The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-04-17 00:00:00

THE LATE MURDEROUS ASSAULT AT

THE LYE.

At a Special Sessions, on Saturday last, before Major
Fletcher, William Wolldridge (19), William Wooldridge
(18), James Brettell (19), and William Forrest (19), all on
bail, were brought on remand to answer a charge that on
" the 15th March in this year they did commit a highway
robbery with violence, on James Newey, and that they
did cut and wound him with intent to do him grievous
bodily harm," and they were also charged with commit-
ting a similar offence on Samuel Wyatt and James
Brettell.

Mr. Addison prosecuted; and Mr. Stokes appeared for
Wooldridge, senior, Mr. Underhill (instructed by Mr. G.
Perry) for Wooldridge, juDior, Mr. Wall for Forrest. and
Mr. Waldron for James Brettell.
The Court having been cleared of witnesses on both
sides,

Samuel Wyatt deposed: I am a chain maker, and live
at Cradley. On the 15th March I went to the Lye with
James Newey, Joseph Brettell, and William Pearson.
We went at ten minutes to nine. We returned from the
Lye at eleven o'clock. We did not all of us come home
together. When by Green's, the carpenter's, we met the
two prisoners. Myself and James Newey were together,
and Joseph Pearson and Brettell were on in front. The
prisoners attacked Newey, but I did not know what they
did at him. One of the prisoners caught hold of the
front of his jacket. When he caught hold of Newey I
did not hear anything said. I did notjhear anything said
by prisoners just then. After they caught hold of Newey
in front of his jacket I crossed over the horse-road on to
the foot-path. Then one of the prisoners stuck a knife
into my shoulder bone. The one who did it was Wool-
dridge, senior. The knife cat through my clothes and
drew blood, and I have been attended by Dr. Ber since.
I got away as well as I could up to the iron gate leading
into the garden ground. I left the two prisoners by
Green's. I did not see anything of Newsy again until I
got home. Joseph Brettell and William Pearson took
hold of me and led me up to the:garden ground. Whilst
I was with Newey I heard Forrest say he would stick a
knife into Newey. He said "I will stick a knife into
this one," having hold of Newey at the time. I did not
hear Forrest say anything else, nor see him do anything.
Neither did I see the other man do anything. I did not
see either of the prisoners stab Newey. They had me
down on the ground.
During cross-examination by Mr. Stokes witness said
they left the Unicorn at closing time. Whilst there they
had three pints of ale amongst four of them. They
were not there many minutes. It was about ten o'clock
when we went there. When they met the prisoners they
, were near to Green's. When Newey was attacked they
I all three ran away and left him to take his chance.
i Mr. Wall: At the first time of your meeting did For-
rest use the knife to you ?—Witness: Not then.
Will am Pearson, chain maker, and Joseph Brettell,
chain maker, corroborated the two previous witnesses.
Samuel Taylor deposed: I am a horse nail maker, and
live at Careless Green, about 60 or 70 yards from Mr.
Green's, the carpenter's.. On the evening of the above
date I was at home with my wife and family. Newey
came to my house at about from a quarter to '2O minutes
past eleven. He was in a very exhausted state, and blood
was flowing freely from a wound under the left eye. I
did not notice that he was bleeding from anywhere else.
after he got into our house we laid hold of him and put
him on the bench, and I returned to the door. William
Wooldridge (senior) and Forrest came up. Wooldridge
said, "Has 'ere a chap come into your house r and I
said" No, there's no one in the house besides my own
family." I said this became I thought there would be
more danger done. Then Wooldridge made reply, and
said "There were four dropped on use when I came out
of the Hare and Hounds, and one of them has come this
way, and if I can catch him 1 will kill him." He said
"He is in this brewhouse, and I will search it." My door
was open at the time, and I was on the door-sill. He
went to the brewhouse and looked inside. He did not
come back again. He said" They have gone up the
Holloway,' and I will follow them." At that time I saw
no other person there. Forrest was at the back of Wool-
dridge. Shortly afterwards I saw a person named Mary
Wooldridge. She came to our door. Soon afterwards
Police-constables Needle and Harrison came to my house.
Mary Wooldridge said that she heard a disturbance on
the night in question. Directly afterwards she heard
some one say," Don't you." She went outside and saw
four run up the horse-road, and she saw a boy go to
Samuel Taylor's door. That boy was Newey. After
Newey had gone into Taylor's house she,saw two persons
coming there, but 1 can't say who they were. At that
time she was standing on her door-step. Taylor's house
is about 15 yards from her's. She heard a conversation
between those two men and Samuel Taylor. She heard
one of them say, " Is there a chap in here," and Taylor
replied, "No one but our own family."
Mr. Richard lier, surgeon, of Cradley Heath, said: I
saw Newey on the 16th March. My assistant saw him on
the night before. Newey had an angular wound, measur-
ing three-quarters of an inch each way, and extending
by its outer edge to within half an inch of the outer
csrner of the left eye. The apex of the angle was direc-
ted downwards, and the wound was cleanly cut both ways.
It was directed from below, upwards. In addition to that
I found that both eyes were severely contused, the left
one so much so and so much swollen as to render it im-
possible for him to open the lids. lam under the im-
pression that the wound was inflicted by a double-edged
knife. There was another wound over the left shoulder,
somewhere about an inch in length. That was on the
shoulder bone just at the junction of the collar bone
with the shoulder bone. It appeared to be a bad wound.
Ile has not been under my treatment for fully a week.
Be was under my treatment a little more than a fort-
night. He was in a very dangerous condition, pulse
ranging from 120, giving me the impression that he had
been severely knocked about. I also saw Wyatt on the
16th March. I found that he had a suplrficial clean cut
wound on the top of the left ear, or rather just at its
junction with the head. It would be about half an inch
in length. In addition to that he had a wound on his
back, apparently a deep one, over the left shoulder blade.
It was about the middle of the shoulder blade, just below
what is called the spine of the blade bone, about an inch
in length. It was stopped up when I saw it by my assist-
ant the night before. He also had two black eyes. He
cont;nued ill for about the same period as Newey, about
a fortnight. The same sort of a knife would be likely to
inflict the wound. Both wounds might be inflicted by a
double-edged knife, but it was nut absolutely necessary
that it should have been a double-edged one. An ordi-
nary knife would have inflicted them.
Several other witnesses were called, and after hearing
the whale of the evidence, Colonel Fletcher committed
t -a whole of the prisoners to take their trials at the en-
suing Sessions, bail being allowed in the same amounts
se Were.