Star. — London, England, 1811-12-11 00:00:00

THE MURDERS IN !lATCLIFFE-NIaIiWAT. - - , The sensation excited by these most ferocious mur. tiers has become -so general, and the curiosity to see the place where they were committed so intense, that Ratcliffe-highway was rendered almost impassable by the throng of spectators, before ten o'clock yester day morning. ' The crowd continued to thicken until about two o'clock in the afternoon, when Mr. UNwIN, the Coroner, arrived at the Jolly Sailor public-house, to preside at the Inquest over the dead bodies. The witnesses were immediately called, and gave their depositions as followi WILLIAM SALTER.—" I am a Surgeon, and live in the parish of St. Geotge. I viewed the bodies of the deceased by desire of the Coroner—found them ia the following state : " Timothy Marr, the younger. The left external carrotid ar. tery divided, the left side of the mouth laid open, with a wound three inches in length, with several marks of violence on the left aide of the face. " Cecilia Marr. The left side of the cranium fractured, the temporal bone totally destroyed, wil h a wound just above the ar ticulation of the jaw two Inches in length, theu winding into the hit ear, and a wound at the back of the ear. " Timothy Marr, the elder. The nose broken, the off occipi tal bone fractured, and a violent blow on the right eye. lames Giten. Several contusions on the head and nose, with the occipital bones dreadfully shattered, and the brains protruding' No other marks were found. I saw sufficient cause to occasion death in each of the parties." MARGARET JEWELL.—" I lived servant with Mr. Marr; I went to the counter to my master 'oho !Rai' behind it ; he gave me a pound note ; it wanted a few minutes to twelve ; _I left him busy behind the cr unter ; I went out of the door, and turned to the left to Taylor's ; they were shut up, and I returned again past the window, and still saw him behind the counter; I went to St. John's-hill, to pay the baker; they were shut up likewise ; I went with the intent to get some oysters, but found the shops were shut up ; I returned again to the door of my master's house, 'I found it closely shut up, and no light to be seen ; I think I was out about twenty minutes ; I rang at the bell, and no one answered ; I rang re peatedly ; whilst I was at the door, the watchman went by on the other side of the way, with a person in charge ; 1 certainly heard some one coming down stairs, which I thought was my master coming to let me in ; I am certain I heard the child cry very low; I rang again, and knocked at the door with my foot repeatedly, when a man_came up to the door and in sulted me ; I thought I would wait till the watch man came, which he shortly did, and called the hour of one, at the same time desired me to move on, not knowing who I was ; I said I belonged to the house, and thought it very strange I should be locked out; he then observed they had not fastened the pin of the window ' • the watchman then knocked, rang at the bell, and called Mr. Marr through the keyhole; Mr. Murray, the next door neighbour, then came out and asked what was the matter? The watchman then told him that I was locked out ; I continued at the door with the watchman till Mr. Murray came out again, and said there was a strong light backwards ; Mr. Murray went backwards, while another watchman ? who had joined the first, made an alarni; Mr. Murray got into the house backwards and opened the street door, when the watchman and myself entered."— [Bere the poor girl, struck with the remembrance of her mistress's mangled and bleeding body which pre sented itself on the opening of the door, was so over powered, that she fainted on the spot, and was car. sled out in a state of insensibility.] JOHN MURRAY—" I am a pawnbroker, residing at No. 30, Ratcliffe Highway, next to the louse of the deceased, Mr. Marr. About ten minutes after twelve o'clock on Sunday morning last, I was sitting at sup per with my family, and heard a noise in Mr. Mary's house, which appeared to be on the shop floor, and re sembled the pulling of a chair, and the sound of a voice, as if proceeding from the_ fear of correction, like a boy's or a woman's. This all occurred in about a minute's space, a little before one as far as I can recollect; I heard a ringing, at Mr. Mary's which continued at intervals till a quarter past one ; we were then about to go to bed ; I heard a bell ring with additional violence, and went to the door to know what was the matter ? I was then informed by the watchman that the shutters were not fast by the omission of a pin ; that the girl was shut out ;—that she had rang at the door, and no one came to an swer ; 1 told the watchman to pull hard at the bell, and that I would go at the other side of the house, and endeavour to wake them, or make them come to the door ; the watchman did 'pull the bell very hard, and I went to the back of the house, and called out Mr. Mary ! three or four different times ; no answer was made, and I came again to the front of the house ; I saw a light at the back of the one pair ; I told the watchman to ring louder, and that I would endeavour to get. into the. house by the back door ; I scent to the back of the house, and threw self over the fence, and finding the yard door open, immediately proceeded mire . landing place of the first floor, where I found a candle burning ; seeing the two doors open where Mr. Marr used to sleep, I called out to Marr ! Marr ! your window shutters are not Listened," but nobody answered me; and on account of its being the bed-room I did not go in ; with the candle I went through the shop to the front door, to let the watch man in ; when I got to the door, at the foot of the stairs which leads into the shop, I raw the boy, James . . Moen, lying dead on the door, just within th.tt door, and within six feet of the foot ot the stairs ; his head was bletdin,, ,, , and Ifs brains were visible going on further tvviii ds the shop door, I saw Mrs. irlarr Vying dead close to the street-floor, with her face down wardseand her feet against the door, and her had bkeding very much. / immediately pened the door, r...11et the watchman and several othen in, I then bse can to look for Mr. Marr, whom I found lyingslead 'behind thsicounter,..a ith his head very near the win dow ; his face vras down Wards, and he was bleeding very much about the head. While I was standing by ti.e body- of Mr. Man, the servant and others came eut of the kitchen, and said Ole child in the cradle was tic 12. Aeon after I went down into the kitchen, and saw the child in the cradle dead, bleeding about the mouthand &bat. Soon after which, one of the po lice officers s' ewe& me a large maul bloody. Mr. Starr came into the house the latter end of April.— Mr. Marr - scented about the age of 24 ; Mrs. Marr about- the same age, and the child about 14 weeks. The whole family consisted °idle four whe were mut.. dered, besets the servant girl." CiXORGE OLLIY, the watchman. corroborated the testimony of Mr. Murray, and stated, that Mr. Mur ray said, For GOD% sake come in, and bee what dreadful murder is here I" Witness first saw Mrs. Marr lying on her face, with all her clothes covered with blood, and her feet towards the door; which at first prevented its being opened. She was not cold, but dead. Her brains seemed to be hanging out on one side of her head, and he saw a great deal of blood about. Witness then described the situation of the other bodies, which has been already sufficiently stated. He said, the last time he saw Mr. Marr was when he was calling the hour of twelve, at which time he was putting up the shutters. He was pre sent in one of the back rooms when the Police Offi cers found the maul, the head of it was upon the ground, and the handle leaning against &chair, it was covered with blood, and some hairs were found upon it; which left no doubt that this was the instru ment with which the horrid facts were perpetrated. He also saw the chissel which was afterwards found, but upon which there was no blood. This was all the evidence adduced before the Jury. The CORONER, after the examination closed, stated to the Jury, that having now before them the melan choly statement of the facts, unassisted by a particle of testimony calculated to point out the perpetrators of the atrocious and wicked act of murder, to which their attention had been so painfully directed; their verdict, unfortunately, must be given generally on the imperfect evidence brought forward. He trusted, therefore, that they would not suffer their verdict to be influenced by the passing reports, originating from the laudable anxiety of every one to trace out and detect the wretches, whose future existence must be marked with remorse, from conscious guilt ; and who, perhaps in a little time, by the hand of Provi dence, the prayers of humanity, and tile exertions of the Police, would be brought to detection and punish ment. Lalll l INTELLIGENCE. ADMIRALTY COURT, DECIEMBISR 10. General W—. This vessel, with about 120 per sons on board, consisting of French Officers and their families, was sailing, under the character of a cartel, from the Isle of France to Morlair. It appeared that there were certain goods put on board, which were claimed by those passengers, besides a-consi derable quantity of dollars. It was contended for the captors, that the goods was a violation of the pri vileges of a cartel. On the part of the claimants, it was submitted, that the goods were protected under the terms of the capitulation, at the surrender of that island —The Court was clearly of opinion, that there Was no breach of the capitulation, and restored the ship, goods, and specie, subject to the captors' ex pences. Dankbaarheit, Tobbins master.—This vessel,under Papenburgh colours, laden with pitch and tar, was bowid from Archangel to this country.—Restored, with freight and expellees. COURT OF KING'S BENCH, DEC. 9. FAULDER O. SILK AND ANOTHER. This was an action brought by a Miss Faultier, who was twelve years the mistress of the late Thomas Clarke Jervoise, Esq. against the executor of Mr. T. Jervoise, (the other executor, the Rev. Mr. Tyrwllin, did not defend, and his answer in Chancery was read, admitting that the testator was sane at the time of granting this annuity), and his brother and heir at law, Mr. Samuel Clarke Jervoise, upon a bond of an nuity, for securing to her for life £5OO a-year, char ged upon the testator's Hampshire estates. The de fence was, that the testator was legally incompetent to execute the grant of annuity, on account of his in sanity ; and the Reader may recollect, that the ques tion of the testator's sanity at the time of making his will, was tried about a year ago in the Court of Cemmon Pleas, in an issue from Chancery ; and that after two days investigation in that Court the wi .1 was validated by the verdict of a Jury. That will was' dated on the 15th of January, 1808, and gave .420,000 to a reputed natural son of the testator, 4300 a-year, and £4,000 to the plaintiff, and the rest of his fortune to the nephews and nicee.s of his brother. The tes tator died worth Je25,000 per annum. The bond in question was dated on the 28th of June,- 1808: and was given to the plaintiff, most advisedly on his pa: a as a just reward for her excellent conduct for twelve years, she having throe n herself under the testator's protection at the age of 18 years, and hav'eg no other protector. It appeared, that as long : .o ° as i November, 1807, when the testator was in posses , ien of only £2SC)O a-year, and before his father died, he had an intention of settling £3OO a-year on her, un less his father would make it up £5OO ; and that he was advised to grant the annuity in question by Lord Hood, who had always been a friend of the Jervoise fancily ; and had consulted Mr. Clift, his tenant, and Mr. Meredith, of Birmingham, his law agent, on the subject. These respectable gentlemen, together with Mr. Le Blanc, of Messrs. Shane's house, the solici tor, who prepared the annuity deeds, and his clerks, all testified to the competency of the testator to exe• cute these deeds, and ga nstances of his entire col lectednsss and perfect sanity during the whole trans- I action. Dr. Murray, the testator's physician, and Mr. Fourniaux, his steward, witnessed the deeds ; the former confirmed the above testimory, and the lat tee was not called, as Lord Ellenbotough SA d, with out any imputation on either side. Lcrd Hood con cluded his evidence by the most solemn assertion &et he always believed the testate r to be fully competent to the management of his affairs; and indeed it ap- I peered from !elm, sin his own hand-writing to M Isrs. Shawe, &c. that he ruminate I very deliberate y the ' grant of the annuity in question, having the dceds drawn with a blank sum, directing it in his own hand-writing .to be £5OO, postponing the execution of the deeds, and acting with unusual caution. There ANOTHER MYSTERIOUS MURDER. was no doubt but that the testator was latterly wholly On Monday evening, as a person of the name of bereft of reason by the attacks of epileptic fits : a Ashburton, who lives in Gravel-lane, Ratliff-high- commission of lunacy was sued out aga nst him in way, was talking with tome others, at a public.house, l De cember, 1808 ; and the Jury found him mad from over the above horrible murders, the sensations he February, 1808, to May, 1809, the date ef their find experienced were so strong, that he made a confession ing, the inquest being carried back, as the Attorney to them to the following purport :—About 18 years General, for the plaintiff, observed, by the artful ago, he said he had been to Gravesend to see the contrivance of the heir at law, to covet such u ansac- Arnisten East Indiamen set s ail ; and on coming tions as the present annuity grant. Mr. Warburton, home up the River, he was present at a dispute be- the keeper cf the teceptacic for lunatics at Hackney, tween a serjeant of marines and a person now living proved the utter wreck of the testator's reason, from in a respectable way in Prince's-square ; but whose his entrance under his care, on the 2d of January, name, until the business shall be farther investigated,"! 1809: lie was se:zed with a paralytk stroke on the weeforbear to mention. The dispute was about a boy 25th of December, in the same year, and on the 29th whom the setjeant had criar i ted, and whom the other , he died. person said he had already enlisted. Ashburton saw i On the part of the defendants, whose leading Coun the serjcant of marines fall back, and he saw the sel was Mr. JERI LL, avariety of witne.sespneved, that other person leap on his body three times, by viltieh the late Mr. Themes Clarke Jervoise was, at the pe he was killed. He saw the Serjeartee sword. thrown nod of granting this annuity, in the daily habit of overboard, but did not know what became of the committing more glaring iacoherencies and extrava body. He said be often mentioned the circumstance gencies than have, perhaps, ever appeared in the an before, but he believed never except when he was nals of human eccentric ty. When he visited the Bel thrown off his guard by liquor ; and then what he moot estate;-in Hants, he pilled down the eh:mules, said he always imputed to the insanity produced by almost with his own hands ; and painted his carriage liquor. The person he has accused is in custody, and black, setting it out for sale on the public road, and was examined yesterday before the Magistrates of the calling it his Black was .heck. His family estate- and re- Shadwell Police O ffi ce ; when Mrs. AehbUrton, the s ide n c e situated at West Eremwich, in Stafford "rife of the witness, who was on board, partly corro- shirr; and as soon as llis lather died, he barnt all the borated the testimony of her husband. She stated glut furniture, under the pretence that it was Old and mutt it was very dark, and being asleep below, she was pert', himself superintending the bonefire from five 1 awoke by the crashes • but only knew of the murder in th e morning tilt eleven. Here he committed nu from her husband h ' 'eving 'frequently mentioned it merous extravgancies—rikiing on an ass, With a shirt when he was in a state of intoxication, and that she outside his clothes, and putting lard: a board, ofFeerig admonished him to silence on the business.—The to let post-chaises at a cheaper rate than the inn- Magistrates asked Ashburton his' eason fer n i hhold- keepers. lie generally le:Al.:!..1 in lents in the open ing the statement now given for so long a petiod ? air, and cooked his victuals in a , fa:juror in the stable , The witness replied, that he was afraid of getting yard, sleei.inr; on the boards of A parlour, or the stones 1 into trouble, and that he should be murdered. He of a hall. He r was also acce-tontsd to tai:e Intig jam was then Tie tioned by the piisoner's Solicitor, whe- nits in his carriage, v Inch be filled with poi, aad Cher he knew the name cf the master of the boat, the pans, a bunch of Inge key:, and picklocks, to the residence of the publican, or the place of landing ?-e- number of 150 ; and generally pioneered night•tra -1 To these interrogatories he gave no satisfactoey an- yelling. At onetime, he, on the si:ur ri he ; ~.. it sten, , swer.—Mr. Meneteten questioned Mrs. Ashburton ordered an innkeeper to cut a h..le in the Loons of respecting her husband's state of mind iii his frequent the carriage,, as a conveniency for the ladies ni h ' fits of intoxication, and she acknowledged her bus.', whbmn Le might travel, and had the seats cut away band scarcely knew what he said. The worthy Ma- to admit of his luggage. At aeother time, Pe had els:I-we then informed the prisoner, that he fit it his ' the . whole front tit the carriage (veiled, that 'he duty to remand him, for further investigation into the might drive himself Upon a third occasion, he circumstances of the alleged murder, allowing him had the carriage hung upon a ki:chen palter, and proper indulgence consistent with his situation ; and ,an iron -bar, with chinas—ani he more than once stated, that he would promote every inquiry into the drove the carriage without a body, like a break. facts sworn against him, and, in order that there I —He at fitst rode out in his carriage unpainted; ' should be as little delay as possible, he appointed Sa. l but afterwards set three maid-icrvan:s to paint it on turday next for another investigation. a sundriy, and went out is it before the paint was The Jury retired for a short time, and trought in their verdict of—" Wilful Murder, against some person or persons unknown," on each of the bodies. The Officers had not last night been able to trace out the servant girl, mentioned in •ur yesterday's Paper, and only one man, a bricklayer, had been brought before the Magistrates at Shadwell Office, on suspicion; but he was Immediately discharged. Three men wore seen near the shop of Mr. Marr, for about half an hour on Saturday evening, and one of them, during that time, looked in at Mr. Marr's shop window. The description of two of these per sons was given to the Magistrates ; of the third no informatiotocould be obtained. One of them, as ap. pears from the description even, was dressed in a light coloured sort of Flushing coat, and was a tall lusty man ; the other was dressed in a blue jacket, the sleeves of which were much torn ; and under which he appeared to have flannel sleeves, with a small brimmed hat on his head. The Magistrates of Thames Police Office have offered an additional reward of £2O, above £5O already advertised by St. George's parish, for the dis covery of either of the aboie described persons. The current report of Mr. Marr being a witness on the recent trial of a Portuguese sailor at the Old Bai ley, charged with the murder of Douglas, a seaman, is incorrect. Mr. Marr having been in business only seven months, he was never engaged in any parish duties, whereby he could have provoked the revenge of any individual in his private or public character. The mother of Mrs. Marr, and two of her sisters, came from the country, intending to dine with her on Sunday, and did not hear of the dreadful destruc tion of their relatives till they reached the house.— The effect which the intelligence had on them it would be in vain to describe. II dry. 11;rninghatn was tl,e gene. Onus 45.. 1 ' 61itatty ' tmvagances; and ate there picked tip a ertim is of nee character, who lived with him in the capacity of ier. rant from Match till Detember,'lBoB, during which time he had more than twenty servants, them with every-fre-ik, and • pielcing them op taped the road. While travelling in the middle of the rneht with her, he once had let made on Bagsho--heath, lighting up six candles in his carriage. He had *great fancrfor purchadag inns, generally wishing r the landlords to treat with him upon the spot. He often quarrelled with theni, and refused to pay them, upon which occasions he would sleep at little ale. houses. On one occasion hislorses were pounded for an inn-bill ; and he had his carriage drawn away by" men. He had great antipathies to stair-casss, which he thought very unsightly things; and bad that et a house he bought at lsgham, taken down, and a lad ', der substituted for the servants' passage up stairs.--. To his own chamber he clambered by means of a chest of drawers, filled with large nails, and drain out proenssively like steps, from the top of which he swung himself up with topes. He ruined furniture by keeping it in the open air, in which he very much lived. He had the privy of one of his houses taken away ; and the bodfol a vir.a-air convei ted into one, close to tie house-door; but at first he had the scats placed in the open air, alleging that the servants would not be so long there when they were uncover. ed. This privy viz e-vir he had ornamented with • laurel-branches, newspapers, and a gold watch. He had a convenience contrived in his own carriage, which served also for a draught-board, backgammon, and as many other games as the workmen could con trive. He had also an Old urn-case la into the bot tom of his carriage for this-purpose. At length he had a new stair-case built to his' house, which he insisted upon being also contrived as to act as a crane for letting his carriage into the char:otter-window : the stair-case was also to run upon castors. He was very , fond of turning windows into doors ; and blocked up all the doors of his servants' rooms. At one time, he insisted that no servant should enter his room, the door of which he had cut in half to form a bar, over_ which his domestics were to place his victuals on a table, which he drew to him by a pulley. He took down the fence at Egham, and laid his house open to the road, and lived under it marquee beset by hun dreds of passengers. On his travels at Oxford ..nd other places, he hired musicians to attend him ; and rave balls to any one who would come from the highways and the hedges; and he pulled down the partitions of his own house to make a ball-room, till he endangered the edifice. He took carpenters to live with, him for months together. He planted mouse-traps at his door-ways, to catch the feet of those who did not shut the door AC:. him. He at all times drank very freely - and cohabited with the low est classes: He travelle d from West Bromwich to Birmingham. a distanie of eight mild, with six horses; and hired servants, by setting-them down to tea will him, during which refreshment he would shave himself. On one occasion, he forcibly possessed himself of a friend's empty house (Mr. Newland, of Rutherford Park), observing of an out-house, eat it would be a nice place tor conjuring in ; meaning for living and cooking for himself by the help of his con juror. On another occasion, he took possession for some weeks of a house in St. James's-square, for the good-will of which he offered £5O ; and sent to bor.: - row a similar sum of his neighbour the Duke of Nor folk or any of his household, without the dghtest acquaintance with either, and although he might have commanded the turn from many other quarters. He had the pavement of a hall taken up, because the ground was more convenient to walk upon ; and had the cushions of his carriage transformed into deal boxes, because- they were easier to sit upon. lie calls d fish-wcmen into his house, and set them to hoe his cart iage, making use of one of his servant's petticoats for that purpose : but it would tili our paper to re. cord every one of his- various eccentricities, which seem to have been suffered, as the Atcr,rney-General observes, with a neglect on the part of his relations, very incommensurate with the eagerness they now betrayed to take care of his fortune. The defendant's evidence was close! by the testi mony of the Rev. Holwell Carr, a relation of Mr. Jervoise, who visited him at his town-house in All sop's-buildings, about the time of his ;panting the annuity ; when he was introduced to his relative by the plaintiff, mho told him that he-should find Mr. Jervoise very much altered by his extravagancies in Birmingham, &c. This witness was the only one who thought Mr. Jervoise wholly incompetent to any legal disposition of his fortune, and would not have witnessed any such act. The evidence of Elizabeth Savage, the servant to whom we have alluded, was attempted to be contra dicted ; but it was too strongly corrcbcrated to be ret aside. The ATTORNEY GENERAL made an able reply, clas sing all these incoherencies under the head of folly rather than madness; and repeating the quotation of Horace, that the man had the riglit of riches to com mit them. . Lord ELLINSOROVGII gave a most impartial charge, and recapitulated the whole evidence. He told the - Jury of the law oflucid interval ; and put it to them, whether Mr. Jervoise bad not the j ,vn himself perfectly competent to transact thoburiness in question, a just 'and deliberate act? The Jury, after a very ►port communication with eleh otl er, found. a verdict for. I I the plaintiff.—The trial of this cause lasted from nine o'clock in the morning till nearly ten at nigiat. CONSISTORIAL COURT OF DUBLIN, 'NON% 27. HONORA WOULFE O. AM ENA AT.MsTItaNG. This was a snit - instituted by the Lott! Chancellor, to haves maffiage annulled which the impugnant alledged to have been celebrated Letncen :icr : nd the prosnOvant's son, Peter Woulf,.. It am-4mA in evil' dente, that Isinena Armstrong had been a sef,eadt i n Mrs. Wou;fr's fami:y for about ten day:, in Deem. her, 1808.. v hen - she was dismissed. on ill. 9th at Itnuary; ISCO, she went to Scotland with Peter rinnlfe, and about that peric,cl the alletiged marring,. wds said to have taken place. On the VAL of 'Moen. 1819, Peter Woulfe was found, by a most iretpectablefr, Jury of this city, to be then a lunatc, and to have been solute some time in the month of FebnLary, 1804. There was a variety of diced to prole that he Willi insane pretended in..niag., so satisfactor NAN I M mind, that he inimedi at,ly riage me and void, to all intents ieloi 04 !:1,. , P ° .y ...t. • ill 1 ~. 1 g ~ K 1 1 If . t r I , i ! f 1 : , ' •i I :. .1 I .- . , mcnth of FebnLay,. • oher evidence pro. ne at the time of the :tory to Lr 1.2 , t•10tt. pronounced ti,c r. !nu and pu•pow . =