The Express.
London, England, 1862-12-06 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

OXFORD CIRCIIIT.-BTArroaD, DEA:. 5.
(Before Mr. Justice Mellor.)
A banlom Simpson, 32, potter, JoAnHupites, 42, potter, and
Jahn Wardle, 43, potter, were all arraigned charged with
the wilful murder of James Crump, on the 19th of August,
at Colridge, in the parish of Stokirupon-Trent.
The prosecution was conducted by Mr. Bowyer and Mr.
Brown ; while the prisoners were severally defended by
Mr. Motteram, Mr. WMahon, Mr. Keneely, and Mr.

Briudley.
The deceased bad been a young man and a policeman. 21
years of sge, statioied at Burstem. near Henley. On the
18th of August, having been told off for duty about nine
o'clock, be, going towards a public.bouse at Colridge called
the Black Boy, met with a fellow police-officer with whom
he drank. In company with another man they proceeded to
a public-bouse about a quarter of a mile distant, called the
Village Tavern, where they drank together. In the suns house
were the three prisoners. The fellow policeofficer, Wells,
left about half-put twelve, and soon after deceased, with
the other man, also left, followed in a few minutes by the
three prisoners. Crump and his oompanion proceeded
together towards the Black Boy for a short distance, where
the former was left to go on by himself. On the depar-
ture of his customers the landlord of the Village
Tavern fell asleep, and waking in about half an
hour went outside to close the shutters. When
about to do this be heard groans, and looking down
be observed crouched in the gutter and holding the back of
his head the figure of a man, and he found it to be the
policeman Crump, bleeding profusely from wounds in the
head. With the landlord's aid, he was then conveyed into
the house sod properly tended. On searching the vicinity
the staff of the wounded man was found near the spot in '
which he had been taken up. Two or three yards distant his
cap, cut through the peak and clotted with blood and hair,
was also found, and still farther on in the road was
seen a pool of blood. Deceased was afterwards removed,
and on being examined by two surgeons wee found to have
sustained a vertical wound on the eyebrow and a fracture
on the back of the skull, through an aperture of which his
bums afterwards protruded. Respecting the possible
cause of these wounds the two surgeons called differed, one
thinking that they must have been canted by a fall upon a
rough iron-kerbstone, such as that near which the deceased
was lying and the other that nothing save a heavy blow
from a similar weapon to a staff could have produced the
fracture at the back of the head. Of these injuries Crump
expired in • few days, identifying, however, before his
death the three prisoners as his assailants.
The case was not concluded when our parcel was de-
spatched ; but we learn by electric telegraph that the jury
returned a verdict acquitting all the prisoners, there being
a failure of direct evidence. The trial lasted nearly twelve
hours.

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.

jury found her Guilty, with a strong recommendation to
mercy, on account of her previou► good character ►nd her
mount state of ►ealth.
Mr. Dawes add he believed the prisoner was not quite
right in her mind.
The Assistant-Judge having consulted with a female
warder, deferred sentence until next session, and ordered
inquiries to be made in the meantime.