The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-03-14 00:00:00

TRIAL FOR MURDER.

At the Northampton melds Thomas Chamberlain hss been
dulled with the wilful mortar ol John Con Newitt, at
Wood ',creole, on the 30th of November lad.
Mr. O'Malley, Q C, and Mr. Grant apt eared for ths pro-
secut:nn Mr. Metcalf, Q.C., and Mr. Loyd defended the
prisoner

.----- -
Mr. John Cox Newitt, whose death formed the subject
of this prosecution, was a farmer, 72 years of age, and
lived at Wood Burcote, which is a hamlet of Towceeter,
his household conebting of himself. his wife, a single
eon, and a maid servant named Harriet Stephens; and
the prisoner, who was a shoemaker by trade, lived at
and kept the Lordelield toll-gate, which is situate about
a mile and a half from Mr. Newitt's farm. The pri-
soner wee well known to the deceased and his hoinee•
hold, for he was in the habit of bringing parcels to
Newitt's house. which were left at the toll-gate. On
Sunday evenings old Mr. Newitt and his wile usually
remained at home, while young Newitt and the servant
went to church; but on the ounday evening in ques-
tion Mrs. Newitt and her eon went to church, leaving
the old man and the maid servant in the house. It
appeared from the evidence that on this evening the
maid eervant was sitting at the table in the kitchen
writing a letter, and the old man was reading his 13 be
In the parlour, when the girl heard the trout door
opened and steps along the passage. She jumped up
and turned to the kitchen door leading into the pm
sage, when a man came in with a weapon over his
right shoulder and attacked her by seinng her with his
left hand and striking her on the shoulder with the
weapon which he carried in his right. The girl was
face to face witti the man and had good opportunity
for observing him, and she swxre most positively and
without doubt or hesitation that the prisoner was the
man, The girl screamed out and old Newitt at
once came to her aesistaime, upon which the man
left the girl and attacked Newitt, who in the first
onset seems to have pushed his assailant down ; hut
the latter got up again instantly and felled old Newitt
to the ground, his bead etrikieg the fender. Tnis is
the last which the girl saw of tee ; ehe ran out
of the house screaming " Murder," and went with all
speed to the nearest cottages ter moistener. The flied
to arrive was a labourer named Derby, who worked for
Newittoind he foiled his roaster lying on his back in
the kitchin in a pool of blood, quite deed, and with two
terrible wound., one on each sloe of 'he head, and ex-
tending from the top of the head to the neck, awl on one
eide penetrating even to the inner vertebra' of the
neck. From information which tne servant girl gave
to the pace, the bitter went to the prisoner'e house, and
arrived there at about imif-past nine, or rather more
than an hour after the affray had first commenced.
In the house, hanging en a chair, they foot t a par of
trousers and a waistcoat with litany wet spots of blood
upon them, and a skirt the left hand wristband of
which was saturated with fresh blood; the coat, t
which the prisoner had on was spotted with wet blood
in mealy places!, and in the pocket was found a silk
handkerchief perieetly drenched with blciod. The
prisoner'.' hat, too, had blood on it, both inside and
out, and two gray hairs upon it corresponding an colour
and appearance with the gray hairs of the murdered
man. The prisoner's fingers were much cut on the
upper side, and he accounted for tide by sayilig that
he had cut his finger at clipper. The clothes upon
which the blood marks were found were identified by
the servant girl 09 similar to thoee which the prisoner
wore when he came into the kitchen. Spots of blood
wire found upon the road for mime distance from the
old man's house towards that of the priiioner'e. For
some days no weapon could be discovered with which
toe murder could have been committed, but rub-
eequently a pond close to the prisoner's muse was
dragged, and in it wee found • heavy enflame, which a
general dealer had sold t• the prisoner some time before
and now identified as the same weapon, and spots of
blood were traced from the prisoner's holm on the road
leading towards this pond. It eln.uld be added that
prisoner had on a clean calico shirt when apprehended,
and in his coat pocket were found a piece of candle and
a box of matches. .

Mr. Metcalfe, for the primmer, contended that his
identity wws not fully proved, and that the blood upon
his clothes might have been the result of the cut upon
his fingers, and that so adequate motive for the Crime
had been proved, seeing that the prisoner and deceased
were on friendly terms, and that nothing had been
stolen from the deceased.
The learned Judge, in summing up, told the jury
hat if they wete satisfied with the tieutity of the pri-
'loner they must tiod hum guilty of murder, and that
there were no ctrunmstanoes which would reduce the
crime to manslaughter.
the jury retired to consider their verdict, and after
an absence ot ten minutes returned with a verdict of
Guilty of murder, and the prisoner, who showed no
signs of emotion, wad sentenced to death in the usual
form.
His Lordship then sent for the servant girl, and
complimented her on her conduct.

On February 14 a severe railway collision occurred
on the Great Indlan.Vantrouls hallway, about 800 miles fr. In
BombAy, between a train conveying troop' and • good, train.
I.ro persona were tilled, many Injured, and tundi property
was destroyed