The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1883-12-04 00:00:00

THE INQUEST.

• SLYaknon 15 COURT.

The inquest was held at three o'clock the seine
afternoon, before Mr. G. B. Aldridge the P.m...ugh
Coroner. Mr. Aldridge had given Orden. that his
Court •tioald be held he Council Chamber, but
Mr. Aldermen Norton, who was present, strongly
protested against anything like what be called "bole-
an laorner busluess," and demanded that the Town
should be made u.e of. The Coroner p doted
out that be bad chosen the room simply as • matter of
comfort—they had • nice fire there, which they would
not get in the Town Hail; but am kir. Norton seemed
to be particularly anxious in his request, and some of
the jurymen expressing similar views, he then
adjourned to the Town HalL Mr. J. Godwin was
sworn in all foreman of the jury, which was constituted
as follows :—Messrs. It. Edineades, W. The, T. H.
Harris, R. Shutter, W. H. Gray, 11. Debben, W. G.
Bacon, W. Yerbury, J. l'adley, H. Penney, .J. Small.
bones, and T. S. Hoare.
The Coroner, in charging the jury, said : You are
called ogelher, gentlemen, to inn tire how and by
what means Tbomu Junes, late of Perkstone, came
to his death. It appears that on Saturday evening,
some line aft g eleven o'clock, be and several others
were in the disreputable ;art of the town called The
Strand, eta pub!ichowa well known amongst you all,
named the Coach and It During that time th-re
appear. t bane beeu soine disagreement—some omtla
bling -and that ca la to blows, and Monis Vie light—
(I an telling you ar far as I am instruct/11)—one in iii,
by name Vilbelin Gomm Larsen, • Dane, ntabbal in
several places the decease', Tuouias James, who died
from the effect, of the acid stabbing in about ten
minutes. The police were at once sliaii.tl with the
fact, and • medical in an—Dr. Verno le—was called
to examine the man, but found hat he wed already
dead. The p.lice then, by the doctor's datructiooe,
removal the holy to the Police Station, awl from
thence it has now been t..ken ti the dead hou.e. Y
or
find duty will be to r xlmine the body, sod I should like
you particularly to notice the cuts that appear upon
It, especially one in the region of the nipple an I over
the helot. There are several wounds also on the hire
arm, a. d one or two on the cheek ; but I think Dr.
Yeriale will tell you th..t the mi-chief done to tie
heart was the r Alge ..f .1. ath. I i 1-truc'ed him
yeaterday, • I that you should not have t i a ijourn for
• post works' examinati in. He bee done a., and grid
ive hia eviden.e bye and bye, and it will be your
duty to impire hoe this man came to his deaVi, and
return • true and just verdict.
The jury then proceeded to he mortuary ii vi-w
the body. It presented • very placid appe trance ; but
the great lais of blood that bat taken pia.* gave it
the appearance rather of that of a man in middle life
than • lad who had Dot am yet attoto-d his in ij rit v.
We believe, if he had lived, he would have been 20
years of age in about three months' time. lie W.,11 •
mo.ll powerfully male young felloe, w,th treineutione
muscle., aud, as he lay dead, measured oft. 4n., from
. .

the sole. of his feet.
As 'ion as the doors of the the Hall were opene I,
the liall was speedily crow led. Toe pris rnere were
then brought in by the police, and were allowed St be
sestA daring the enquiry.
The first witness called was Dr. E. Vern,le, and hie
t-stiinony created a very painful excit hnettt in the
Court. Detairing the injuries the dacestied hod
su.taineti, he explained that one of the w.tuod.—tha
one which caused death—hal been occasi .ned by the
knife ;marring through the uhf,rtuna,e inart's left lung
and penetrating the heart. The doctor at this poitt
searched in his coat•tail pocket, and produc,l • small
paper parcel. Unfolding this with cairn d4i.reration
he held up tu view what appeared t be a dirty piths
of ahanrois leather. This, he explain

shudder passed through th—aourt, trot lung of the
.leceeael through which the knife wer.t. 1,4,-r or. in
hie evidence the cl ctor aorta had resounre to his
pocket, end thi time he produced a still larger
parcel. Again quiety opening it, he then presente 1
to the shocked gaze of the Court, toe heat t of the dead
man, and pointed out the hole in it where the knife
s
had penetrated. A. thrill of horror pervorded the
short time previourdy, relieved hi. stomach of its con-
tents, and a general 'hbaing ensue 1, which waa ooly
stopped when the Coroner threatened Pi have the
thehl acr oaeuu'i:dhni eefnaicciatfunroessmb tia4We j Cubriulilt actor:, ptow"hvtohe nehtsrdha 'ld
dined a r
fallingbautt ga
Court cleared. The doctor in the meanwhile calmly
held up the heart, and described the injuries with that
nonchalance, which, as • rule, diatingnishes the pro-
fusion in matters of that sort.
The following was the evidence given :
Dr. Verne le, being 'worst, said I was called by
the police on Saturday night, ab Att a quarter t 12.
and went to Mrs. Sudden'., in Mill-lane, where I
arrived about five minutes to 12. I saw the deceased
lying on • bed, and found that he waa dead, having
died probably three or four minutes before my arrival.
I noticed a wound on the left cheek, which I knew
c ruldn't account for death, and I asked the sergeant to
have the room cleared and get the body stripped. I
then found two other wounds—one two inches from
the left nipple in a perpendicular direction, which I
probed. My probe went in about Si inches, in • direc-
tion upwards and inwards. The external dimensions
of the wound were not more than an inch. I therm saw
another wound on the other side. I passed my finger
Into it, and did not make any further insp ctiori at
that time. By my directions, the body warn atter wards
removed on a stretcher to the p —station. At 11
o'clock this morning I ma le • post ?sort- nt vermin.,
tion by order .1 the coroner, ant fund t it me of ihr•
w..uods hsd pierce I the letlie and heart. Toe wound.
which I found on dec. ased e body nii4ht have b .er,
produced by such a knife as tint pro !need. The
wound on the heart warn the cause of death. The
knife went between the fourth and fifth ribs. Had
the knife struck half-an-inch above or below the spot
where It did enter, the man's life woul,l prob slily have
been saved.
Wm. Hall said : I am • hawker, livin, at 1' role.
About 20 miontee past 11 I was In the Strand. We
had been iu the Coach and Hornet, and while we were
there—about five minute, to 10—the two foreignere
cone in. I left the C rach and Horan about five
minutes to 11 &click. There were abort seven or
eight persons there and two women. When we went
out we stayed in Coach-lane ab rut 10 minutes or a
quarter of an hour. I saw the deceased, Thomas
J. 11106, there. I a'so saw Briggs and Parker and the
two foreigners. There WWI a noise in the lane before
the Danes came up. I cannot say what the admit was
about. There was no fighting, A man named Gather.
idge asked thews two chaps (the Dane.) for a pipe r,f
tobacco, awl Gutheri ige looked upend said : " Yol're
one G—d—Dutohman." Larsen replied: " Oae
—d—Dutchman is as good its one G
Englishman." Gutheridge then struck Legven with
his list, and I saw L sr-lien draw • knife front a pocket.
or sheath, at ii. be k. There was a penile, an 1 I
called oat that Limn had drawn • knife. When
Gutherldge struck Larsen, Thomas James (the de-
, creased) stria,* Christensen. Ido not know what they
I struck the Danes for. I went towards Jame., and As I
did as, Larsen struck at me with the knife, but he hit
the wall. I saw him afterward, strike at James again,
and befell down by the wall. The deceased never
spoke. Jame was riot intoxicated. I could not say
whether Roy of the other men were intoxicated. 1
called out that James bad been stabbed, and Porker
(taught hold of Mtn and said, "Have 'em?" at the
same time turning him over. I did not see Briggs
struck. I had not heard either of the Danes rise
threat.. I and two or three other men carried the
nifenir.natthra.ll:llt.niTnehet4mlel: were not there mocupectrelea
'deceased into Mary Buddett's bourse. He was breathing
when we took him op ; but I cannot say how long he
lived afterwards. lam positive that I saw no one but
Larsen with • knife. I afterwards want with the
police to the Danes' vessel.
By
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anybodyw o
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lin, in the house. The Danes came in twice, but they
with
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ITraver,wotocrh Ti-avers.rnerh:
i..oe!aits,irdihaproceeding with other quest 1 Dual
were relevvant. He seemed to be making a desperate
one; but he thought it was one of the worst in the
Coroner,
sitting there as • judge, make such • remark.
bad neighbourhood. Ha dld not alien to say that the