The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-04-10 00:00:00

THE ALLEGED MURDER AT
NORWICH.

It. has been
.already
.stat-1. that the clerk to the

magistrates had received a .etter from Brighton with
reference to the extraordinary charge of murder against
the convict William Sheward. The letter bears the
Brighton post mark, under date "March 31," and is
in the following terms
Near Brighton, larch 31.
Sir—l have been kept In • very painful state of excite-
ment waiting far the decision of the jury as to the ninocence
or guilt of William Sheward, although resting wish,' of
their Plinth g him not guilty of murder, as the supposed
tawnier, d woman is now dictating this to her stile companion
and attendant for the last 16 years. I now with to tell you
word for word as I dictate, being too weak and ill to do it
myself While living very unhappily as the wife of the
accused, from the tact of not eming about him, bntl
beimt so different from the de, soul who kept
tile previous, anti knowing him for years he w, old hate
married, had lie been able to do so, and gave me
Imiitleante amount Oil shy marriage to Will am Shewartl It
• was alter rny thairiage that I he ,rd of my only lave bring ill
Ott a I,ed of Meknes, and he wrote to me begging me to caine
and attend to him in this very neighbourhood which I am
now living in, and have never le.t, or will ever leave again
alive. Ile died, leaving me suffie,ent invested for thy We,
with the totanise I would not return or mate thyself known
to my husband Ind friends. Ton may believe the shave or
not, as I Omit not nick., myself known, not even if the law
should do its wmat. Scarcely hoping this strange C•IIIMUI11-
cation can take effect without stronger proof, as I feel sure
the least excitement in my present state of health a cold be
certain death, I feel myself justified in retaining tny privacy
under any eireutwtances ; as it is, my husband's madness fs
hastening him to the grave. Written for Mrs. Sheward, at
her express desire.—A. T.

It must be admitted that this is, as the writer ob.
serves, "estrange communication ;" but in spite of it.
ungrAmmatical sentences, the meaning is throughout
tolerably clear. It was posted at Brighton, March 31,
the day on which the London Inornilig papers, contain.
ing a full report of the ti ial of Steward, would reach
Brighton. The letter appears to have been written by
a femcle, and the calicraphy is moderately good. It
is difficult to say at present whether any value
ttan be attached to the singular document, and
the Norwich magistrates are not disposed to
initiate any action in Vie matter, although the
convict's sidicitor (Mr. Stanley) in pursuing inquiries
on the subject. The friends of Steward affitin that
the person referred to in the letter is one Worseltine,
and although at the trial Worseltine appeared to have
only a mythical existence, it is affirmed that there
really was such a person; arid that Mrs. Steward
lived with him before her marriage to the convict
under sentence of death. Inquiries have been made
as to the history of Worseltine, but the explanation
sought to be given to the meagre account afforded of
him is that the pectmiary resources at the disposal of
Steward and his friends were insufficient to tin.
roughly collect and exhaust the evidence which might,
under more favourable circumstances, have been ad.
duced on his behalf.

Referring to the above letter. Mr. John Robert
'Taylor, of 7, Gray's-inn-place, Gray's-inn, Loudon,
thus writes to The Times
I have only just seen the article under the shove heading,
and hasten to inform you, ill accordance with my Christian
duty, that at tins trial of the prisoner William Sheward the
individual Worse Mine, with shorn the supposed murdered
woman was said is have cohabited prior to tier marriage
wills the
,prisoner, had more than a mythical existence. .

The IV4seldine supposed to la: allii'ded to was formerly a
carpenter end builder in Waterdane row iS hiiefriars-street,,
Float-street, where he carried on business tor litany years.
Afterwards, much to my surprise, lie became the proprietor
of all oyster shop iii thancery-lane, and at that time he
certainly was living iiiipropei ly, to the grief of hi; family,
with some woman to whom he appeared to be devotedly
attached.

.....
I knew the family of the Worseldines well, as one of the
eons of the Worseldine alluded to was articled to the 15,1110
gentleman, a citizen of London, to whom I served a seven
years' apprenticeship, and that, too, in the immediate
vicinity of Chancery-lane, where 1 have been located for
more than 45 years,
_ The elder Worselline.is dead, but his son is still alive, and
. . .

.....
I have no doubt, as a fellow-creattire's life is at stake, that
lie will be enabled to clear up this most mysterious part of
the case, either in the ptisoner's favour or otherwise. lie
has frequently expressed to me his deep sorrow at kui father's
abandonment of his family in favour of the woman alluded
to I should not be at all surprised when Mr. Staoley,
Sheward's solicitor, sees the younger Worseldine he will find
that both dates and facts will rhirvellously coirespond with
the anonym .ms latter addressed from Brighton to the clerk
of the Norwich magistrates.

A LEGAL DIFFICULTY.

The Iligh Sheriff has fixed Monday, the 19th of April, at
eight o'clock, for the execution of the culprit, William
Sheward The prisoner is still in a very weak and feeble
state, and he has been repeatedly visited by his elicitor for
the purpose of his preparing a statement to be laid before
the Home Secretary, in addition to a immortal very nu-
merously signed, which has already been prepared, prat big
for a remission of the capital punisbnient, on account of the
unsatisfact ry nature of the nvi,trbee upon which the
prisoner was convicted. A rather extraordinary incident is
likely to arise out of the affair, upon which it is not stall
Improbable that a writ ot error will lie applied for. It appears
th •t the offence, being committed within the c ty of Nor-
wich, a city jury was duly empatinelltd to try the case, nut the
trial actually timk place in the county court, which is beyond
the city jurisdlethat, and there appears to Inc considerable
doubt whether the prisoner was I. gaily convicted, and it is
said that an application will be made to the Attorney-
General for his fiat for a writ of error.

On Tuesday the magiOrate's clerk at Norwich received
anther anonymous letter, stating that Mr. Worseldine II
in December, laud. Mrs tiheward, therefore, could not have
gone back to torn as alleged.