The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-10-27 00:00:00

THE MURDER OF A GIRL IN
LIVERPOOL.

Last Saturday morning, at the Liverpool Police.
court, before Mr. T. S. Raffles, stipendiary magistrate,
Lewis Parry, 80 years of age, was charged with the
wilful murder of Susannah Hutton, 18 years of age,
on the banks of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal on
Saturday night week. Mr. Marks, the prosecuting
solicitor, cinducted the case, and the prisoner was
undefended.

In opening the case, Mr. Marks Bali the prisoner
was an engineer's labourer in the employ of Messrs.
Lamport and Holt, and lived in a court off Bent-street.
His wife was a seamstress, and had employed tbe de-
ceased to assist her, and thus the prisoner had become
acquainted with her, and so great an intimacy was
struck up between them that it seemed to be known
amongst their acquaintances that they were keeping
company together. On Saturday night week the pri-
soner and the deceased were in a public-house drinking
together from about eight until ten o'clock, and
about forty minutes subsequently the girl was
foully murdered by some person or other. A man
named Keighbe saw a man and a woman going in
the direction of the Leeds Canal about half-past ten,
and from their peculiar actions he followed them as far
as a stone yard on the canal bank. They entered the
stone-yard, and shortly afterwards be heard a woman
scream and a rattling amongst the stones. Being satis-
fied that something was wrong he blew a whistle he
had, and then went in search of a constable. He found
one, and they returned to the stone-yard, but could not
see anything, but grappling-irons were procured, and
the body of the deceased was found in the canal. A man
named Martin, a pointsman at a cabin on a bridge im-
mediately over the stone-yard, heard a noise in the
yard, and saw a woman in an apparently insensible
condition with her back against a man's knee, and
then saw the man throw her into the canal. The man
then waded through the canal and escaped through a
coal-yard. Another person, named Stebbin, was em-
ployed at a coal-yard near and resiied on the premises,
came up about this time and found a man, whom he
identified as the prisoner, and whose clothes were
saturated with water, fast on the top of the coal-yard
gate. He released him, and in answer to interroga-
tories, was informed by the prisoner that he had
been to see a flatman named Crutcbie, and had been
robbed and thrown into the canal. Stebbin allowed
him to go. A person named McGarry, employed at the
coal-yard through which the prisoner escaped, then came
up to Stebbin, and they both ran after the prisoner and
Pie opportuty- of identify iiiht grin;
and each picked out the prisoner from amongst many
others. There were also several other persona who
saw the prisoner in the vicinity of the canal. A post-
mortem examination had been made which showed the
deceased's face to have been horribly mntilat,d, in
addition to several wounds on the lower part of the
body, the abdomen, and legs, all inflicted with some
instrument. No traces of the immersion in the canal
were found, death having been caused by the wounds
alone. Martin and Stebbin having given evidence,
the prisoner was remanded.

On Tuesday Parry was again brought before the
magistrates, when evidence was given tracing the pri•
Boner and the deceased from a public-house in the
neighbourhood of Scotland-road to the scene of the
murder, and also showing that the prisoner was run-
ning away from the canal after the crime had been
committed. _ _ .

The prisoner was committed for trial at the as.
sizes.