The Express.
London, England, 1851-05-19 00:00:00

SMOCKING MURDER AND ROBBERY IN

LANCASHIRE.

The neighbourhood of the quiet and retired little '
hamlet, called Demand-green, sear Leigh, and about 12
ales men a)Lasebester, has been the sec ne of a brutal sod
aim rovoitioi emarier. Xarslaad-greea is situate on the
beadere of as summed eammon, called Lately-common ; sad
it was I. a told on tide common, about half a miles beyond
ills beer-base, kept by John Green, at Massland.green,
that tb murder is supposed to have been committed. The
madartasste victim is George Green, egad SI years,
a day labourer and market jobber, residing in Bury.lane,
about two miles further than the spot whet, he was ;
murdered. On Wednesday lest be had Iwo to Manchester
to attend the Salford cattle otorket, mid hod sold five calves.
He had received 2.15. or 21s. for the salves, and this trifling
amount of money -for the unfortunaee man was of an ,
tremely mild and gentle disposition, and bad no quarrel
with any one—is supposed to have bees the only incentive
to the murder. A man named Massey, who conveyed his ,
calves to market, returned with him as far hack a Astley,
and they both rode in cart. He left Money soon ;
after nine at night, near to -green, and west to the ;
house of his sen-in-law, Jacob Thomasecon, at that place, and ;
remained with him, smoking a pipe of tobacco, nearly an i
hour. A little after ten o'clock he embed at John Omen's
twer•bouss fora gill dale, but Mrs.Oreen says she refused him
it on the ground that the hour was too late. After that he
was seen in the lane with John Green, the beer-house-
keeper. This lane, which leads to Morley Hall, eraser the
Bridgewater Canal by a high brick bridge near the beer-
house, and about SO or 100 yards further George Green I
would leave it by a bridle path, or less public lane, leading
to snail farms on the common and to various field paths. ,
About half a mile further, or scarcely so much, Green would '
come to a long narrow pasture field. It is about 200 yards
long. The road leads at the entrance pasta small clump of
large willow trees growing in a swamp to the right. A
little further the road continues close by the hedge aide on
the right hand. About the middle of the field, and sin or
eight yards on the left of the rood, is an old marl pit full :
of water. There is the house of a handloom weaver
and fanner • hundred yards further, with its gable abutting
the field, but with no windows to overlook it. The
ledges all round the field have numerous tall willow trees
of considerable girth in them, and they render the spot
somewhat lonely and secluded. It is here the murder is
supposed to have been committed. The road bears some
sheet appearance of having been the scene of a struggle,
and on the green sward close by its side is a patch of blood.
On the further side of the pond the sod is stained with
blood; and here it was on Friday morning that the unfor-
tunate IMO.. body was discovered at the bottom of the pool
of water. Iles head was frightfully fractured with re-
peated bier. from some heavy stick or bludgeon, his
pockets were turned inside out and his money was
gone. There is every reason to believe some one
aceleainted with the place was the murderer, from the
fact that the deepest part of the paid hail been chosen for
the cuocealment of the body, and not the nearest side to the
road, which is only 12 or 1-6 inches deep, and which part of
the pond, judging from the green weed. which cover it, has
ant been disturbed for a long time. The body had been
weighted no as to ',ink it to the bottomed' the pond, and to
aid concealment, large boughs of trees had been thrown on
the surface of the pond. The white straw hat of the unfor-
tunate man was found at the bettom of the pond. In order
to sink 3t, a large green sod from the clayey bank of
the pond had been cut and put inside it, the
brim of the hot being brought together, and
pinned, so that the sod might remain there. In the
SAW pond she a thick atoll, about IS or 20 inches long,
was discovered. It is bent, and something like in form,
and of equal thickness, to a scythe. handle. Some large
willuvretre s have lately been hewn down in the field, and
it is prehatele part of the branch of one of these. The
bark remaineon it, and the ends show the newly cut wood,
cheapen d transversely, as if with one blow of the ase. At
the thicker mid of the staff is a stain of blood, and some
short grey Imam hair. So far the murder remains cove-
lopenl In mystery, but the police are not without hopes
that they will he able to trace out the murder, and a
search was fixed to take place in the dead of the night
by-two en Saturday and Sunday, which it is hoped may
throw light upon the deed—for it is thought that
the murder cannot have been committed without leaving
stain. large and deep on the clothe. of the murderer. The
deceased had be en married three times, leaving a grown-up
family by his tint wife, and by the last (whom he had only
been married to twelve mouthy) an infant child only.
An inquest eau held on the body at Seaford, near Leigh,
on Steurday envenom, when several persons having been
examined and given in evidence the priucioil facts con-
nected with the case as stated in the fore geitig summary,
Briilicsick, surgeon, said-1 mode a post ittortem
eseunination of the ilecemed tins morning. I found fine
ins-101l wound. can the bead, of a triangular figure, with
three a-endued wounds. Two of the triangular wuunda
were open the frontal bone, the third on the temporal hone
on the len sole ; the fourth on the right parietal, and the
fifth on the occipital bone. Each wound was to the bone,
except that on the left temporal hone. The cootueed wound
was en, the left frontal hone, and under it wan a quantity of
reinoculated Noel. The second was on the left temporal
bone. The third was on the left temporal bone, which bone
was frarturni two inches in length -the fractured bun,
being driven inward, On °lenient the brain 1 found
omen ~ the right temporal hone that one of the eplintere of
lite leene had entered one of the convolution', of the brain.
Opooete the nattered wound an the left temporal bone I
found a large chit of cougulote a blood The membrane. of
the brain were much gorged with Wood, particularly on the
left side, and in the have of the brain I found
half an ounce of coagulated kilned. The subetance of the
brain wee healthy and firm. The lett ear was lacerated,
the right rye had an niened wound upon it, and both bon,.
of the now wen: fractured. On the back or the left hand
was a counted wound, with a lacerAtiou of the index and
little figurer. Them were the principal appearances of injury,
and are ',efficient to arcount for death. 'fhe wounds in the
head were no doubt the cause of death. Ido not think the
wound. were caused by any sharp instrument, or by Any
iron instrument ; astiek might have prodund ouch a wound.
The MOW. Oft the front ed the head wen• not struck from
bel I, but from the front, and ell hate ben produced, 1
think, ley the some instrument. The wee . le might have
Nem Inflected by such u stuck AM that produced, and there is
a mark of lele.l at the thick end and a little grey hair at-
tached. The deceased's hair was a mixture of gni and
Wenn.

At t hi. our of the proreedings the inquest was adjourned
to Friday nest, at h4ll-past Ual: o'clock.