The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-01-20 00:00:00

Avington Rectory, Winchester, Jon. 15.

SHOCKING OCCURRENCE AT
TOTTENHAM.

A shocking occurrence was brought to light at Totten-
ham on Saturday afternoon. Just over th e railway bridge
at that place is a somewhat extensive building belong-
ing to the New River Company. This building and its
machinery was in the charge of a man named Joseph
Ward, who had been in the service of the company
upwards of forty years, and he resided with his wife
in a cottage adjoining. There were no children. Ward
was, it is understood-, in receipt of good wages from
the company, and had the means of living comfortably,
but he appears to have of late years given way to
drinking, an example followed by his wife.
On Saturday afternoon Mr. Fletcher, a surgeon con-
nected with the Tottenham Hospital, called at the
police-station, and stated that he had just before visited
the engine-house cottage ; but not receiving an answer
after repeated knocking, had got over the wall and
' effected an entrance into the house, where he found
the dead body of Mrs. Ward. Acting Sergeant Arscott
and Constable Davis at once proceeded to the house,
and discovered the woman's body on her bed.
The premises were searched, but deceased's husband
could not be discovered. The police learned that
he had not been seen at any of the places he
was in the habit of visiting since Thursday. On
that day, however, he was spoken to by a person
living in the neighbourhood. The milk delivered at
the house on Thursday evening an,! on Friday and
Saturday mornings was found where it had been
left by the milkboy, who says the place was quite quiet

when he called on the occasions nentioned. The
leVice Ifaecto ,1 tiç efgaue-house. On entering tkey
saw a 4,11 apparaity standing in End of a portion of
1 the machinery. He was-galled o, bit did not answer,
c.nd on the officers going to 11/111 thy found it was
Ward with a rape round his neck, andquite dead: The
rope had deeply cut into the neck, the head being partly
severed from the body. It was found that the deceased
had fastened one end of the rope to the tip rail of the
staircase running up the building, and after attaching
the other end round his neck, had thrown himself off,
the immense fall accounting for the vound in his
neck. It is suppose' that the act of suidde was com-
mitted on Thursday night or Friday morning.
Ward was looked upon at one time as a very in-
telligent engineer, and ranch confidence was reposed
in him by the New River Company. He seems to
have kept a diary of the principal events of his life.
lie was about sixty-five years of age, and his wife was
only a year or two younger. No marks of violence
were found upon her, and it is not believed that she
was ill-treated by her husband. Anticipating the in-
quest, the general impression is that Ward found his
wife dead by his side when he woke up in the morning.
and that in a fit of despondency at her loss he committed
suicide.

On Tuesday evening, an inquest was held at the
White Hart Inn, Tottenham, on the holies of Mary
Ward, aged 60 years, and Joseph Ward, aged 65.
Mr. Joseph Fletcher, surgeon, of Tottenham, said
that he had known the deceased woman for some time,
and he had attended her for illness. He last saw her
alive on Wednesday, and she was then 11 in bed. On
Saturday last he was called to the cottoge, and he dis-
covered the woman dead in her bed. There was no
appearance of a struggle. The hat of the deceased
man was on the dresser, and his clothe' were on the
bed. He made a post-mortem exam nation of the
body of the woman and found the stomach empty.
The cause of death was disease of the Imp.
The jury in that case returned a verdict of "Death
from natural causes."

„
In the ease of the husband, evidence was produced
to show that his mind appeared to have been affected
for some time, and the jury returned a verdict "That
he hanged himself while of unsound mind.”