The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-01-09 00:00:00

A QUESTION OF IDENTIFICATION.

EXTRAORDINARY CONFESSION OF
WIFE-MURDER.
At the Lambeth police-court, in London, last
Saturday morning, William Sheward, aged tif ty-seven,
giving his address the Key and Castle Tavern, St.
Mariiiis-at-Oak, Norwich, e is brought up in the
custody of Inspector Has is, charged on his own con-
fession with wilfully murdering his first wife, Martha,
at Norwich, on the lath June, 1851.
The prisoner, a gentlemanly-looking moo, was so
weak nod, feeble that ho hod to be seated during the
hearilig of the case and wept bitterly, and appeared to
feel his position deeply.
bspector 1 /axis, has big detailed the circumstances
unit r which the prisoner made the confession to him,
nail: I mked him if there was anything that haul
occurred to unseale his mind, as he might then be
labouring under some delusion. He replied, "No, it
is too true. I left home on Tuesday with the inten-
tion of destroying myself. I Mended to have cut my
throat with the razor I have got in my pocket. I asked
Inns for the razor, and he at once took the one produced
in a case from his pocket. He then said, " I have
beeo to Chelsea to-day and yesterday by steamboat
intending to destroy myself, but the Almighty would
not let ice do it. I wish 1 could have done it."
Prisoner then desired n.e to take down something in
writing, and 1 did as follows, as he dictated :
"I, Wilti,,s Award, of Norwich, charge myself
with the wit.fal murder qi Martha Shewarti, mg tuf

This statement prisoner then signed. Ile appeared
perfectly sober aml natural in his ways. He made the
following further statement this morning. I asked
hint if he would give any particulars of the crime he
had charged himself with, and when and how the deed
wut done and he said, "Yes, I will. It was on the
15th of :Tune, 1/151—I cut her throat with a razor.'
I said "How did you dispose of the body, or how was
it that it was not discovered " and he replied, " The
body was cut up, and I lstlieve a imattion WAS kept in
spirits of wine at the Guildhall at Norwich by order
of the magistrates." I then asked him la tw it was he
now canie and confessed, and he said, " I went last
nightto a house in Eiclonotal-street, NValworth, where
I first saw my first wife, alld that brought it no to my
mind that I was oldiged to ...me and give myself up,'
and again he sal!, • • You'll find it si tate true, and they
will know all about it at Norwich." Prisoner further
added that he kept the Key and Castle at Norwich,
and previous to that kept a pawnbroker's shop four-
teen or fifteen years, and at the time of the murder
was living at 14.. Martin's-at-the-Pahice, Nttrwich.
The magistrate (to prisoner): T tat have heard the
evidence; have you anything to say in reference to it,
or to pot any questions to the inspector 9 --Prisoner
(faintly but firstly): No, your worship.
Magistrate : 18 the statement made by the inspector
correct ?—Prisoner : Yes, your worship.
Magistrate I shall remand you for further inquiry.
--Prisoner : Very well. your worship.
The prisoner was then taken trom the dock and at
once conveyed in a cab to Horsemonger-lane Gaul.

On Tuesday, Mr. "litchi-natl. chief constable of the
Norwich Hier, and other members of the force, were
busily engaged in investigating the circumstances of
the above confession of murder. There seems no
reason to doubt the accuracy of the confession made by
the prisoner. The date assigned by Sheward as that
on which he murdered his wife is June 15, 1851, and it
appears that human remains were discovered in the
neighbourhood of Norwich in lime and July, 1851.
The circumstances excite,' ,reat attention at the time
and every exertion was made to solve the mystery, but
without result.
The first discovery of the murder was made on
Saturday, June 21, 1851, just six days after the date
assigned by Sheward as that on which he committed
the murder, when a young man found a band in a road
leading to Lakenham, a suburb of Norwich. About
200 or 300 yards from tne spot where the hand was dis-
covered a bout was picked up. The discovery provoked
, so much horror and excitement that diligent further
researches were made in the neighbourhood of Norwich,
and pieces of flesh, bones, ftc., were discovered at liel-
lesdon (another subutil of Ni urwich). and elsewhere on
Sunday, June 22 ; Monday, June 23 ; Tuesday, June
2-1 ; WedHe,daY, June 2r ; and Thursday. June 26.
The hand first found was clenched, and much did.
cbunred ; and on the memains being Collected, the
medical 1111.11 consulted expressed their opinion that
they were those ,if a young adult woman. The remains
were placed in spirits of wine (as stated by the
1 prisoner), and were kept for some time at the Guildhall,
Norwich. .

The search for further remains was cautioned after
June `2n,1531; and a piece skull awl muscle was
. .

discovered on Saturday, June 2s ; Stlllll, int-stines On
Sunday, juiie 29 ; and a hard substance, supposed to
lie a thigh.bone, and part 4.1 a female breast, on
'Mond . ay, 'lune The last discovery appears to
have been made on Wedncsday, July 2, ISSI, when
some bones were found. ,hirt smeared with blood
was al., picked up en Mousebold-heath, near
Norwich. - .

AN EXTRAORDINARY MEDICAL CASE
IN NEW ORLEANS.
The doctors in New orleans are greatly interested in the
case of a young German, named George Nickent, who fen
train a platform shout four months ago. The Times of that
city thus gives the particulars of the case
It wail supposed that he would die in a few hours,
for his head was twice its normal size, and nearly every
suture of the skull gaped open. The left half of the
skull was broken in several places, compressing the
brain. Blood oozed from his mouth, eyes, nose, and
ears, and his live senses were suspended. Hie eyes
protruded out if their sockets, resting on the cheek
bones, five times their natural size, and almost as
black as coal. The bladder was enormously distended
and completely paralysed. The lower portion of the
bowels was in the same condition. Both had to be
operated on mechanically. His pulse could not be
felt, except in the great arteries of the neck. His body
could be pricked with a penknife anywhere without
the least evidence of feeling.
By a novel mode of treatment— the nenropathy of Dr.
John Chapman, of London, which consists in the ap-
plication of heat and cold alternately to the whole
length of the spine, by means of a special apparatus
for the purpose, aided by the employment of induced
and interrupted electrical currents, called Faradization
—the young man commenced a gradual improvemeM.
At the expiration of a month the "black and blue'
which disfigured the upper half if his body hail nearly
all disappeared. In six weeks his eyes, without any
improvement of vision, were reduced to their natural
size, and the bulge of his head had contracted very
near its normal measure and all the senses had re-
turned to their healthy status.
His mind, however, did net improve with the im-
proved pace of the physical senses. For a mouth his
mind was a total blank. The mechanical pressure of
the broken skull on the left side of his head still caused
a slight paralytic condition of his right arm and leg.
He had recovered the perfect use of his tongue, and
was restore 1 to complete coneeiousness in about seven
weeks. It was soon discovered that the recollection of
every word and idea had been literally knocked out of
his head. Though reinvested with full consciousness
and the power of using his tongue, it was impossible to
communicate to himany idea, name, or object. The
power of intelligent language had vanished— not the
power of articulation, but the power of expression was
lost. He was unable to make known his wants by the
use of language -nor could be convey Isis meaning by
writing, for it was evident that the power to write
words from memory was lest ; he was, therefore,
literally thinking without words. Ile is a German, and
no word of his mother tongue or that of the English
language was remembered by him. He could not call
the name of any of his associates, and when he began
to learn over again, it took him three weeks to learn
his own name. During the past two months George has
learned quite a number of words, names, places, and
things. He csn now go anywhere in the day by him-
self. His new memos' —for want of a better expression
—is very good, and Ins mind strong and active, though
it is sometimes very tedious to teach him some words,
but not from the want of articulation, for that is
perfect. Tell him to say "hat," for instance, and he
is as apt to say "mule," or anything else he has
learned; notwithstanding, as objects of tense, he knows
the meaning if " hat " and " mule."
The left hemisphere of the skull is as uneven as
the rough pavement of the streets. His health is very
good, and he is about twenty years if age.