The Express.
London, England, 1862-05-02 00:00:00

CHARGE OP WIFE MURDER AT PLYMOUTH.

At the Plymouth Guildhall, on Wednesday,
Charles Joseph Pitcher was charged with killing his wife,
Thornazine.Pitcher.
Eliza Marshall deposed that she lived at No. 9, Illioer-
street, and on the previous day she was in • room in a beer-
house in Stonehomedane, between three and four o'clock
in the afternoon. She was there with a woman named
Conway, who owed beg some money, and other persons
were there. Amongst those present was the prisoner, who
was sitting at the table drinking with other men and some
women. A woman ame from the taproom Into the place
where the prisoner was, and struck him twice under the
ear with her band. She called him very opprobrious names,
and ae she struck him, she said, " Where's my money—
where's my box!" or words to that effect. They were both
tipsy, and the woman returned to the tap-room. Prisoner
arose from the table and followed her, and the tap-room
door was shut as soon as he entered it. Witness looked
ettaugh the glass door, and saw the prisoner strike the de-
under the right ear with his clenched fist. It waa •
very violent blow, and the deceased fell to the floor. Wit-
ness then entered the room, where she found the dammed
lying on the floor. There were two men in the room
besides the prisoner and witness asked one of the men to
lift the poor creature up. The prisoner was then reclining
on the settle. One of the men lifted the woman up, and
after three or four minute, bad elapsed she went over to the
prisoner, who was still lying on the settle, and again said,
Where is my box with my money'!" Prisoner replied,
" I have spent it ; I have not a farthing left." Upon that the
deceased struck the prisoner two or three times in the face
with her lat. The prisoner then got off the settle and
struck the deceased several dreadful blows with his fist about
the face and neck. He knocked her down, and her heed came
in contact with the door-post. Prisoner then walked away
into another part of the room, and witness mid to him.
"Oh, you bad man, you've killed the woman." He replied,
" Do you think I'm going to be struck by a woman r' Wit-
ness turned the woman's head, and saw her bleeding from
a large cut over the left eye. She cried and said, " What has
he done to me now 1" and exclamations of a similar charac-
ter, and by this time the prisoner had again retired to lie upon
the settle. Witness believed that the woman's head struck
the door-poet. The deceased was again lifted up, and was
placed upon • form ; ea she leaned against the table her
eye still bled. One of the men, addressing the prisoner,
said he hoped he bad not offended him by lifting his wife,
and told him she had • tremendous cot across her eye.
Prisoner made no reply. Witness then fetched • woman
from the court named Mary Burt, and by the time they
entered the room the womans head was under the settle,
and the prisoner was standing close by her. She was groan-
ing, and the prisoner was kicking her violently in the lower
part of the abdomen. She saw him kick the deceased twice.
Burt said to the prisoner. "Oh you blackguard, you'll kill
the woman," and lifted her hand to strike him' but did not.
Prisoner desisted, but said, " I'm not going to be struck by
her." Witness and Burt lifted the dammed from the floor
to the form, and she leaned on Burrs shoulder. On looking
to the floor witness saw a great quantity of blood. The
dammed groaned, but witness did not remember that she
said anything. The prisoner again lay on the settle, and
tritoato loft th. &moose& in Oho tato of Mtn. Mt. was in
the room altogether twenty minutes.
The prisoner, on being asked if he bed anything on which
to cross-examine the witnem, replied that he recollected
nothing about it.
Mary Burt mid—l was in • court at the back of the
Travellers' Rest, in Stonehouse-lane, yesterday about
four o'clock, when Mrs. Marshall came to me, and I went
with her into the tap-room. The prisoner and Thomas
Richards, now present, and the prisoner's wife (whom I have
known many years) were present, and so was Mrs. Marshall.
The prisoner's wife was lying on the floor, under the table ;
the prisoner was standing outside the table, close to his wife,
and was lucking her about the body. She was lying on her
back ; they were violent kicks. I said, " Hobos, Charley,
what are you doing" and put up my hand to shove him
away. He said nothing, but left the room. Mrs. Dingle,
the landlady, and • woman named Eliza Govear, came into
the room, and Gomm lifted her up, and cleared up a great
deal of blood with a shovel from the spot where she had
been lying. I did not see the prisoner kick her more than
once; she greened. Myself and Eliza Govear carried her to
her own room, at 77, Stonehouse-lane. The only words I
heard the woman say were, "The Lord bleu you," which
was said to me. We put her on her bed, and 1 stayed with
her until she died, about an hour afterwards. About five
minutes after I carried the prisooer's wife home, Mr.
Pause, surgeon, now present, came and attended to her. I
saw the prisoners wife about 11 in the morning • she was
then tipsy. I had been drinking with her, sod when in the
court she fell and struck herself over her left eye. 1 was
not tipsy when Mrs. Marshall called me.
Cross-examined by the prisoner—Very shortly after I
took her home the prisoner came there, and remained until
she was drawing her last breath.
Cross-examined by Mr. Phillips—
prison er and his wife for about nine years, and they ap-
peared to me to be comfortable, unless they had had a drop
of drink. They have three children, the youngest being
four or five years old.
William Pause said—l am a surgeon and have been in
practice for upwards of 20 years. On Tuesday, the 29th ult.,
about 5 o'clock in the aftemooo, I was called to • room at
No. 77, Stonehouse-lane, where I saw the prisoner, several
women, and a female (whom I have since asmrtaine ' .0
be Thommine Pitcher, and I believe to be the wife • f the
prisoner). I found her in a dying state lying on the bed,
her clothes soaked in blood, pulsates', power of sight quite
gone, wholly insensible, skin cold, and unable to speak. She
moaned twice or thrice, and turned on one side, and then on
the other, and attempted to raise her head, but failed. 1