The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-08-06 00:00:00

THE WALWORTH TRAGEDY.

LATEST AND IMPORTANT PARTICULARS,

A MOTIVE FOR THE MURDER OF MARY
W. STREETER.

The following facts, elicited by the activity of the
police, throw a clear light upon the cause of one of
the terrible series of murders known as the Walworth
tragedy, namely, that of Mary Wells Streeter, the
sweetheart of William Godfrey Youngman, who now
stands accused of her death. If this assumption be ad-
mitted—and it is difficult to see how it can be contro-
verted, inasmuch as the facts are there to speak for
themselves—then the difficulty of discovering a motive
for the other murders immediately vanishes. The mur-
derer was seen " red-handed ;" he ruthlessly resolved to
remove all the witnesses of his crime, and three more
persons perished.

It appears that the young man made use of the most
unfounded representations to induce the young woman
to marry him, and to obtain the consent of her friends
to their union. In the first place he represented that
he had an independent income of nearly £2OO a year,
that he intended taking a house for her at Brighton, and
keeping her as a lady, when, on the contrary, he had
not a single pound, and on the morning of the
murder did not possess a single penny. It further

appeared from his correspondence, that for some weeks
previous he had been strongly urging her to allow him
to insure her life for £lOO, and on mentioning the fact
to her father and friends, they so strongly advised
her not to do so, that she positively assured them
she sh4lld do no such thing, and they were in hope
that she did not. In the last letter addressed by the
prisoner 'to Miss Streeter, he strongly urged her to
come to town, to bring all the money she could with
her, and to borrow from her friends, and particularly
stated that there was no necessity for her getting the
wedding things made up, as they could be had in town.
He also had the banns published at St. Martin-in-the-
Fields ; but it is a very curious fact, and one which
shows that the unfortunate young woman must have
had some foreboding that something extraordinary was
to happen, as on the Monday night she folded up her
purse containing all the money she possessed—namely,
41 2s. 2d. in her petticoat, and stowed it away some
distance from the bed.

Inspector Dunp, on searching the prisoner's papers,
Nand the policy of an insarance effected by him on the
life of Miss Mary Wells Streeter for 4190, payable to
him OR her death. The insurance was effected at the
Argus Office, Throgmoiten-street, and the policy was
dated on the 25th of July, just six days before the
murder. From subsequent inquiries it has been found
that, at the general quarter sessions, held at Stafford,
on the Bth day of March, 1859, the prisoner, William
Godfrey Youngman, had been tried and convicted of
stes.liag a gnagtity of plate belonging to his master, J.
Reate, Esq., a thaffordshire gentiernarb and sentgnce4
to twelve months' hard labour. This imprisonment he
served in the county gaol, and was discharged in March
last. He then came to town, and procured a situation
at Mr. Duncan's, Henrietta-street, Covent-garden, by a
false character, or rather false representations, and was
discharged from there in the beginning of last month,
when he renewed hie acraigt”qe with Miss ltre9ter.
.