The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-05-16 00:00:00

AN EXTRAORDINARY AFFAIR.

At Worship-street Police-court, in London, George Coul-
son, 32, a skin dresser, of 13, Homar-road, Hackney-wick,
was last week charged with the wilful murder of Margaret
ball, about twenty-tire years of age, by hanging her. The
prisoner was alsoicharged with having stolen from the body
a pair of earrings.
Mr Superintendent Green conducted the case for the
police ; the prisoner was not defended.
Police-constable Thomas Harris deposed that on
Wednesday afternoon, about four o'clock, while on
duty at Hackney-wick, he received Information that a
woman had been hanged in a house in Homer-road.
He proceeded thither, and on entering, No. 13 saw a
woman hanging by a thin cord from the balustrade.
The knees of the woman were slightly bent, and her
to:A just touching the floor of the stairs. She was on
the lest stair. Witnees cut down the body, which was
still warm, and sent for a doctor. The woman was
dead when he entered the place. In reply to the Ma-
gistrate, the officer said that be did not think the
woman, if alive, could, had her knees not been bent,
have stocd on the stair. He thought that she would
not have been able to support herself because her toes
would barely have touched.
Mrs. Martha Lane, residisa at 31, Homer-road,
stated that she knew the deceased. On Wednesday
roornin.3 she met her about nine o'clock, inid she was
then going to see her husband at his work. At about
20 minutes to throe o'clock witness n.et her returning
in company with the prisoner After a little con-er-
a stion they parted, awl the deceased went away with
the prisonor. Witness wont to her own house, and
v,O a quarter if an hour afterwards the prisoner
Caine to hex house, and knocked at the door. When
answt.red it he said, " Excu4e Inc e,rninv in, Mrs.
Lane, but I 'vonet to give you a message for my
mother. Tell hoz- she won t see me any mere in
Loudon, for I have nraniered Mqgg,.., and uolai
away. If jau ..itt't believe aaa alma and see." Wit;

nese went across to the house No. 13 with the prisoner,
who pushed open the street door and told her to look
it
in ing, ",nere she is • nosy you will believi.nae."
,% \ a, the Vase M ''' all hanging from theAalus-
te - • a She oe went from the lam* to a
ur al the ner stopped behin ne at non
at or Is saw hi me out and go up t ' eet.
ue WC", three minutes antwe . her
house, witness watching him from her neighbour's op-
posite. Ile found nobody in her house, and went
away then towards the Casaaland-road. In reply to the
mamitrate, the witness said that she saw the knces of
the deceased were bent as she hung. The hcsty. was
in witte"6-rehm,"l"" • A— •
John Lenience, a hawker of flowers, said that he
lived in the Wick road, Hackney, and knew the pri-
soner as a shoeblaek. At about a quarter-past three
o'clock on Wednesday afte; 'loam he met the prisoner
in the Cassland.road, South Hackney, and asked him
where he was going. The prisoner came up and put
his hand in his shoulder, saying. " I'm going away.,
Jack; I've been and done a murder,. I've murdered
my aunt. If you don't believe it, go home and burst
the door open, and you'll' see her hanging. I've been
and pawned her earrings, and here's the money I got."
The prisoner then showed witness is. WA., saying that
he had pawned the earrings for Is. 6d. He also showed
him a pawn ticket, and tore it up in his presence anal
threw the pieces down in the road. After that the
prisoner left him, saying he was going away after he
bad been to see some or his friends, _ . .

Inspector Waterfield here produced portions of a
pawn-ticket, which had been fitted together and
pasted on a piece of paper. The pawn-ticket referred
to a pair of earrings pledged for I. GI, in the name of
the prisoner, "13, Bonier-road." The witness iden-
tified the portions of the pawn-ticket.

John Hall, a skin-dresser, said that the deceased,
Margaret Ball, was his wife. He last saw her alive
about eleven o'clock on Wednesday morning. She
came to him at his work. After he had given her
some money she said she would go home and get the
children's dinner. He had had no quarrel with his
wife, but he did not go home the night before, and
that was why she had come to see him at his work.
He did not know of any quarrel between his wife and
the prisoner, who lived in the same house. They were
not related.

An assistant to Mr. Perry, pawnbroker, f Spring-
field-terrace, Cassland-road, produced thelearrings and
identified the prisoner as the person who had pawned
them. The witness Ball then identified the earrings'
and said that he saw them in his wife's ears when she
called on him.

—A-r-th;riri.-es, a detective, deposed that, by direction
, of Inspector Watertield, he on the previous evening
, searched the Cassland-road for the portions of the
pawn-ticket, and found those produced. These were
then identified by the assistant as portions of the ticket
he had given to the prisoner on receiving the pledge.
Detective Chapman,N division said that about a quarter
to five o'clock on the previous afternoon, having received
information of a woman having been found hanging in
Homer•road, he proceeded to the house in question and
made inquiries. He knew the prisoner, and proceeded,
in company with Detectives Crisp and Hoyes, to look for
him. About a quarter to seven o'clock on Wednesday
morning, witness,with the other officers, passed through
Victoria Park. Detective Crisp drew his attention to a
man lying on a seat in the park, and witness, on going to
it, found the man to be the prisoner. lie was asleep,
and witness awakened him and asked him if he knew
him. The prisoner replied in the affirmative. Wit-
ness then told him lie should take him into cu4tody for
murdering a woman on the previous afternoon at 13,
Homer-road, Hackney. Ile replied " All right ;we
had a struggle, and I settled her, or she would have
me." He added that he would go ()Wetly with the
officer. as be had the last time—referringeto a previous
occasion on which the officer had taken him in custody.
He was then removed to the station. The charge was
read to him there, but he only said, "What I have to
say 11l say to the magistrate at the court." In the
passage of the court the prisoner asked witness if he
had not better plead guilty. He told him he could
not say what he had better do. The prisoner then
said, " I don't care what they do to me if they will
only settle it to-day."
Dr. Charles Aveling, M.D., M.S. London Uni-
versity, deposed to being called to the house in Homer-
road to see the deceased. She had then been cut down,
and the body was cold and rigid. On examining it lie
found marks of the cord and symptoms of strangula-
tion, but no other evidence of violence. The hands
had no scratches nor abrasions. Had she hanged her-
self there would have been a mark at the back of the
neck. The deceased was well developed, and much
chore powerful than the prisoner. The landing round
the bulustrade to which the cord was tied WM just
over the bottom stairs and within reach of her hand,
aml she could have easily tied the cord ri aind and
hanged herself. The position was well chosen for a
suicide.

Inspector Water&ld, sail that about I.‘ e o'clock on
the previous afternoon he was called to the house in
question. In the front parlour he saw the dead body
of a woman. He examined the neck and throat, but
fund no marks of violence whatever, except the in
dentation of the rope. He also examined the hands,
but found nothing to indicate that the deceased had
had a struggle with any one. The dress was not dis-
arranged, and a washstand placed close to the stairs
was not out of place. At about a quarter past seven
o'clock the prisoner was br aig,ht to the station and
charged with the murder, lie replied, " es; that is
right." He Vas then told that he would be further
charged with stealing a pair of gold earrings from her
person. He said, in reply, "No, I (lid not steal them;
she gave them me just before. The charge was then
entered and read to him, and he replied, "I have
nothing to say. What I want te say I shall say before
the magistrate."

Mr. Superintendent Green said that that closed the
evidence at present for the prosecution. There would,
however, be a pod mortene examination aml an inquest.
The evidence having been read over to the witnesses,
the prisoner _received the usual formal caution from
the 13ench. He replied, "I have nothing to say."
The magistrate fully committed him to Newgate for
trial at the Central Criminal Court.

The inituest was held on Saturday, when Mr. Cal-
thrup Mitchinson, M.R.C.S., said that he was of
(pinion that death was caused by tranolation, but
from the appearance of the windpipe he thought that
greater pressure had been used than the deceased
woman was capable of applying. On the other hand,
he thought she had not been thrown ever the
bannisters, or either the rope or the rail to which it
was fastened would have broken, and, in further
proof of this, there were no evidences of a struggle
having taken place.
The jmy returned a verdict of wilful murder
against George Coulson.