The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1883-04-24 00:00:00

THE SLANDFORD MURDER CASE.
(Before Baron HCDDLESTON

TUE4DiT.

Georze Seayinur (27), groom, of imperfect education,
was placed at the bar charge,' on the magistrate.'
smrrant with the wilful murder of Emma Tanswell,
I de of Tilan lford Forum, and on the Coroner's warrant
with the rgan-Imighier of the mid womm.
The pri. mar I. a tall. powerful men, with a some-
what repulsive net of countenance. Ile ',Dade,' not
guiity very firmly, sal did not seem much if ,cted
wiih the proceeding.. Howeser, towards the end be
orod ,u-ly followed the summing up of the learned
joilge, and when the Ors, in answer to the question
' Do you find George t4eaoiour Runty of murder or not
guilty 2' and the forem n repli.d guilty, he paled
con-literahly ; hot an expression of intense relief
p 'ma over his c..untenanm when the foreman, after
a *wood's inters I. ad "of mmol.ughter."
Mr. Casa. end Mr. 1.7.1a1 prosecuted, Ind Mr.
Matthew. defewled.

-
Mr. Ca tie in opening the cwt., said the only
goer ion the Orr would have to c .naider would be
whether he crim • the prismrr ha! c .mrni•ted was
nor. of eilful 'curler or man•langhter. He did not
wh n thAy her! the evildoer.. he ehoci.l have
to lay before them th tt he was guilty of one or the
other. The c,irne of murder, a. definer!, was the
killing of anther per., with malice. It was not
nee-Peary for the prosecution to actosily prev • malice
I.u• the law, as he unden,tood it, 141 it down that
where a person M11e.,, under circumstanoes in which
it was a question whether they amounted to murder or
mend rughter, it was f r the defence to reduce the
crime from the more serious to one of lesser
nature. Having detailed the facts, the learned
counsel pad if the evidence bad rested with what
t, ok place at the puhlicbouse, he could hardly have
asked the jury to find him guilty of the more serious
crime. for they could hardly conceive a man would
deliheret.ly intend to mor ler a woman before to
many whose*. ; but there was also the dreadful
treatment t.. be conablered, which 'he rexived b tweet)
that day an•llhe clsy of her dotth
He then • ailed the I llowitg evitence

&mime Kale, wife of a labourer living at Blandford,
said she and the deesasei wn.l two other women went,
on the afternoon of the 27th of February, to the
George lon, to have • glare of beer. While there the
prisoner went up to her and hit her with his fist on
the el to of the head and began abusing her. It wee
too bad to meolon.
The Judy : You must tell it. If you go into
publichouses you must expect to hear conversation of
that kind.
He celled her a whore, and told her to go home with
her hu.band. and after that kicked her jest under the
heart I the left side, At that muscat her (witnees'ed
sister came in, and Tensest' took tip • glue of beer
to a‘lc her to drink. Prisoner asked her where she was
going with it, and she told him she was going to a k
Mrs. Pitman to drink, and then it was he kicked her.
The deces-ed fell down sod held her side, but she
shortly after got up and went out. When she came in
eg.in prj.oner began again to cell her dreadful names
and "of course he began abusing the poor woman, en
she took up the cop and threw a drop of beer at him."
It did not go over him, but sport that he took hold of
the cup with the handle and hit her three Cense on the
head. Whilst doing it he had his hand on her head
and kept it down, striking her with the other. (The
cup. an ordinary pint jur, we, here produced. The
handle we. broken off.) The result was that her bead
••• cut open. and the bl,od flowed, and she (witness)
wiped it off. Deceased was ineen.ible for • few
minute.. µToes, said to him "Oh, George, you
will kill the woman." H. roplied "No, if blows
would bare done it I should have done it long ego."
They then went home, and the deemmed ran upAnim.
She called to her to come down, hut the deceased said
she could n 4. The next morning they went again to
her hotline, and she then showed them • rope, rod some
marks round her neck, with rehrence to which she
made a statement The prisoner broke the handl*
from the mug in atriki g her.
Cross-examine!: She was the last witness examined
before the Coroner. Before her testimony was given
her sister an 1 Halms Hall had been examined.
Emma Hall, wife of Charles Hall, was in company
with the I.st witness awl the deceased at the George.
They were there about half.an-hour before the
prisoner came in, when he can:maimed quarrelling with
the deceased, and told her to go home and look after
the children. He struck her and she said" What did
you do that for George, I. haven't been here long."
She went to go out, but he would not let her and
kicked her. She seemed insensible from the kick.
The quarrelling went on, and then she threw some
beer over him. Hs said "I won't stand that," and
than took up the cup in his right hen I, held her bead
down with the left, end hit her on the back put of
the head three times, cawing the cup to break. The
next day the deceased want out with her to pick AP
it lA.. _ .

-..R.Teaxamined : But she wu not able to bring them
home._ . .

Daring hi. eroes-riaminstion of the witness, )fr.
Matthews referred to the dew...Mous before the
wooer. Hi. Lordehlo proceeded So look at than,
bat apparently did not do so quickly enough to satisfy
th• loaned mug, who ast down =Vain.