The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-10-16 00:00:00

THE TRAGEDY AT WOOD-GREEN.

stamens which have Men made by Frederick Henson
egnee his committal supply certain links which nave hitherto
miming from the chain of evidence respecting the re-
cent murders at Wood-green, and many doubts are now set
ma. Those who have read the newspaper accounts of the
,
Ledy will remember that doling the altercation on the
;arrow the railway station, when Henson was forcing the
woman Dome, she was heard to My, "Fred, you know what
keee ula to me; lam afraid of my ill.!" Most peopie
unairined that these snarls referred to a threat he had
tbm made, hut euch is notthe case. The pri•oner Mates that
ke ~,d—frequenrly warned.. Death against the lull-
whichaw had commenced between her and Boyd, and that
eke knew what would happen after being found in his coin-
flan,. Under such circumstances," said the individual
o was conversing with the primner, am surprised she
well honor with you at aIL" lie simply replied, " She
nould'ot help it—she was weak and I was strong."
it would also appear from what has transpired that, after
Henson entered his cottage, he called to the deceasmi to
ennie in; that she did not obey his commands, but stood
„sulking " outside, gradually, however, moving until she
came apposite the little window at the side through whicn
tbefatal gun was thrust until it actually touched her breast.
The prisoner having referred to the deceased as a "good
to him, some one suggested that shooting her was a
poor way of showing his affection for her. Ile replied, "lie
we hod man, Very bad man; she ought not to have
Men with him. I had warned her.'
A bather statement of the prisoner settles Mother point
upon which there It.. been much doubt. It has been sup-
posed that Demon did not leave Wood-green at all on the
day of the murders, and that when he left home lathe morn-
ire interition was to lurk about the neighbourhood, keep-
, a watch on Boyd and Death This is not true. Reason
started for Hendon between wren and sight o'clock on Mon-
del morning, takiim with him a carpet bag, top-coat, rtc., and
walked ieroSS the fields to the nearest station on the Slid-
one, whence he proceeded to Hendon. Ile did not,
however, commence work Ile went to the Welsh Harp,
partook of • quantity of rum and there received certain in-
/oi...firm as to the movements of Death which induced bunt
to return to Wood-green. Upon arriving there be found that
the woman was absent; he went to his father's; she was not
nod had not been there ; he pursued his inquiries further,
lord traced her to the railway station, where sale well known
be waited for several bourn until she returned with Boyd
lit. clear, too, that although the woman told her landlady
she was '•otI to London to match semi cloth," she did not
leave borne for the purpose of going to town. Bhe only
took • ticket to Seven Sisters'-road dation the neighbour-
hood where she was afterwards seen drinking with Boyd, ;
that ticket ha. been found in her purse and the fact that
she had not given it up is accounted for by her waiting so
long for Boyd at the station. Boyd started from home to
go by the tont train to that which conveyed Maria Death to
the r even Sisters,rntri station, but mimed it by calling at
the " Prince of Wale," Death ultimately sauntered outside
the station without giving up her ticket. Tame can be no
doubt, however, that the cloth mentioned wee requited he-
muse since the body of the unfortunate woman has been
removed from the cottage the cloth cut out for making
children's j.keta Yu been found in the apartment. and it in
wen that more cloth is required before the dresse, can be

Made up
In the murdered woman's puree were found the railway
ticket above referred to, slew shillings in money, and some
letters, dated as far back as toys, evidently written by a
woman, but bearing no trace of the place whence they came
There Is nothing in their contents to show why they had
been so long and so carefully treasured Up to the present
time the police have been unsuccessful in their efforts to
ascertain the whereabouts of the relatives of the murdered
woman, and the prisoner positively declines to give any in-
formation on the point A quantity of the woman's writing,
beautifully executed, has been found ; several school and
other hooks have also been examined, hut wherever name or
address has appenred it has been torn off. This is partici,
holy observable In the books the murdered woman used
when employed as • governess.
Three letters were found on the prisoner when searched
after his apprehension. They are all from the nitsrdered
woman's pen, end are couched in most affectionate language.
One of them was addressed to the prisoner at Hendon during
the week before the murder. Reference is made therein to
the circunnitance that the writer had been earning • few
Millings by wa.hing and needlework that she hoped to be
able to purchase a pail' of hoots on the Saturday, adding,
"And it you are a suitni fellow I may haves shilling for you"
The woman did buy a pair of boots on the Saturday pre-
ceding the murder In the neighbourhood where she was
drilling with Boyd on the Monday: but there is no out
gestbm that they were together on the former day. It would
seem that Henson was very thort of money during the
week before the murder ; but it is said he often contracted
for small Jobe, and only received payment when the work
was done.
Much additional information touching the abandoned
character of Boyd has been obtained. It is certain that
bigamy has to be added to his other crimes. it. was origi-
nally in the service of Mr. Alderman Sidney, at one time •
lame tea and coffee dealer, and afterwards became ac-
coninted with • lady of fair means. Ile married her, and
almost Imm, diately commenced business as a coffee and
chicory merchant in London, hawing obtained some know-
ledge of the trade while in Mr. Sidney's employment. Ile
soon neglected his business, indulged in drinking to
aces., and ill-used his wife to such an extent that
they separated. The money had all been spent, Slid
Boyd found himself in difficulties ; he therefore left the
country, proceeding to Japan. It will in some degree show
thestyle in which he lived alter his first marriage when we
state that his furniture alone, when sold under the hamnier
by order of the sheriff, realised over £6OO The firsn wife had
hat sight of Boyd for about twelve years, and was astounded
when she read the account of the murders to find that he heel
nitdied as she had believed. several years ago On Friday she
put herself into conuramication with the police at the Wood-
men Station. In Japan BAJA married his second wife
She is still alive, and as some difficulty has wizen with regard
to any property which may be left, it has been arranged
between the friend. of all parties that Sir POTICIOWW Who is
conductiog the prosecution, shall take possesalon of the keys
of the house and hold all the property until it has been de-
cided in what mode it shall be distributed Beyond some
good articles of furniture, however, Boyd has left very little
behind him, having in the last four months spent over 4.1,000
in drink and debauchery.
The murdered annum WAS buried on Satorday afternoon at
the Tottenham Cemetery, in the presence of It considerable
number of people. 'the attendance, however, was much
smaller than was anticipated The fun, rat was fixed for the
previous day, but it was delayed in order to have the pariah
coffin covered with cloth, the expense being defrayed by
public sup' • criptlon
On Suoday,mood-green presented a very remarknble ap-
pearance T. OUSHOA• of people poured into the place from
about nine In the morning until dusk, and niade for the
scene of the waders. Ibe publichousee were all open to
traveller., and a vast number id people availed themselves of
their legal privilege of drinking wfthiu Church hours.
Before one o'clock drunken men, and women too, were seen
struggling through the crowd on their way to or from the
Bound's-green-road. About mid-day the whole neighbour-
hood was as busy as • fair
Elder Cottage has been advertised to be sold by auction at
Gail.WAy'S IS is described a." with gardens in front and in
the rear. and good detatched stabling, very pleasantly
. situate in Bound's-green-road, facing the Alexandra.park
Palace, let to Mr. Boyd at • rental of £33 per annum." The
ifoll house where the Bensons lived is now to be taken away,
or the practice of letting it for a dwrlllng. w cti has been
pursued for the last 11 years, discontinued.

pUliTittlt PA RTICt LAM.
The following additional facts complete all that need
be known of the above horrible occurrence :
The murderer, as has before been stated, made the Sc
quaintance of Maria Death abou, eight years aeo, when he
was engaged as a carpenter at Colnephatch, where Death
was in service sa a governess. It is believed that the lady !
who employed her at the period referred to is now dead
Hen... was then in receipt of good earnings, and was enabled
to dress well. He succeeded in seducing the young goner.
nese, and when she discovered that she was likely to become
a mother, she appealed to Henson to marry her. Then for
the first time he announced himself a• already • married man.
This deeply affected the girl, then scarcely eighteen years old,
but he Peerms to have behaved kindly to her, and took her to
the house of his own relatives to he confined. Ilenson's
wife becoming aware of her husband's infidelity declined
to remain with him unless he arvered the connection which
existed between him and the young woman Death. This he
declined to do and ul imately they agre to separate each
taking one of the two children the issue of their marriage,
Mrs. Hinson, as the murderer admits, saying to hini,
hope you will never have cause to repent what you have
done' Mrs. Hinson has not been seen or heard of for several
sears past, consequently it is not known whether she is yet
living.
When Boyd first met the Scotch girl Margaret Robertson
here presented himself aa being a wolower, and alnio4 Mane-
diately after they went to live together they proceeded to
the girl's relatives in Scotland, taking Boyd'e two chii•iren
with them. The girl informed her friends that she had
married a winower, and in arrangement was made for
leaviug the children at Mr. Robertson'. house. There they
have remained ever since The girl's father Is an engine
driver on one of the Scotch railways, and immediately he
read the account of the murders in the newspapers he
hurried to London, and has since taken his daughter home to
Scotland. It is Paid that Boyd's housekeeper warned Robert-
son against corning to the house, and threatened to write to
the gist's friends of the life she was leading As that was
unavailing the housekeeper herself gave notice to Boyd to
eave her situation.
tin sunday, Wood.green was again visited by a large num
her of strengers, many coming in open carriagen As a
suspicion reached the police that money was being paid on
Sunday to enter the different cottages the gate of tknyd's
house was nailed up, and the blood which before could be
seen where it flowed from the murdered woman covered over
with gravel, much to the disappointment openly expressed of
many who had one down to view the scene of the mut,
den A padlock was put upon the entrance to Nell& Cotter
In the garden of which she Heusen. lived), but it was often
opened to allow visitory to pass through, and as the occupier
is also the ireeholder, the police had no power to prevent a
morbid appetite behig gratified in • large number of in-
stances.
Sub cription.lists with printed headings—" Subscriptions
for the benefit of Frederick Hinson, in aid of a fund to em-
ploy counsel for his defence "—were exposed in various parts
of 'a-nod-green on Monday, and amongst th at who had given
money were several who signed "A Friend."