The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-07-20 00:00:00

THE TRAGEDY AT HOXTON.

LoNln)N, MoNDAti.

As far as can be ascertained, nothing further has
transpired that can give a clue to the discovery of the
perpetrators of the double murder at Huston- There
is believed to be no doubt that the last time the old
lady was oven was at her shop door, by a neighbour
who bade her "Good morning" at half-past eleven
o'clock. A woman who lives at the back speaks to
hearing a cry of " Murder " at ten minutes to twelve,
but as a lodger at a door or two off was in the habit
of lighting with his wife, she took no notice of it. It
is not believed that the murderers obtained more than
the very small amount that may happen to have been
in the bowl in the shop, for there was no till. The
daughter had three shillings in her pocket when her
body was found, and it was first suspected that her
watch had been stolen, but it has been ascertained that
she took it to a jeweller's in the City-road to be repaired
on the Monday bebrre the murder, and there it at pre-
sent remains. With respect to the money that was
found, the old lady seems to have had two accounts,
one a deposit account at the London and Westminster
Bank...mid a drawing account at the London Provident
Institution in Moortields. The money that was found
consisted of a £lO and two £5 notes which had been
paid to her about two months since. They were quite
new, bearing no endorsement whatever. There was
also a deposit note for klio on the London and West-
minister Rank. All this was found between the covers
of an ohl leek, which was wrapped up in brown paper,
and placed between the mattress and sacking of the
bed. -

A further search was made by Inspector Palmer and
Sergeant Lansdowne for some possible trace of the
weapon with which the ilced was committed, even the
water being drawn off from the cistern, but nothing
whatever has been found. Amongst the theories
started is one that while one person was in conversa-
tion with the old woman another crept npstairs and
ransacked the house, during which the old lady, who
was known to be extremely neareighted, misting the
second man Auddeuly, was about to ratite an alarm
when the fatal blow was struids. The younger
woman coming up the kisehen stairs, while the man
probably went up stairs to warn his confederate,
she was attacked from behind, as already suggested,
and repeated blows on both the murdered women
give sleir to the surmise that whoever committed
the horrible crime was well known to InAli of them, so
that the completion of the murder was accumpliehed
lest either of the poor creatures should be only stmaned,
and able on recovery to give evidence leading to
detection. It may no added that old Mrs. Squire led
all her family to suppose she was very badly off, and
she lived with her daughter so very penuriously that
the shop was always shut as soon almost as it was duck
to avoid the cost of gas—the bill for which, it may be
incidentally mentioned, wa4 only half.a crown for the
last qu,rter.

On Friday and Saturday the following handbill,
from the Rev. John Oakley, vicar of St. Saviour's,
lioxton, which is contiguous to the scene of the
murders was circulated :

The parishioners are asktal to meet in their church on
Sunday next, July 14, to ark God's pardon for the great
crime done in tint-. midst ; and to il.r 91,1,10 plain truths
about the causes of such sins. Service at a quarter to 11
and 7."

On Sunda, - morning the church was numerously at-
tended, the senrice lidng unusually solemn, and th-i
hymns selected appropriate to the eeceasien. The ser-
mon was preached by the i icier, who selected for his
toot the fourth chaper of floe verse tlth—"Aul
the Lied said uoto Cain, Where is Abet thy brother her/
And he said I knot,: not; ant I coy teothee's keeper!"
In the course of an earnest arid eloquent address the rev.
gentleman said he was sure that his hearers would
acquit him of any attempt at sensationalism, but it
appeared to Lim impossible to pass over without notice
the dreadful deed which had been committed within
a kw yards of where they were then met together,
and he merely wished to improve the occasion, both
for himself and for them. He had known the unfor-
tunate victims of this terrible crime for years, and it
might well have been that they were regular communi-
cants of that church ; but he could not speak of them as
either church or chapel-goers. There might have been
a reason for that, and he b dieved there wan; but they
, were thoriege-hy croci tile so.etrn, mai respected by
! all, and nothing of an indecent or immoral tendency
! ever issued frodi their shop. It behoved them, he said,
to offer up their prayers for pardon, and to aelt them-
selves, might they not have been neglectful of e.'cercia-
cog word or other influence which might have
prevented the crime ? Crud only knew h.,/ the
pnaciple, "I keep myself to myself," might hove
contlibuted to this and kindred crimes. Let them
all, then, take is greater interest in Church work—
as school teachers, district visitors, and in other ways.
After referring to the idle and unreflecting curiosity
which had been exhibited in the neighourhood for the
last few days ; and which, he said, too often ministered
to a repetition of such deeds, the rev, gee llenian con-
cluded by saying—" Let us—if it be but an out-poken
act if charity—humbly commend to the mercy of the
All-Wise -we can do no more, and we eau surely do
no less—the souls of the murdered women."

The inque4 on the bodies; of the two murdered
women has been held, but no fresh facts of real im-
portance were borught out. The Regent's Canal,
for a considerable distance in the neighbourhood,
has Is-en dragged, in the hope of recovering' the
weapon with which the massacre was perpetrated, but
as yet without result; and positively no clue to
the murderer or murderers has been found. The
evidence at the inquest went principally to prove the
mode in which the crime was disuivered, and the eau*
of death ; but two witnesses told interestikft if not
very cohesive, stories about a man who, in suspiciously
reckless haste, cre-ed Hyde-road shortly before the
alarm was raised, about fifteen or twenty minutes past
one o'clock. The inquiry was adjourned.