The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-11-24 00:00:00

SINGULAR ENDING OF A TRIAL FOR
MURDER.

At the Liverpool AsSizes, on Monday, before Mr.
Justice Denman, JAhn thblyme, 24 years old, a farm
labourer, was ineieted for the murder of .Tog
boa
Wein, a farmer, 73 years old, at Lowtun, near BAton,
on the 18th September.
Mr. ShAe. and Mr. Lowther prosecuted; Mr.
Athlison, Q.C,, and Mr. Wharton were for the de-
fence.

The prisoner was the nephew of the deceased, and
at the time Of the inurder the latter had recently
altered his will 'so as t • constitute the prisoner the
sole beneficiary, as well as executor. On the morning
of the 18th Sept. the deceased was found on the floor
of hie bedroom dead, with his throat cut. and a razor at
band in such a position as to indicate suicide. Subs's.
quent examination, however, showed that he had re.
ceived severe injuries about the head and body. On
the head were marks of kicks, showing the indentation
of nails, and on the body a number of punctured
wounds. In the opinion of the medical man, it was
to these injuries that death was due, and the cutting
of the throat was done after death. The evidence to
connect the prisoner with the murder was purely
circumstantial. Witnesses were called to show that,
although the prisoner (who was the only other occu•
pant of the house at the time) stated that he had not
got up until five o'clock in the morning, a light was
seen burning three quarters of an hour previously; that
his trousers were found in the deceased's room, smeared
with blood as well as wet; that a grey shirt was found
in the house stained with blood, which was alleged to
belong to the prisoner; that a grey hair, corresponding
with some hairs found on the razor, was disoovered on
the prisoner's booty, which were of a nature to cause
the injuries to the deceased's head. It was also etatcd
that the will of the deceased was found to have been
removed to the prisoner's father-in.law. There were
no indication of the house having been broken into,
and as the door of the deceased's bedroom was always
kept open the prisoner must have seen the body as he
passed down stairs. There were marks of a struggle
in the room but no indications of an entrance having
been forced to the house.

Tie Judge was commencing to sum up, when one of
the jurymen was seized with en epileptic fit, and the
case was adjourned.
On Tuesday morning the medical gentleman, in
reply to the judge, said the juror was unable to pro.
ceed with the trial, and the jury were discharged. At
the request of the judge the conned engaged in the
case retired from the Court for consultation. On re-
turning into Court a fresh jury was sworn.
The judge stated to them that the result of the
eonsult.tion was that Mr. Shee, the leader for the
prosecution, had decided not to proceed further with
the case,

Mr. Shee said, after careful consideration of the
case, he had come to the conclusion that it would not
be advi4able to offer any further evidence in the mi..,
especially as it was of a purely circumstantial cha-
racter.

The Judge said he was very strongly of opinion
that under the circumEtances of the case the learned
counsel for the prosecution was only doing that
which, as representative of the Crown, he was war-
ranted in doing, and which was only due to the
just and merciful administration of the ciiminal
law. It was a case in which, having heard all that
was to be said for thd prosecution and for the pri-
soner, had a conviction followed, it would have been
one over which he would not have slept comfortably,
because he reasonably felt that, upon the evidence,
there was a serious and a grave doubt as to whether
the case had really been brought home to the prisoner.
The Jury, accordingly, retuned a verdict of Not
Guilty, and the prisoner was discharged.