The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-05-06 00:00:00

A SHOCKING OUTRAGE.

Oa Wedeesday rmrning, in last week, a ehocking
casof ieiterne and attempted minder wee
at E tccotn, in Kent. Abet.: f -irr o'clock in the morning
a cola, man woe paseing along his beat at Eithow,
whit he heard faint cries, proce, ding, apparently, horn
a w oai n. He at once proceeded down a nai raw pain
ease, mai found a woman, revectahly dressed, lying on
herh. I:, tot ceverel with Vied. Her check had
n cut tlin 'I .:I:, and Ii r Mad was battered in a fear-
ful ciann.r. si.e was conveyed to the surgery of Dr.
Kih7, wbo etst d that the woueds were very recett
Money Oct feend in her pocket and other articles,
bat u. tbi wh:c cave the slightest clue to her
iea-
lity. A lathi g hammer was found on Thursday aft, r-
noon on the co u: LI, of Id orden College, Biocicheatia,
with traeea of blood and Lair, which was t videutly that
of the Mimed woman, on the handle. To, haume r
was L,V, and had midently lota recetCy purchas
A colopirisoit of all the facts at pree,..nt towed tined
tens to the belief that the crime was emit:noted by a
moo, and at about three o'clock in tile morning. Tee
ground mar the spot is said to have b..n.e mirk.; of Ito,
etregele, and the opinion at Guy's Hospit .1, to cadetc
the risr girl was removed, is that the first blow was
infl.cted with the blunt eml of the lath hammer on
the back of the head, which rendered her insensilile
at once. The other onions wounds, which are cuts
on Vie right temple and jaw, were evidently inflicted
with the bl tide of the hamar. r, the one on the tea ple
having penetrated to ouch a td.pth as completely to
destroy the rieht eye. The surgeons have been
of opinion from the first that the injuries weuld
prove fatal, although there was hope that she
Mght recover consciousness for a short tiine.*.' That
the blows were inflicted by a man is presumed from
foot prints in the 8 ft ground, which are deep and
wide apart, as if the miscre: nt, after leaving his victim
far dead, ran away with rapid strides. It is ruppozed
th it he was well acquainted wilco the locality, tnr
instead of following the limo to its extremity at
Ph ioter'e-hill-road, he appears to have tubes a near
cut aerees the fields to the left, which would take him
to Blackheath, in sight of which he threw away the
latlnnak r's hammer, probably cstried so far as a
weapon of defence to corm ef pursuit. Two discovery
of the weapon covered with blood and hair is oppoacd
to the theory that the offender is a soldier, as he o,uld
not litre curried such an instrument about him without
exciting observation. The hat on I pick roies, which
formed the most conspicuous object of the injered
woman's tires., were taken to Lee-green policeettetion,
in order that they might be identified.
MoNnAY.

The unhappy victim of this ebrotking tragedy died
on Sunday n7ght between nine and ten o'clock. The
body of the murdered girl has been idehtified as that
of Jane Maria Clawson. Her identification was brought
about in a singular manner. On Sumhy evening, her
uncle, residing at Deptford, was reading an account of
the outrage in the newspapers, when it struck him that
the d %caption given resembled his niece as to the clothes
she was in the habit of wearing, and he and his wife
accordingly went to the house where she had lodged
since leavieg her situ /ion, and thence to the Black-
heath-road Police-station, where they saw Mr. Superin-
tendent Griffin sand Inspector Mulimey, and on
Monday morning, ace mpented by the Superintendent
of Polio they proceeded to Guy's Hospital, when they
identifhell the clothing first shown to them, producing
a pie e of lace to match that round the neck of the
&newton's j cake. They were thee shown the body,
which with great difficulty, owing to the disfigurement,
they also identified. They then proceeded to the house
of her father, James Clowson, who reside. at Millwall.
The father then went to the hospital, and identified
the 1), Ay. On Tuesday night the deceased is caul to
have told some person at the house in which she was
lodging that she was going to see her young man that
night at the top of May's-hill, at seven o'clock.

On Sunday afternoon Inspectm Mulvany, of the
Detective department of Scotland.yard, took into cus-
tody the eon of a very resp.ctable tradesman carrying
on business in the town of Greenwich, on no pinion of
bit gibe murderer. 'fhs girl had lived as domestic
servant in the family .4 the father of the accused for
a period of a year awl ten month& The accused was
taken into custody at Le father's place of businees.
When tald the charge, he declared 'amend innocent.

The scene of the crime Iris been visited by crawls of
curious persens. The rustics have placed a bough in
the hedges to mark the spot, but ths indica ion is one
nectssaey, for the ground where the poor girl lay is
saturatel with blood, and close to the impressi in of
her head in the grass tnere is a Wile red pool, these
fasces being still quite distincf, notwithstanding the
heavy showers which have fallen. The spot is a most
lonely one, and the general remark of visitors is that
a Inure appropriate plane hit such a deed could hardly
have been selected. The lane is so little frequented
that it is completely overgrown with grace, and the
spv chases, by the as- ailaut is in one of the benrls or
reaches ahont hale a mils from the main road, and far
away from any human habitation, one V the nearest
being the is sidenc, of Mr. Maude, the magistrate, who
resides at Blackheath, about half a mile away screws
the country.

At the Greenwich Police-court, on Tuesday, Edmund
Walter Pock, aged 20, dt scribed as a printer, of
London-street, Greenwich, was charged with wilfully
murdering Jane Maria Clowson.

The prosecution was conducted on the part of the
re lativea of the deceased by Mr. Pulling, solicitor; and
the defence by Mr. rook, solicitor, of Greenwich. In
opening the case, Mr. Pulling observed that in appear.
ing to prosecute he did so on the part of the relatives
of the deceased, that the ends of ju,tice might be
served, and with no fv.ling whatever against the
accused in the dock; and Mr. Pock asked that he
might be allowed to mention that, althou.;h bearing
the same name as the accused, he win in it way
relsto d to the family, which, however. he should not
be ashamed to be, it brim,' as respect stile as that of any
tradeenian carrying on loudness in Greenwich.
The evidence of the police-constsble who found the
young woman was taken, who said:—

- At 415 leaw a woman lying In the Imo on het hand. and
Jmoof er APAt.-60.0f rot? low.dtw'
no on the hit eule ,d her and &Iliad hr what he was et,lng
there. she made no emwer at the time, but teen
laid, "Oh, my poor head; oh ply poor head !" saw