The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1858-05-04 00:00:00

APPALLING MURDER

AT
STOKE ABBOTT.

A fearful murder was perpetrated in the neighbour-
hood of Bemninster, on Friday afternoon, by • young
man named James Seale, aged 20. Whilst the neigh-
bours were absent in the fields at work • young woman
named Sarah Anne Guppy, aged 23, of short stature,
and somewhat deformed, was alone in a double cottage,
a few hundred yards from the village of Stoke Abbott.
In one part of the cottage, the owner, John Flutchings,
resided, and, in the other portion, James Seale, sen., and
the mother of the unfortunate victim. The girl was seen
about 2 o'clock, and at 4 smoke was seen issuing from her
mother's cottage, and on some labourers making their
way in they found the lifeless body of Sarah Anne Guppy,
lying on the floor. They carried her body to the adjoin-
ing orchard and discovered that her head was well nigh
severed from her body, being cut from ear to ear. Just
before the fire broke out James Seale the younger, was
seen by Jane Cornick to leave deoeased's house, and she
asked, having heard a scream from the house, what he
had been doing at "Sarah." He said nothing. She
noticed that blood was on his hand and trowsers. He
said he had cut his hand with some grass. She gave him
some paper, which he applied to a cut on his finger.
They together walked to Broadclose, • few hundred
yards oft, and parted. The cottage was called Puckshorn
House. The mother of the deceased lodged with James
Seale, the elder, and had lived there for years, and on
Friday morning her daughter took her sewing up stairs
in order to watch the doings of "Jim Seale," who had
been lurking about a good deal. When the elder Seale
saw his house on fire he ran in and found the deceased
on the floor, fainting, as he thought, with a cloth over
her, and he went up stairs to save the goods. The fire
originated from the outside of the house. The prisoner's
father, Job Seale, was present at the fire and assisted.
John Hutchings cautioned the occupiers of Puck'
shorn House not to leave their doors unlocked, as the
prisoner was about a good deal in a suspicious manner ;
and he found two knives near to where the body was at first
lying. One of the knives, covered with blood, did not belong
to deceased or to the elder Seale. The handles of both
knives were burnt off. The prisoner's father, Job Seale,
carried the body out into the orchard. There were
smears of blood on " Jem's" trowsers and jacket sleeve,
and the left cuff was burnt. P.C. WilliamLavenderappre-
hended the prisoner in • lane near Horsetail at 5 o'clock.
Prisoner had a bit of rag on one of hie fingers, but the
cut on his hand was neither fresh nor bleeding. Seine
of the blood marks on his clothes had been rubbed with
dirt. Mr. John Staines Webb, surgeon, said the wound
on the neck under the left ear was about live inches in
length. The wind pipe WAS quite cut through, and the
young woman had not been, as was reported, ravished
before being murdered. Her death must have been in-
stantaneous, and she could not have inflicted the wound
herself. An old cheese-knife, one of those found near
the body, was the instrument used, in all probability.
On Saturday afternoon an inquest was held at the
Anchor Inn, Stoke Abbott, before Samuel S. Corry,
Esq., coroner, and the above facts deposed to, after
which the jury returned • verdict of " WILFUL
MURDER against Jame. Seale." The prisoner Is very
short and thin, and looks about 23. He was oommitted
on the coroner's warrant on the capital offence. He was
not long ago committed to 4 months hard labour and to
be once privately whipped for stealing Is. 10d. from •
child. He had not been "keeping company" with the
young woman, who was of very quiet, retiring habits,
and of irreproachable character. But there was no evi-
dence that he set lire to the !muse, which was totally
consumed. He refused to eat for a long time, and en-
deavoured to convey the idea that he was inane, but
the surgeon believed he was only " shamming." The
excitement In the neighbourhood, at Bearninster, and at
Bridport was very great. Thu prisoner was taken before
the Beaminster bench yesterday morning, and after the
evidence had been gone into, was fully committed to the
assizes on the charge of Wilful Murder. Crowds of per-
sons thronged the streets leading to the county gaol, to
catch • glimpee of the prisoner, but he had not rushed
Dorchester at the time we went to press.