The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-09-06 00:00:00

CHARGE OF ATTEMPTED MURDER.

In London, at the Clerkenwell Police-court on
Monday,William Costello, 38, described as a labourer,
living at 153, Bemerton-street, Islington, was charged
with feloniously and maliciously cutting the throat of
his wife Emma with some sharp instrument, with
intent to murder, on Saturday night. Police-inspector
Ruff informed the magistrate that the insured woman
was still in the hospital, and he was informed that she
could not leave for some days.
Police-constable Parish, 215 Y, said that at five
minutes to nine o'clock on Saturday evening he was
on duty and was called to 153, Bemerton-street,
Islington. He went there and entered the back
parlour on the ground floor. There he saw the pri-
soner sitting on a bed, and a woman lying on the
floor with her throat coat. She said, "My husband
has cut my throat." The prisoner said, "I did not;
she did it herself;" and the woman answered, "You
did it." Witness sent for Dr. Slater. He found a
table-knife under the table. There was no blood
upon it, but it was wet. Another knife was on a
shelf in the room. Prisoner was taken to the police-
station and charged. He said nothing in answer to
the charge. Cross-examined by the Prisoner: fle
could not say whether the prisoner sent for the police
himself. He did not see the prisoner holding a cloth
to his wife's throat. He found the knife under the
table near the woman. The boy who called him did
not say who had sent him.
TllO Prisoner: My wife did not speak a word to you
or anybody else till the doctor came.
Dr. John St der said he was called to the house in
question on Saturday night. He found the prisoner's
room in great disorder, and the prisoner and a woman
sitting on the bed. The woman had.a wound upon
her throat. He said, "How was this done?" She
replied, "My husband did it." Witness asked the
prisoner if that was so. The prisoner did not answer.
The woman had also a deep WFulid between the
thumb and the forefinger of the left hand. He sent
her to the hospital. In reply to the Prisoner: YO-u
did not say "I did not do it." The Prisoner: I say
I did. When you came in was I not holding my
handkerchief to her throat? Witness: I did not see
it. The Prisoner: I was, and that was the cause of
the blood on my left hand that I showed at the
station.

In reply to the chief clerk, the witness said he
thought both the knives produced were too blunt to
have caused the wounds.

Dr. Stokes, house surgeon at the Great Northern
Hospital, gave evidence as to the nature of the
wounds. There was a lacerated wound across the
neck five inches long. It was not necessarily a dan-
gerous wound. There was also a deep wound on the
left hand between the thumb and forefinger. The
woman would not be free to leave the hospital for
some days.
Inspector Ruff asked the magistrate to recommend
legal aid for the prosecution, as it was believed that
the prisoner's friends might influence his daughter, of
whom evidence would be required.
Mr. Barstow decided that legal aid was unnecessary.
He would not take bail.
The prisoner was remanded.

Tun burning question in the East.—Shooting Cole
at Dalston.—Funny Folks.
"The meanest man I have seen in all my practice"
said a doctor, "is a patient of mine in the West End.
I waited on him for ten years, furnishing medicine
and everything, and could never collect a cent, and
the other day he sent a great big basketful of bottles
to my office and wanted me to buy them ?" "Well,
what harm was there in that ?" asked his companion.
"Oh, none to speak of, only' the bottles were the same
ones I had been furnishing him with for the ten years
I had attended him."