The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-09-18 00:00:00

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SHOCKING MURDER AND SUICIDE
IN LONDON.

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A &mullet crime was perpetrated on Tuesday, in a row of
cottages off St. Leonard's-road, Poplar, Londog, where the
entire family of a mechanic, recently thrown out of work,
was destroyed with the utmost detberation.
It has been ascertairred by the inveet•gation of the authori-
ties that the perpetrate's, or at least the chief perpetrator
of the murder. was Jonathan Judge, a driller employed in
the buildttig iron ships, who had been for a long time out
of employment lie emitted with his wile, Clara Judge, • na-
tive of Devonshire, and his daughter Louisa, aged 4 years,
and an haslet Ben, Creole., aged 10 months, at IS, Bromley-
cottages, S. Leona, 4.1.6-1.0.111, nottir from the E set India a., its.
Duthie the great depressh al in the ishipbuildieg trade he was
furs period of ten mouths wholly unemployed, and one of
his children died and the infant Ch ales wee born. Tnese
combined circumstances threw the family into extreme dis-
tress, but they never applied to the workhouse for any
relief, even thomih they were often dependent upon the
kinduess of a neighbour for food. The principal resource
was a pawnshop, but a local club, the Great Eastern, gave
some aesiatatice on the OCC.SIOIIof the child'a death. Some six
week. ago Judge got work at Messrs. Dudgeou's shtplmilding-
yard, but in three weeks the great fire occurred at Messrs.
Dudgeoir's, and Judge wax consequently again thrown out of
work. This new ttow sernis mate to have overwhelmed him
and his wife. A fortnight ago Mrs. Judge, while recountine
her troubles to her next door neighbour, Mrs. Farmer, said
her husband the night bolero had said something in a very
peeuitar way. lie said, according to her, "I know • way of
ending the *hole thing. lii. a very easy way that I have
heard of. It is riot my life or your life that I care about
but I do care about the children."
This conversation denotes the time when the murderous
intention first took possession of Judge's toted, the family
becoming more sunk in poverty day by day slime ; but
It is a significant fact that although there is reason to
believe that Judge's design was matured and communi-
cated to Mrs. Judge, the I ater never again alluded ta it
in her conversatimis with Mrs. Farmer. Oa Monday even-
ing Judge was summoned to attend a meeting of his club
to consider whether a young man who had broken his leg
In a Itiht should be assisted out of the club bulls.
The club meeting over, Judge returned to his home, and
finding his wife absent, he knocked at Mrs. Farmer's wall
to attract her attention. Mrs Judge went to her husband,
who appears to have fetched some beer in a can. Ile then
with acne p este, which had been previously made for the
purpose, carefully c,,veted all the chinks of the windows
,a tilt brown paper. Ile next went into the yard and chopped
up a great quantity of w oil. lie was so long erg teed ha this
occupation that one of his neighbours gave him home pieces
ready chopped, which he accepted. \Veen Ire weut indoors
nothing further was seen or beard of the fatuity until half-
pest au e 0 clock on Tuesday miming.
The eeighboers finding that, contrary to custom, the
Judges made no sign of stirrum Bo late as half.past nine
o'clock, anti the siugular words of Mrs. Judge a fortnight
ago being called to mind, the police were continunicated
with. Sergeant Holton, of the K division, and Police-con-
strode 299 K. at once proceeded to the spot, and with the
aid of a ladder got in at the tipper floor windows, and break.
log the glass thew aside the blind. The Mutes of charcoal
were at mice perceptible. The spectacle in the room wan
terrible. Judge and his wife lay no the bed in their night-
dresses, arid uncovered by the bedclothes ; Mrs. Judge was
tin her hack, and Judge, by her aide, clasping her In his arms,
his head reclining on her breast. The Infant was on the
mother's left side, and the little girl Louisa was nestling
Clean to her father. All four were quite dead. The
children had apparently died in their sleep without a pang.
it was then Been that the door had been ae carefully covered
ith paper to exclude air from the crevices as the
window had been. A portion of an old milk can,
which stood near the table, and not far from the foot of
the bed, bad served as a brazier for the charcoal. The
wood u hlch had been given to Judge by the nelehhour
on
Monday evening was found unteuched but the quantlty of
Ood which he had himself cut up had dimppeared, and it
I. therefore supposed that he hail used it to intensify the
fumes of the charcoal, of which be must haee possessed him-
self with a view to the destruction of his family. Mr.
Brownfield, pollee-surgeon of the Kist India-road, was at
once sent for, bid he pre ounced death to have occurred
some considerable time previouttly.
Ira exandeing the premises more carefully te o letters
were foetid. tore of which contained the words,—" Give the
eigittalay clock to flee. Jonathan Judge," The other was
a much heater document It minutely specified the house-
hold things of which the family was possessed, and directed
their &Wheaton among their relatives. It is signed, or at
least purports to be stetted, by "Jonathan Judge. and
"Clara Judge." This fact leads Is the suppositiou
that Judge persuaded his wife to j. 'in him In de-
stroying the whole family, and, indeed, front the posi-
tion in which the body was found—clasped in his arms, and
with the toes open, showing that son had not been suffocated
Is her sleep-- here is a difficulty in aceepting any other
theory if the affair. But Mrs. Farmer, chin was intimately
acqur.riale.i with Mrs. Judge, deer ere. the Agustin e
"tiara Judge," is a forgery if her lasi) toil's, who, accord.
hie to her sic' not only Inritate4l his eet is writing very
ski If ,311 y. Many id the neighbours comur with Mrs. Farmer
in thinking that Mrs Judge had no part in the perpetratiolt.
of the crime— an opinion 1011TO10.1 on her known character
as gates, sensible, Boller woman. It is surmised that she
may have been tangged by her husband in the beer which
he brought from a punlitehouse prior to fastening up the
window arid cuttiog wood in the yard The tragedy bus, as
'meta he ex eented, caused a most pain] ul sensation In
Poplar and Minima

The Rev. Francis Trench, in letter on the Byron
controversy. says it is desirable to bviate the impt elision that
tire. Beecher St..we lisa anytlilt.g like an exclusive or even a
rare depository of the statement w itch site has made, so it,
to obtain any title to pubLcation on this account. At matt)
suclessive periods Lady Noel Byron had fully stated the
cause of her separation to many of her relatives and inti-
mate friends. But in all these Instances she knee when]
she could trust ; and (Mr Trench adds) so far as I know, not
one of them much to their honour, judgment, and propriety,
han broken that prof mid silence and secrecy which, no tar
as is Rubin) Is eencarned„ should have been continued for
1,011