The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-03-28 00:00:00

THE LONGDEN MURDER.

At the Shrewsbury Assizes, on Monday, John Mapp, aged
thirty-five, was charged with the murder of Catherine Lewis,
at Lonadem on tire 2,hid December last. The court was
crowdol, arid considerable interest was manifested in the
case owing to the peculiar circumstances of the crime. The
following are the brief particularsof the murder:—
On Sunday morning, the 225 d of December last, the
girl Catherine Lewis, who was only nine years of age,
went from her father's house at Isingden to that f a
friend, a Mrs. I ravis, about half a mile distant. She re-
mained there until evening, when she went to charel.
A little before eight o'clock she left the chapel with the
intention of walking straight home. The prisoner,
who was a farm labourer employed near the Lewises,
was with her at the time, and so was a girl named Jane
Richards. Richards left them in Long-lane, at a turn-
ing which led to her master's house. The prisoner
and Catherine Lewis then walked on, the list-named
being never afterwards seen alive. Her parents were
not anxious about her, as she was in the habit of stay-
ing at the house whhh she had been visaing. The pri-
soner went about his work as usual the next morning,
4 and was seen engaged in spreading manure in a field in
the Long-lane, where Catherine Lewis was last Frain
alive. In the same field, at the same time, there was
a boy named John Aston, who Ivan driving the plough.
About eleven o'clock this lad was looking in the hedge
for a whipstock, when he found a straw hat covered
with blood. Ile called to the prisoner, and showed
him the hat. The prisoner said he knew nothing
about it, and wanted the lad to bury it in one of the
furrows. Instead of doing so he flung it over the hedge
into the lane. There it was found some hours after ;
when an old woman picked it up, and took it straight
to the house of the girl's mother, to whom she exhi-
bited it suddenly, and as it was, covered with con-
gealed blood. The mother, saying, "That's my

Kate's!" fell to the floor in a fit. Then Use girl's
father was called, and he, having seen the hat, ran off
to the friend at whose house the girl was supposed to
be. He learned that she had net been there all night,
and, anxioua, he returned home by the Long-lane.
He saw the prisoner at work in the field there, and
asked him if he had seen his daughter. Prisoner
stated that he had on the previous night, but that she
had gone straight home. Mr. Lewis began to look
about, and at last reached a small disused hovel, in a
field near, which he entered. There he found the body
of his child, tying in a bin. She was lying on her back,
and the shawl which atm had worn on the Sunday was
stuffed in her month, as if it had been a gag suddenly
improvised. When the shawl was removed the head
was found to be almost severed from the body by a
deep cut across the neck. The police were communb
cated with, and a minute search was made. A trail,
which showed how the body had been dragged from
he field in which the prisoner WU at work, was dis-
covered and followed. It was found to lead to a spot
where the prisoner bad spread the manure rather
thickly. This was removed, and a small pool of
blood was found there. From that time the evidence,
all circumstantial, leading to the suspicion that the
prisoner was the murderer, rapidly increased, and he
was apprehended. He was found to have in his
pocket a small brooch which the girl had worn the
night before. In his house a pocket knife, stained
with blood, was found, and the coat and trousers which
he haf I worn on the Sunday were also stained by the
same dye. The knees of the trousers showed that the
prisoner must have been kneeling for some time on
damp ground.
The defence was that no possible motive could be
aesigned for the committing of so diabolical a crime.
It had been proved that the girl had not suffered out-
rage before death.
After the judge had summed up the jury retired,
but almost immediately returned with a verdict of
„
'"

Guilty. Sentence of death was pronounced with the
usual formality. The prisoner, who had all along
been rather unconcerned in demeanour, evinced no
emotion upon hearing the sentence. He left the dock
proclaiming that he was innocent of the crime.