The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-11-23 00:00:00

TEE PICKERING_ MURDER.

Mr. Nese, coroner, waisted by his deputy, Dr. Wood,
onad an inquest last Saturday morning, at the
"Mormehoe "inn, Pickering, to inquire into the death
of Joseph Wood. yeoman, of ertipton-lane. It wan
market day in Pickering, and a considerable crowd
amembled round the place. The jury included several
en of the clam to which the murdered man and
Charter belonged. Mr. Superintendent Jonas, of the
county police, conducted the case.
The Coroner, in opening the proceedings, said no
doubt there hod been a foul and -brutal murder com-
mitted, the like of which, though he hail been coroner
for 31 years, he had never known before in this part of
the country, which had been singularly free from
crime.
The jury went into the police-station to view the
remains, the stench of which was terr':oly offensive. On
their return into the chamber "where the coroner's
court was held, evidence of id.,:sstigsation was taken.
John Wood, the brother Of the deceased, said : I am
farmer at Clotdoli-ithei 'end Joseph Wood was my brother
JIM age was W. and farmed the farm opposite mine. I
last taw him alit. on Friday, the 17th May, between twelve
and one in the'ay.He was in his own house sitting over
the kitchen `dye with his little boy. I had some conversation
with about a harrow he had borrowed from me. and
Chae,r, who was there, joined in the conversation. I never
lv„,ird him mention anything shout going away or leaving the
country. Neat day my son woe talking to a young labourer
earned Stead, and. as told my brother and the lad Joseph had
gone away in the middle of the night. Charter had told him
so. I went over after dinner to my brother's house. Charter
was kindling a fire, and there war apiece of mutton on the
table I said, "You are going on queer, I think. I sopposo
say brother's gone away." He said ye s, sad that the little
boy bad gone with him. I asked where, and he said he
didn't know. I questioned him further, and he said my
brother and be sat up talking till &Mut eleven o'clock and
in brother said to him, "Robert, 'Lis your bedtime." Ile
meld some time towards morning my brother shouted from
the bottom of die stairs, " Robert, we're going—going away
tor two or three days." Thia Charter said my brother
✓epeated, adding, "You must stop, Robert till I come
back. Ile said he got up at once, and looked up and down
the lane both ways, but could see no one. I asked him what
time he thought that would be, and he said he thought it
was about three o'clock, but it was dark. I said It was
not dark at three o'clock that morning and he said
It might not be so late—the clock was stopped. I said,
"1 think, in the state my Mother was in for he was very
queer), you ought to have come over and told us that he
had gone out at that time of night. Charter's neswer
Was, "Us has been very nice ever since I came." My brother
bad been rather odd for some time. On the next inorning
which was Sunday morning, I saw Charter In the lane, and
told him we should like to know where my brother was
gone. Charter said he had not come back, but had probably
gone to Mallon to get the "housekeeper's " back again.
Her name is Charlotte Ann Thompson, and she is my brother's
Illegitimate daughter.
The Coroner Did you suspect there was anything wrong
almut his going away?
Witness: No; we thought he was gone away for two or
three days I asked Charter to take a horse and coin malton
to see if he was there, and Charter said. "Oh, you need not
be uneasy at hie going away for two or three days" I asked
him to go two or three times, blithe gave me no direct an-
swer, and on the Sunday afternoon I sent my son, but he
could hear nothing of my brother Ire the lad. On Monday
morning I inquired again, to know whether my brother had
come back. and was told he haora. 1 and my other brother
then thought he had gone to Melton. On Tuesday I
thought It was time my brother was looked after, and
I asked Mr. Wooda advice, and he recommended me to see
a solicitor, who told me the first thing to do was to find my
brother. Mr. Wood and I then laid an information at the
pollee-office, and I came away home. On Wednesday I sent
• man to make other inquiries. On the Thursday morning
Charter and • policeman came to me, Charter having in Me
hand a letter, This was the letter:—

" Liverpool, May 20, 1872.
" To Robert Charter.
" Dear Consin,—l write them few lines to let you know that
I an. going to take the water, foreign, you must stay at
Cropton Lane, and get my affairs settled up as loon as you
can. We are going either to-dav or tomorrow, I will let you
know In my next what I have don st where I am going.
Rictus my bad writing, and a bad pen, and in haste,
"JOSEPH WOVP "
I said to Charter, "Well, this surprises me. I do not be-
lieve that letter Nmy brother's writing. It is nothing like
his writing." While my horse wee being got ready Charter
sald to me, "This is • short letter, but it haa • deal of mean.
log." I rode into Pickering, and telegraphed from Mr.
Jaques' to Liverpool, to Allan's shipping office, for which
Mr. Jaques is agent in Pickering. Next morning Mr.
Jaques and my brother William, who lives in Pickering,
came up to me with the information that nothing could be
seen or neard of my brother In Liverpool Thomas Scorby, a
brother-indaw, said he should like to have some talk
with Charter, and I invited him to come to Cropton
With Superintendent Jonas It was in the bay-time.
Ws went to my brother's house, and Charter was
tailed down by Mr. Jonas from the hay-cart. Charter
came down, and we went into the kitchen, and looked
at the letter. Mr. Jonas asked him whether there
were any wells or cellars about the premises, and got a
randle and went down into the cellar ; but found out no-
thing. While Mr. Jonas and Scorby were there I 'mind out
that, although the letter was dated %111 May, it rnis not
posted till the 23ril. Mr. J..ilas questioned Charter about my
brother's going away, and he told him a different story alto-
gether, saying it was daylight, and that my brother went and
foddered the stock. In S. ptemher my brother William
came and told we that Charter had been to him, and said he
was willing to give up lusession to my brother Meas.'s
son and daughter, but they refused to come. A fort-
night ago today. William having taken the farm Into
his own possession, some men were turning over some
straw in a loft, when a Our 01 boots fell down. I examined
the boots, and thonght they were toy broiler's. On the
following day .3ileday morning I and my wife went over
cry brother's house, awl in a hole en lee the garret
stairs, tilled with rubbish, my who found a pair of
siced boots, whi.eli I also thought were my brother's, and
I believed the two pairs were the only ones he had. In-
quiries were made next day. and I found that none of She
tradesmen in Pickering had sold him any ready-made
shoes, and then I began to believe he had not gone away..
On MedUlay my son and I searched the pond, and found
of • pair of trousers, such as my brother used to
wear. Next we found part of a coat and shirt such
as he wore. The knife in one of the trousers pockets
. . .

~belonged to my brother's boy. i then CRITIC and give infor-
mation to Mr. Jonas, and told him I suspected the body waa
not far A. Next morning we pumped the pond out, Mr.
Jonas being there. A part of a waistcoat was found while I
was there, but some other things were found in my absence.
I have seen the remains of the body, and the whisker is like
that of my brother's. fie had very queer teeth, some of them
Sticking out edgeways, and they were very dark, as he emoted
I good deal. (The murdered man's jaw was here brought
Into court, wrapped in ajpiece of newspaper. The witness
put on his spectacles and carefully examined it) The teeth
are very much like my brother's, especially one which pro-
jects out considerably. I believe these remains are those of
my brother's body.
Thomas Stead, butcher, of Cropton, said he saw Wood and
the two boys on the 17th of May, and Wood SAM nothing
about going from home. Afterwards Charter said he had
had a letter from Liverpool, telling him Wood and the boy
bad " gooe foreign," and that he waa to stop on the farm
tUI he returned. "

Charlotte Ann Thompson, of Melton, the deceased house-
keeper's daughter, said she went to live at the farm in Feb.,
IMO, and was there when her mother died, and left In April
of this year Her two brother. were Joseph, eight years old
(the missing toy), and Thomas William, five years old. The
clothing of the deceased man and that of the missing boy
were produced, and identified In a very clear manner by
this witness, as were also the shoes, garters, and knife, the
latter of which she said was Mir, Wood's, and not her
brother's.
Mr. W. Wood, grocer, etc., of Pickering, having given
evidence similar to that of his elder brother,
Superintendent John Jones related his connection with the
ease At first, he said, I thought Mr. Joseph Wood had
really gone away. The family of brothers and brothers-in-
law had a meeting, and there was not one of them who
would swear it was not Joseph's handwriting, and actually,
Until the discovery of the clothes they all expected him back
again. They were so careless about the matter that every
time I wanted to proceed vigorously they kept me back,
Baying that people would say they wanted to get possession
of the farm. They would not, therefore, let me take
the proceedings I wished to take. The witness then de-
scribed the manner in which Charter accounted to him
for Wood's disappearance, and the receipt of the Liver-
pool letter. His story differed from that he had told
others, in that he told this witness it was light when he
came and looked up and down the lane to see what had
become of Wood and his son. The evidence proceeded :
On the erd of August I asked for a candle to he lighted, and
searched the home, but found no trace. either inquiries
were made, and I had bills issued, hut nothing more was
done. On the 4th November, from information I received
from Mr. John Wood, I directed a pump to he prepared to
pump out the pond in the cow pasture. 'A hen we got the
water reduced by a foot, I saw a human left hand lying on
the mud. I placed It in a box, and a short time after the
front of a pair of trouser, was found, with pocket attached.
There were four shillings In the pocket. The front of a black
cloth waletcoat and its back were found, and a small portion
of a coat. They have been produced here today. On the
etli further search was made, and I found the boy'
clothes concealed in a hole under the garret-stairs. on
the 7th we made further search about the premises, and
dug in various parts of the orchard. In one spot
the earth appeared to have been removed, and upon
digging there we found buried in the earth, under-
neath some sticks, and some thirteen inches deep, a right
hand and two feet The hand was clenched, and a stocking
and garter were attached to one of the feet. There had beer
sufficient length of earth disturbed to coutain the entire body.
From the position In which the feet were lying it seemed a.
If the body had been laid there on its back. There was every
appearance that an attempt had been made to draw the
body out, and that owing to the advanced decomposition the
feet and stocking pieces separated from the rest of the legs.
The garter was curved and buckled as when placed round
the leg. In the left leg of the trousers found M the pond,
I found a decking leg corresponding with that dug out
with the garter on it. I next went—the sense afternoon—
to Lastinghem, accompanied by InspeMor Nicholson, to
apprehend Charter. I charged him with the murder of
Joseph Wood on the 17:h of May. lie said, "Well, it is a
bad job that I Beer wept to the place. I am innocent of
murdering him." We searched his home, and found two
pocket books, a small one in which the Croptonlane Farm
accounts of receipts and payments were kept, and a large
one, containing an envelope correeporeling in pattern to
the one received from Liverpool. With the envelope
there was a hall sheet of paper, fellow to that received
from Liverpool. The magnifyhg glass shows that the
one piece had been torn from the other. Further search
was made, and on the 12th I had the haystack re-
moved at Cropton, but nothing further was found. On
the same day I went to Lastingham to exaniine Charter's
fields— three of his own, and three which he hired.
In looking over them we saw at the bottom of one
field fresh soil laid in the disused channel of an old water-
amuse. The end of an oak tree was lalil across a part of this
new soil. In the long grass beside the beck we found a
Spittle and three.pronged fork. We slug Into this place
and after coming to a depth of two feet we found a quantity
of stones, and from their appearance they had been re-
cently placed there. 'lon stones were removed, and we
a foot and a half further. By-anti-by we came to the
end of a sack. We cleared more soil away, and then found
the end eta leg bone projecting. The sack was standing
upright bottom unwires, end some large clones around it
Inspector Nichols, n and I drew the sack out, and laid it On
the erase it ear tied, and anon opening it we found
the r-malns of a human body, which bad been put hi fret
downwards, and the hand was leaning on the le ft
shoulder. A rep was round the neck, end a black silk
neckerchief tied tightly with a double knot. We brought
the sack to Pickering stathin. Next morning I cut the sack
from top to bottom, and found the body which ball been
shown to the jury today. Round the neck I found a piece
of abirteollar and two buttons imbedded in the skin directly
under the chin. A piece of rope was round the neck, one
arm, one leg, end round the body, but the ends were not
tied. On the 14th the prisoner Charter called tome from the
cell. I opeliel the mall wicket-door and said, "What do you
want ? ' Ile said, "I want to tell yon the truth about it."
I gave him the usual caution that what he said might be
brought against him, and he said, "I wish you to take it
down in welting," and he made a statement and signed it I
called luspeetor Nicholson to me, and we went into the cell
together. He then said :
" A little before three o'clock on Saturday, the 18th of
May, I heard a noise, snit gM up and came out, and found
Joseph Wood laid against the gatestead hietewayj leading
from the front garden to the stick-heap in the orchard He
was dead. There was some blood snout his head, and Ms the
pound. I took him into the barn, and pl iced him amongst
the straw there, thinking I sheult be blamed for remit, ei
him. I went and foitiiered the Imre% aid co, ii
li. there about a week. I then took and 1,1.10 l,is,i in Ibe
orchard near the stick-heap. About three weeks alter I
found three hones of the boy In the told-yard. It appeared
U If he had been devoured by the pigs. They were leg boom.
I burled the bones against his father's. I let them remain
there till about a week before I was coming away. I tried
to 1,011 him out. His clothes slipped off. I took his clothes
and threw them into the pond, I took the remains and rut
them in a hag, and took them to one of my fields near Lasting.
ham, and placed them tri • hole in the earner of a field next
Lastingham. No one had any concern in it hut myself.
After thkt I began to feel cooterned about it. On Sunday,

the 19th May, I Idlought I should be blamed for murder-
ing them, and I wrote a letter, and I saw a young man corn-
ing from Rosedale, and asked him if he was leaving Rose-
dale, and he laid that he was going to Liverl, and going
to leave this country for America. I asked him to go Into
the house with ascend waltsfew minutes, until [had written
A letter. He went in, and I gave him something to eat. I
then wrote the letter, and gave It to him, and told him to
post it at Liverpool. I thought It would save so much
trouble, searching and rummaging about, till things got
settled. I received the letter back again a day or two after-
wards from the postman. John has nothing to do with it; he
knows nothing about It; I have never seen him since the
Aunday before Klrbyenooraide Steeplechases, (Siffne6)
HOSERT CHARTER."

After I had written it Tread it over (continued the inperin
tendent), and he signed it. and signed a certificate to say It
was a true st.demeut. Ills son John was in custody in the
polire.station, and no doubt it was his calling out to let his
father know be was there that led Charter to make the
statement. In passing each other's cells they might hear
each ether speak. John has been in custody since Sunday.
I have a further statement made on Friday to the sergeant in
charge. I saw hint sign It, and he said It was the truth.
Charter read it over in my presence as follows
_ - • - -

" He called to me t;get up and take my barley back
antic. I srhi I would take it back, what was spared. He
insisted en my getting up and going bock then and there. I
t min I did not want to get up. fie came upstairs and said I
was to get up, so I got up aid went downstairs, said he said I
wax to go mid take my b Tley back. I begged on him to let
me be till daylight and then I would see. He then ran
Into the houee and got the gun. I met him at the
door, and tried to get the gun. I misled my click
I then ran behind the wall corner. He fcllowed me with •
gun I took an iron off the wail, and struck him on the
head and knocked him down, and took the gun Irony him. I
then went Into the house, and fastened myself in, and when
I came out again tinned he was dead. I then took him into
the barn. I fastened myself In the bedroom for most an
hour. I did not think (gave Joseph such a blow. I had no
thought of killing him, I never saw the boy at all.
(Signed) "ROBERT CHARTER."
The Coroner : it has been said there was • great deal of
money in the house. Do you know anything of that?
•

Witness : No it is mdd an. The bureau was locked.
There was no money, but several deeds. One deed, worth
£1,200 miming. lapprehended William Hardwick, farmer,
of Lastlugham, on Friday. He married charter's daughter.
When I apprehended him I charged him with being an
accessory after the fact. He answered, "1 know nothing
abouut the murder. I only took the letter to Liverpool.
Charter came to my house some time on Monday night."
Policwsergeant Silverside', of Pickering, narrated that on
Friday the prisoner Charter, at four o'clock in the afternoon,
called him and asked to see the superintendent Upon being
told that Mr. Jonas was away he volunteered the confession
just read.
Inspector Nicholson, who was called over last Wednesday
week to assist Mr Jonas, corroborated some of the evidence
given by the superintendent.
The Coroner said It was necessary to have Charter pre.
less.
"

Superintendent Jonas said he was very 111, and would have
to be broueht to the room.
The jury, however, wished to see the prisoner, and they
went in a body to his celL Ile was lying on his pallet, wth
his head propped up and partly hound. Such of his face as
was visible was not at all forbidding.
The Coroner explained to him the nature of the visit, and
told him he might make any explanation he wished, ne there
had been statements given in evidence with within he was
seriously concerned.
- • • • -•-- --•--

—, -
Charter, in a weak voice, and speaking very slowly, said he
had nothing to say at present. After an interval, he added,
that he had told "those gentlemen," meaning the police,
eventhing he anew. By and bye he said, In reply to a final
remark from the coroner, he had nothing on his mind to
speak of at present, that his head was very dizzy, and that he
could not think.
The Coroner, upon the return of the party into
court, summed up the case, reminding the jury that
Chsrter's second confession was a direct admission of
murder on his part.
After a short absence, the jury returned a verdict of
"Wilful Murder" against Robert Charter.
. .

••
With reference to the prisoner's suggestion that his
nephew was devoured by pigs, it is known that in the
fold yard at tne time there were eight half grown and
half starved pigs kept.

The search has been continued, and further dis-
coveries were made on Sunday and Monday on the
farm of the murdered man Wood. On Monday some
bones, supposed to be those of the boy, were found in
manure spread in a field, and it is said the manure
in which the bones were found came from the fold-
yard.
The younger Charter was set at liberty on Monday,
there being no evidence against him.
The examination of the elder Charter and Hardwick
is fixed for next Monday. and is expected to last two
days.

The funeral of the murdered man Wood took place in
Cropton Churchyard, on Tuesday. The funeral proces-
rims started from the police station, Pickering, at eleven
o'clock. A hearse contained the remains, enclosed in
a plain coffin covered with black cloth, beai Mg the in-
scription, "Joseph Wood, dicl 1872, aged 58 gears."
On the route the deceased's house was passed, 9111 the
homestead at the junction of two roads, with the dis-
turbed ground of the orchard, wherein was the first
grave of the deceased still untouched and within a
few feet of the highway, were observable. Three
mourning coaches, containing relations of deceased
and friends, and Superintendent Jonas and In-
spector Nicholson, and nine other carriages followed
the remains. There was a large crowd at Pickering
and Croptom and great interest was evinced. The
Rev. Walter Turner, vicar of Middleton and Cropton,
officiated, the Rev. R. D. Easterby, Ladaingham,
being also present. The service was very impressive.
All the farmers and others from the neighbourhood,
akso many from Melton, Scarborough, and Rosedale,
were present.
The eearch for farther remains of the mis-ing boy
was continued on Tuesday. The bones already found in-
clude thigh, leg, shoulder, and rib bones, and parts of
the skull. All show traces of having been gnawed.