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

_
THE JEWEL ROBBERY IN LONDON.

At the Central Criminal Court, in London, on
Monday, Michael Twpey, charg-ed with the now
famous diamond robbery at a honee in Berkeley-street,
in F, brriary last, vr., arraigned at the bar to plead.
He was well-dressed, and was described iu the calendar
es a clerk, and 28 yearn of age. His manner Was
sulb n and desponding. The indictment charged him
wi'h a rob'wry with violence on James L'nett Parkes,
and at .sting from him two diamond neeklagea end
other airric!e., to2ether of the value of £2' lioo, the pro.
wrty of Messrs. London and Elder, jewelkrin Bond.
street.

Earlier in the sitting the prisoner, contrary to
j antral exyectation, hod plewied "Not Gail' y," bat as
the Court was al nut ta adjourn for the day he was
auain placed at the bar, snd sad he wished to with.
draw tout pl-a, and to 'dead 'Guilty," which he ac.
cor ,ing:y laid.
. . . .

- We-Th.7;er being depiroui of calling witnewe3 to
I Ppeak to his chauacter, the Penitence wail inatponnd
I until the following morning to enable him to du Po.

On Tuesday morning Michael Torpey was again
placed at the bar to receive judgment, and although
1 the sentence wan postponed the previous day in or by
to offorit an opportunity to the prisoner to produce ad-
ditional te,tinuony as to his previous character, Lo
other witnesses made their appearance.
Mr. Montagn William reminded the court that the
prisoner had given ci rtaiu information to the looses
cut, re in reference to the stolen property.
Mr. Straht (who appeared for the prosecntion)
raid this was true, but the information only went to
the t vent of saying where the seeden property bad
. been disposed of. This Will ill different parts of the
G.ntim lit, and the information was of little or no use
to the proeecutors. The learned counsel ad led that
there WWI every reason to 'wheve that at the time the
. robbery was committed the prisoner was very much
' pressed for payment of £7OO for nobilities irenrred in
i betting transactiois. There were also grounds for
1 liehrvirg that the prisoner and Ms wife had been
reading works of fiction, one of which contained an
, ac !mint if a pretended robbery of the some description ;
' and; alter brooding over the matterthey seemed to have
at length resolved to carry one the robbery in question,
which was to a very considerable ameunt. Property to
the aniouht of oh ,ut 1:890 WAS found in the p easseion
of the ;intoner, and al u a diamond which was cons
ceoled about his person, and which the prisoner said
he intended to give to 1,i3 wife as a present. In
addition to the information he hail referred to as
having been Oven by the prieoner, the prisoner ape
peered to have apolog4eil. as he termed it, to Messrs.
Lotion and Ryder for making them the subjeet of the
I ohtery, which WWS intended for Mr. Hairy Emanuel,
and in conclusion the learned counsel said he would
leave the cme he the hands of the court.

The Recorder, in pawing sentence, said that the
prisoner had pl-wied goilcy tl the rob'wry only, and
the more seriow charge of employing a stupefying drug
had not breu preksed against him. It was, how,wer,
a tobbery of a very serious and daring and pre-
meditated character, and ha tea it his duty to sentence
him to eight year.' penal aervitude.
The prieouer, who did cot teem at all affected by
the sentence, WAS th,n removed.

I I reference to the ohtervatfpn of Mr. Strafebt, nhont the
prlsooer reading works of flo.lou, the New remarks:—

'lt seems that these twn people bad bet n in the
halit of reading works of fiction, and one of the novels
haopened to contain the story of a daring rohbhry. The
imagination of the husband and wife was tired; and in
due thus they transferred this Lit of fiction into the
sphere of real life, with such results as Mr. Torpey
will now discover. It is to be feared, Low-
eso r, that Mr. Straight's theory reverses the order
of things. It is more customary fr noveh to
b=ow from the poli.w.courtei than tee police-courts
to he indebted to navels. Indeed, the cbahc s
are that the romanci-t in question had in the first
instance t4ken toe empteetion from the records of
criminal trials. Such robbrriee have plehty ot p. ens-
dents ; and the whole theory of the effects of fici
on the stn,i,ive mind, although ingenious, is a trifle
improbable. In bidding farewell, however, to Mr.
Torpey, we may express the hope that any inuteinat ve
literature alLtwed him in his confinement may be of a
finite harmless, rot to say improving character."