The Express.
London, England, 1846-09-23 00:00:00

POLICE.--YrsTERDAY.

WORSHIP-STREET.—PnusErnasxo ATTEMPTS AT
S ELE-DESTIt t a 10S.—A young woman of considerable per-
Faisal attraction., and about nineteen years of age, named
I:1km Lehean, and a middle-aged man, named JamesWitson,
were placed at the bar before Mr. Broughton, the former
charged with the followiug repeated attempts upon her own
life, and the latter on suspicion of having robbed her.—As
lalicemau Devitt, of the N division, was on duty in Love-
ane. Clapton, about seven o'clock on the preceding evening
he overtook the two prisoners in loud and threatening con-
versation, and as they were making something like a dis-
turbance he advised them to go home, and the woman
walked away. On returning in about a quarter of an hour
he saw a large crowd collected near a gate separating the
main road from the Hackney Marshes, and he found the
female prisoner lying upon the ground, with her arms
stretched out ; her limbs perfectly rigid, and bearing every
appearance of death. Observing the deep mark of a ligature
round her neck he questioned the male prisoner, who was
standing by, and why, producing several pieces of a silk
handkerchief, stated, that after his (the officer's) previous
interference, be sat down on the grass to rest himself, ex-
pecting the girl would return as soon as the constable had
gone away, but finding that she did not do so, after waiting
a considerable time, he went in search of her, and while
passing some tall palings at the edge of the marshes was
called to for assistauce by a labourer, named Doe. The girl
was suspended by a handkerchief to the palings, and
struggling in frightful convulsions, while Doe supported her
body Wilson cut her down with a penknife. After the
lapse of a short time she partially recovered her senses,
but the instant she did so she commenced abusing
and kicking Wilson, whom she accused of robbing her of
her pocket and ill-using her, and both were consequently
conveyed to the police-station. There Lebean repeated her
accusation of robbery against the °flier prisoner, and on his
earnestly denying it flew at him " like a tigress," and con-
ducted herself with so much violence, that Inspector Cooper
directed them to be locked up in separate cells. Oa hearing
her previous attempt at self-destruction, Mr. Garrett, the
divisional surgeon, was sent for, and, after his departure,
she remained quiet for about an hour, when a heavy fall was
heard in the woman's cell, and on entering it Mr.
Cooper found her lying upon her hack on the floor, black in
the lace, her eyes starting out of her head, and the two ends
of a strip of bedticking, which she bad made into a slip-
knot, and wound round her throat, firmly grasped in both
hands. Mr. Garrett now stated that he had scarcely reached
home, after attending the prisoner the first time, when he
was again fetched, and found her in the hst stage of stran-
gulation. Only a few seconds later it would have been ins-
pomible to save her life. Mr. Cooper produced a pair of
garters he had found in the prisoner's cell ; from the appear-
ance of which it was evident that she had made a third and
desperate attempt at strangulation previously to that with
the bedticking, but that they had broken with the force that
had been exerted upon them. Holland, the warrant-officer,
also stated his conviction that the prisoner did 'hot set
the slightest value upon her existence, as it was not more
than a fear weeks ago she was brought to the Robert-
street station for snaking some disturbance ih the'
street, and that upon the constable in charge of the cells
examining the one in which she was confined, he found her
nearly dead.—The accusation of robbery against Wilson
proved wholly without foundation, and he was ordered to
he discharged : and, on the female prisoner, who was greatly
agitated and affected, being asked if she wished to say any-
thing, she replied, " No, only that she was very much
excited at the time, and hardly knew what she was doing."
She betrayed so much wildness, however, in her manner,
that Mr. Broughton, after remarking upon the melancholy
feeling produced by seeing so young a woman exhibit such
an utter recklessness of life and its prospects, said it would
be manifestly unsafe to set her at liberty in her present state
of mind, and he should, therefore, order her to be com-
mitted to prison for a week, that she might have time for
reflection upon the heinousness of the crime she had at-
tempted, and the officers must, in the interim, have an inter-
view with her relatives (who were stated to be respectable),
and point out to them the necessity of such steps as should
secure her future protection.
SOUTHWARK.—INCONSTANCY.—Frederick Di.ron ap-
peared before Mr. Seeker, on his own recognisanee, to answer
an alleged charge preferred against him by Charles Wilkins,
of stealing a bible, some chimney ornaments. and other
articles, also with absconding with the wife of the latter.
Mr. White, living in Pulteney-street, stated, that about a
year ago the prisoner and Mrs. Wilkins took apartments
an his house, and were living there as man and wife.—
John Brooks stated, that in 1813 he was complainant's
clerk. That the prisoner was also in the same employ,
and during the complainant's absence in the country the
former went off with his wife.—Policeman 212 M deposed that
on Saturday week he went, accompanied by the complain-
ant, to the prisoner's house and took him into custody on the
charge of stealing the bible and other articles now produced,
all of which were found in the sitting-room, and no conceal-
ment made of them—The complainant deposed as to his
wife having absconded with the prisoner when he was in the
country, taking with them the articles above enumerated,
and also two trunks containing other property. He identi-
fied the articles produced as his property.—From letters
which were read, dated subsequently to the period of the
alleged absconding of his wife, it appeared that the com-
plainant expressed his gratitude that the prisoner had been
kind to her and his daughter.—Mr. Norton said that he was
in a condition to prove that the camplainant's wife was com-
pelled to leave him ; that she took those articles which were
her own when she and her daughter quitted the house, and