 4sePh Wal ter i s k eeper o f t h e Hour of Correc at Kingsto n ; the prisoner was brought in cos hitn " I t the 300. of October. On the fol tg day the brother of the prisoner came to see rt6 t; ,'ltness went with him into the apartment ard tt was confined, and his brother immediately tred to (14) q 9 and said—s 4 Richard, how came you Th e h at You h:tve done to b 0 good a father ? '— Prisone r 4)44 he L. — made no r eply, an d witness left the =4 Scarcely dvue so, when he beard the prisoner say." William, I am the mall that Billed your father." In about ten minutes afterwards, he went again into his room to give him 114 bread and. water, when, without asking him a question, lie ad dressed himself to witness, and micie the following confession : On Thursday evening, the 26th of October, I met my father returning from Esher ; I went home with him, and struck a light, and we went up stairs to my father's bed-room, when the latter went to his box to take out some money, saying—' let us go back to Esher, Richard, and have some drink.%-- During the time that my father was standing over the box, I took up a small hammer, which was in the room, and hit him on the head. I afterwards re peated the blow three or four times, when he fell, tnd to prevent the groans of my. father, I took out a knife, from my jacket pocket and cut his throat. I then took from the tin box two notes of ten pounds each, and a two pound note, seven guineas in gold, and one half guinea. I afterwards came down stairs, locked the street dour, and was about to leave the place through the garden and a turnip field, but re. tinned, and went out of the front door, which flocked after me, and put the key in my pocket. I then went away through the outer gate, and after going some distance from the house, I threw away the key of the door, and the knife, and proceeded as quick as I could ti, Kingston. Here I inquired if I was in time for one of the coaches to London ? but was told not. A person mentioned, that if I went to the Coach and Horses public house, I might probably get a return chaise. I accord:ugly went there, :ind engaged one to take me to the Elephant and Castle ; previous to which, however, I called fur half a pint of rum, for which I trollied in payment, to be changed, a rel note. I then drove off towards town, and upon my arrival at the Elephant and Castle, I pursued my way to Greenwich. Upon my arrival there I went to the house of Mr. Wright-, where I slert. On the following morning 1 went to Mr. Ne ville, the landlord of the Torbay public house, and asked for my bill, which amounted to betwethr seven and eight pcunds. In payment of this, I tendered one of the stlo notes belonging to my father, and re. caved the change. With one of the guineas also, which I took from the box, I purchased a c..edding ring for the young woman whom I immediately af terwards married. With the rest of the money which I took from niy father, I cannot account, not know ing what I did with it." The prisoner, 'in his • defence, declared his c m piece innocence of the crime imputed to him. Mr. Justice ALBuTT having summed up the evi dence, the Jury retired, and in a few.minates tetur ned with a verdict. finding tie prisoner Gray. Mr. Justice Ann err immediately proceeded to pass upon him the awful sentence of the law, animadver ting, in the most bolerrin manner, upon the heinous ness of his parricidal c,imr , at.d entreating him to appropriate to prayer Hod rtpentAnce the tew hours he had got to live. hie concluded by ordering the prisoner to be executed on Monday morning nest, and his body to be anatomised. T:ie prisoner throu 3 hout secured whe'dy unnE-c -ted at his situation, heard his santet.ce comp. sure, and when taken from t. c bar exillirac4i 4 ' It is a hard thing I should tic innoc•mt." ell A ItGF: OF FOISON Elizabeth Mary Miller, at!ed nineteen, was indicted for the wilful mintier of Elizabeth Anhe Newman, by ing to her .a certain dead:y pisken, led arscnic, in the parish 0± St. Mary, Laii:betli, on to 13th Sersenit , er last. Mr. ESPI,:A•SE: b. the case on the part of the prowctition. • E t•les Jeri:vid, that she lived in the service •if NIT. butcher, at Lambeth, three years. %Vas there in t:.e month of SepterniszT List. I - hr 0 aster had two tilihiteit, one of wlvieti (the :leceas ed) was two year: and a flail old. On the 13th of Septemher she and her enisLiess bad been out walk. ;n g with the children, and trey returned. :tboitt halt. past seven o'clock in the evennig. Her mistress cr• dried her to get stinkr rnagnesia and rlinharb tor the child, en, and the Prisoinn brought up the gi net for their supper, which h td been prepared by iier tor that purpose. Her mistress then gave the chi:siren some of the gruel and medicine, and witness after wards preceeded to undress the youngest. The hi. sorter was engaged undress. the d:CI4Sed• So in after. the youngest child exhibited symptoms of sick ness, and in a short time the deceased child came running to her mother, crying bitterly ; and being asked by the latter, whether her father had been beating her, she said not, and asked to be reeked in her mother's lap 1 Shortly afterwards the deceased was taken violently ill with a vomiting, and soon alter the youngest child, was affected in a similar Wanner. The lather of the child then came in, and the Prisoner was called, when the former said to her, " what have you been doing with the gruel ?" The Prisoner replied, " nothing ;' and the question being repeated, she still denied, but burst into tears. A basin, containing part of the gruel which had hien made, was then brought info the room from the parlour, and Newman then said to the Prisfiner— " Here. then, if you hare dune nothing to the gruel, drink some of it yourself." The Prisoner again cried bitterly, but refused to drink the grua Witness then took two dessert spoonsful of the gruel herself; soon after felt a burning beat in her mouth arid sw. mach, and a disposition to vomiting. The Prisoner was then ordered to go for Mr. Dixon, an apothe. cary, which she did. Returned soon atter with him —the distance she went was about half a mile, and she must hare gone with great expedition. Upon the arrival of the Doctor, the Prisoner was ordered to bring the basin abseil contained the gruel that had net been used, also the remainder of the grits.— These, together with the cup and its dregs, were locked up .I by direction of Mr. Dixon. The latter, after remaining a short time, desired some person to be sent with him for the necessary medicine for the children. Tile Prisoner accordingly went, and re- Attrned without mach delay. The children, how ever, got worse; the eldest particularly, whose sick ness increased.to - a violent degree,-and wno languish-, ed in great agony till the following morning, when she 'lied. At this time the prisoner had locked her self up in her bed-room.; and 'upon being informed , of what had happened, sheexclaimed, in bitter terms, " Good GOD, what shall I d. ? 1 ! 'Cross-examined by Mr. NgLAN.—The prisoner was deeply affected, and wept much, when she heard the child had died. Witness knew her master's ... . . . house was infested with rats. A. person named skin- i ner. a rat-catches, .was i n t h e h a bi t o f com i ng there ! with parcels and papers for their destruction. There were several jars in the kitchen. and in these were kept parcels, in paper, of rice, spices. &c. There were similar parcels in the cupbOard. IVittvss could not say precisely what they contained. She slept 1 with the prisoner, who had •tily an open hos in her room, to which any person might have had access. Remembered a person of the name of Shaw, who also frequented the house of her master as a rat catcher, and used certain parcels. Anne Newman deposed, that she was mother of the deceased child. On the evenin of the 13th September she went o ut w i t h her chi ldren to walk, . having previously ordered the prisoner to get money from her master 10 buy grits, and make some gruel. Upon her return home, she desired the last witness IAO bring a little magnesia and rhubarb in a wine glass. The prisoner had brought up the gruel in a basin. Some of this was put into a coffee-cup with the medicine, and administeted to the children.— Soon after, they were affected violently ; and upon , the entrance of her husband into the room, and seeing the state of his children, the prisoner was call ed up, and asked about the grits she had purchased. Witness had bough no arsenic herself, nor did she know of any being in the house. Mr. Dixon deposed that he was an apothecary.— The prisoner came to his honse on tilt. 1.5 , 11 of Sep tember in the evening, and stated that lit was'want ed immediately. Upon his arrival at Newman's,,he found the two children dreadfully ill. He immedi itely ordered the gruel and other things to be locked rip. One of the children died the following morn inq, and he iii consequence analysed cw. guile!, ;old found in it ingredients of arsenic. 'lir? prisoner was the person WllO cone home with him for the medi• chic from the house of Mr. Newman. He asked !ler if she was th e y ou et wran-in who made the gruel, and of what it was mad:. ? Th, prisoner :An swered she was, and bad made it of grits. He then 1 . asked whether or no she had added airy thing to the gruel ? She replied, she had thickener] it with oat meal, which had been in th!! :loose a month before for one of the men who had got . a cold. The symp toms he had perc, , ived were those uniformly arisieg from arsenic in the somata ; and he was of opini,•ll that, in the present case, the death of the child was produced in this way. Ct oss-exa mined by Mr. NOLA N.—The prisoner was ' most impost:mate in begging i.: , .atzterdance to repair to the house when the clildren were aitteee.d. White arsenic, generally used for destroling rats, might 1 easily be mistaken for oatmeal. Richard Newman was father to the deceased child. His dwelling and slaughter-house were very much infested with rats; but he did not think there was any arsenic in or about his house when the accident happened. About taro years ego he saw a powder exposed in a h i !do w for the destruction of rats ; hr purchased several papers cif it, and placed it about. 1 Finding no good effects from this, he employed a I person named Skinner, and afterwards one Walker, 1 in Jane or July, who undertook to destroy the rats as he pleased, but was not aware that that person had left any of Lis papers or ingredients about the house. Cross.examined by Mr. NOLAN.—Skinner, the rat catcher, had laid some of his papers in the kitchen as well as whet places; remembers Walker being em plo)eJ iii that way about t‘'era tnonths before the ac , cickn: ; his preparations were like white paste, and 1 sveie rolled in white pow Ar. i i Henry W.:liter, rat.catthcr anal hairdresser, ob. : tained if 1>,,: er;t:iess p.•:-'d meat, which, bring I chopp-d fire, was mixed with arsenic, and rolled to -1 gteeer in on" body, till it presentee: ihe appearance' if fl.:•ut. 'nits coramosit;en he afterwards divided 1 1 in:o svveral p4reels of p irer, and &straw:x.l them IbehinJ the evamscots, the Lutes under the stones, and in vie suet-drawer. Soeie of the parcels were relied I up, :1;1,1 went! were laid (yen. He irequemly called I t Newman's to see the effect, but feund the parcels as be left them ; any pets,tl might carry them away. 1 I Henry Mills, a servant to Newman, remembers being told by atiotl;er perso.r, that one of the rat papers was lying in the dust of the shop, when he went at:d tc..)l( it nut, and tlica placed it in the kitchen window ; did nat know whit became of it afterivards. There was no defence ; and. Mr. instice havinishortly addressed the Jury, attributing the unfortunate death of the child to accident merely, the girl WAS it stantly acquitted. CHAIOSIO OF 140116F.R. Ridard Collins was indicted for the wilful murder of Richard Woods, his master, at Elstead, on Men• day, the I lth of September last, with a certain prong Or pitchfork. Anne Woods deposed, that she was daughter to the deceased ; the prisoner was his servant; remem bered that on the morning of the day stated in the indictment, the prisoner had his breakfast in the usual way, arid left the house to go to work. About Itl:past nine o'clock he returned to the house, went u 2 stairs, and brought down 'some clothes upon his arm ; he looked pale, and witness asked him what was the matter ? He made no answer, but went into the yard ; witness went up stairs, and, saw him from a winch,* take the large tuck and put it in the stable. He then came and stood motionless, looking upon something on the grurnd; witness ran down to we the cause, and met the prisoner at the dour. She again asked him what was the matter ? when he re plied, " Master and I have been fighting ; I have killed him, and he is nigh dead." Witness begged of him, for HE.svg:'s sake, to tell all about it, but he went away from the house. She then went into the yard, and found her father with his face on the ground, claim dead. Remembers saying to the pri. soner, •• Oh ! Collins, you wicked man, how came you tu kid my poor faille' ?" when he replied, ~ I have done it ;it can't be helped---the quarrel began on Saturday." Cross-exatnined.—The prisoner was always well behaved and civil. Her father was a man of very waiin temper. Her father had guns out to the yard with a largo horsewhip. Toe prisoner being called upon for his defence, said, that be bad not the slightest ill-will towards his master. That two days previous to the melaricholy occurrence, he had grossly abused and cursed him..— 'That on the morning of the 1 lilt of September, they were in the stable together harnessing the horses, when the deceased again.cursed, d—d, and abused im. Prisoner said to him, 46 Master, we had better part e' when the latter replied, 4‘ You may go to - ---- ' • —." Other words then visaed. and the deceased I lhecame violent, ran towards the prisoner, thrust his forward to strike him, and afterwards kicked him se verely. The prisoner became irritated, seized the pitchfork, wielded it round, struck him a vi lent blow upon the bead, and his master fell, as he thought dead. He then went away. Mr. Justice Ammer summed up the evidence, and the Jury having retired about halt an h inr, returned with a verdict, finding the prisoner guilty of Man. slanghter. '1 he learned Judge, after bestowing upon the pri soner a suitable adunention, sentence?, Lim to be con fined in the County G iol for o year. Joha Brock:, (who had removed himself by a writ of habeor from the G'iltspur.street Comprer down,to this AS:77t.) WAS put to the bar, charged ter o n Ole Coroner's inquest with the wilful 'mu, , ter of Esfward Thompson, on the (4,id of February last. fie was also increted upon a bill found by the Grand Jury of this county, for the crime of mandato : liter only, in foloniothly killing and slaying the said Edward Thompson, but took his trial upon the first ch uge. The circumstances of this egizally unfortunate and extraordinary Case have been so recently b.,fre the yehlic, that we deem it unnecessary to de-tail at leiigth ali the evideoce. Such facts, however, as oere not elicited on the Coroner's lr:quest, and trans: ired in -the course of the Trial, we shall incert. Mr. John o , ithwaite deposed, that he resided in Westmorland Flace, in the City.roati. Had known Mr. ilit):!ces for si:: yeses, and his reputed wile, S raft T u rkey, for nearly the same period. Mr. B. having oceasi:ot to go to Scotland early in Jarotary iest, had placed Miss Tookey Muter his care. She rernaiped with feint until the 14th of Ftbruary, when she left his home a the instance of the deceased, Thompson. Witness expostulated with him upon hops opriety of his conduct in so ; but the Lieccaod said, he would have her, and " never give her up." Crory exam;ned ty eh: Ci)NIMON S EfIJEA NT. had every riots ;I: to think that - Sarah was the wit(' of Mr. B. :col 11..nce exiiostulated with the eteee.o.ed. Mr. Blockei we; a man of a most hu ma oe and tender' disposition. Ann Tookey :old" Sarah Tookey gave their evi t!ence to the same tOcct as hereinbelore detailed.— , Both, howev-r, sie:lce more disticetly as to Thom?- ' son having pointed . the pistol to Mr. Brookes ; and i Sarah Tooley stated, that during the corolect, and I dreadir b , the eortooluenees, she kit for the pistol loutside the slort coat pocket; of the deceased, but while doing sp she heard the discharge, and Thorny ton fall. She then looked narrowly at Mr. Brookes, but could not perceive the pistol. Both of them ale. added, that when Thompson had pot-sited Brookes , up stoirs, the latter, instead of seizing the kitchen po ker, as hitherto described, had taken up a small par t lour one, now exhibited by the officer. Mr. Ambrose, the Clerk in the Post Office, repea ted in strOnr.r terms the evidence he had given be fore the Coroner. M'Donald, who described the hand of Mr. Brookes as creeping up the side of the head of the deceased. and holding the pistol in his right hand, did not vary from his former evidence. Joseph Eng!Ane, the Officer, deposed, that when cAled into the s'iop of Mr. Tookey, on the 231 of Fehruaiy, he luuod the deceased lying up'on a chair, and bleeding prrfuse:y. Brookes sa:d to him, • Are you an 0:licJr?" when he replied, es yes." • Tlien, take that man• custody," pointing to the deceased. The lat , t.r,• however, immediately said, 46 Take him, uoe him." The prosecution bring closed, the Prisoner was called upon for his deletice, thich was delivered as follows : g , My Leen —N one can regret more .ban I do the melancholy accid.nt which occasioned Mr. Thampsnn's ati) ; and 3101ough I led great sorrow that a ii:ilow-ceati,re shonlit hew his life in a per,o -' nal conte.a with me, yet it is some consolation to know myself entirely innocent of all criminal inten tion. The fatal instrument was brought wady pre pared by tbe deceased, who, doubtless, contemplated my des:ruction ; but, by a singular dispensation of PIiOVIDENCL the unhappy man became the victim of his own contrivance. The young woman, Sarah Tonkey, lived With me for several years es my wife, and on my leaving London early. in January last, she was placed in a respeetabie family to board till my return ; hut hese stir unfortunately menthe deceased, who prevailed on her to elope with him. On return ing to London, I was extremely distressed at disco vering her infidelity ; but my affection overcame every other consideration, and I obtained the assist ance of her brother to seek for and recover her. We succeeded, and, fully intending to give myself a legal claim to her, we were about going to my brother's to consult with him on the subject when this onfor innate occurrence happened. From the perturbation of my mind at the time, lam unable - to detail every thing that passed ; but I perfectly recollect Mr. Thompson's first presenting the pistil, as I thot.ght in a menacing manner, although up to that period I had treated him with peifect civility and good na ture. This alarmed me, and, fearing danger, I bur . ried•up stairs, pressing Sarah before pre : Mr. Thomp son followed, and hearing him, as I thought, close behind me, I instinctively seized the poker to prevent ltis intrusion. On my getting near tise bottom of the stairs, I saw Mr. Thompson with the pistol cocked in his hand, and hoping to disarm him before he could level it, I struck once or twice with the poker, then closed upon him, and, in the struggle which en sued, the pistol went off. I (6(1cl-stand that two gen tlemen have stited that the pistol must have been in my hand when it wins fired. In this, my Lord, they are certainly mistaken. My object was to prevent mischief, and had I once obtained possession of the pistol, I should not have pulled the trigger, or for a moment longer have contended with Mr. Thompson, against whom I had not the slightest enmity or ill will. I will not trespass further on your Lordship's indulgence, but respectfully submit the facts I have stated to your LOrdship's attention, full convinced they will receive from your Lordship aid the Gen tlemen of the Jury a humane and merciftd conside ration." John Watson Walrnedey deposed, that he saw the deceased on the morning of the unfortunate accident. Knew be then had a brace of pistols. Had told 'him he was distracted without Sarah, and would scour the country to find her. Witness' told him it would leAd to no good end, but he repeated his Sled I