The Express.
London, England, 1859-08-06 00:00:00

THE LEDECRY MURDER.

(Prom the Daily News.)

On the 17th of last May there lived at Loalbuy
in
solicitor, Mr. Mssailaw. Like other gentlemen in
the profession, his cams were looked after by a
housekeeper ; " a modest, well-behaved widow"
in this instant*, Mu. Buten, of the mature
age of 50, who lived on the premises. Her
only companion was a little child called PAINE.
Amongst Mr. Maseru/axes clerks, besides his sons,
was a certain JOHN IaAAC JONES. This young man
is described as having " light hair, sharp-pointed
"features, compressed lips, and glancing eyes—
" showing a nervous but resolute temper." Amongst
his other afflietione, for he was poor and friendless,
he had lost a leg, and had been an inmate of the
workhouse. Be seems to have been a person of some
education, for from porter in that dreary institution
he had risen to the office of schoolmaster, and thence
he transferred himself to Mr. MASEPIELD's office as a
copying clerk at 18s. a week. He lodged next door
with an old man, fourscore years of age, called
FIOWCOTT, and slept in a room upstairs. The late-
ness and irregularity of his hours had, shortly
before the time in question, induced the old man to
give him a latch-key.
On the 17th of May Mr. MASZPILLD had gone
to London. One of the clerks did not leave the
office until 10 o'clock at night, and as he went
away he met Riau coming towards the house;
but as that was the road to his lodging there
was nothing to excite surprise. In fact,
at that moment everything in Mr. M•sanaLnli office
was as usual. A friend of Mrs. BAKEE—Mrs. JACK-
SON, the housekeeper of Mr. NOTT—was just then
taking leave. She had been sitting in the house,
had seen the child PAINE put to bed, and after that
sat conversing with poor Mrs. BAKER, whilst she
mended a pair of trousers for the prisoner. It
was not yet supper time, and the only things on the
table, which was covered with oilskin, were a cake,
a knife, a candlestick. Before Mrs. JACKSON lac,
the back-door had been fastened and the hell put
upon it. Mrs. JACKSON, however, went out by
the front door, but whether that door was Listened
or not, or whether it weld be opened from
outside, she did not observe. From the time when
Mrs. JACKSON bade her friend good-night till next
morning, about 8 o'clock, nothing was heard of Mrs.
BAKER. Old BOWOOTY, who slept in the ground-
floor, next door, put out his light at 20 minutes alter
10, and slept soundly. He heard nothing, nor,
although the clerk JoNis made a peculiar noise
with his cork leg, did he hear the slightest sound.
So passed the night of the 17th of May.
Next morning Jonas rose earlier than usual, and
breakfasted. After breakfast the old man Bowcarr,
who supplied milk to Mrs. BAKES., knocked at the
door, but got no answer. He hammered at it. I
Having thrown some peas at the window, JONES left
to buy some meat, and to purchive some brandy.
Everybody then seems to have left, but presently
JoNes returned to the back-yard, and said to some
people about that he had found the key. JONES and
a man, Poweu., entered. As they went in they saw
the child dreaming herself. They questioned her:
" Where's Mrs. BAKER? Is she gone out ? " The
child said, " Yes." " How long? rejoiued JONES.
" Not long," said the child. POWELL lett ; but in a
few minutes the same man returned, and he saw
JONES with the child under his arm rush-
ing to Bosscon's. " I asked Joann," said PowELL,
" if he had seen Mrs. BAKER, whereupon he took
" hold of me by the arm, saying, Powext,
" Powext, she's dead and burning.' " He then
cried out for some water, and a young man, DAVis,
brought some, and he drank it. Passing upstairs
they entered Mrs. BAKER% room. There they found
the poor woman lying on the floor, with a bruise on
her temple, her clothes smouldering, a cord slightly
burnt under the clothes, with marks on the neck
which showed that she had been strangled. It wss
evident that the woman had been murdered. The doors
and windows were looked at, but there was nothing to
show that the house had been entered by violence.
But on Mrs. BAKER'S table there was a table-cloth,
two glasses, one of them filled with gin and water,
sugar, and • jug of water, and which were not there
the night before. Somebody, then, must have
murdered Mrs. BAKER, and here were palpable indi-
cations that some acquaintance had been in the room
after her friend, Mrs. JACKSON, left. As JON Es went
round the rooms he drew out the drawers, and said,
"there must have been a robbery." No doubt there had
been, for money had been taken from MASEFIELD's
drs wer,amongs t which was a marked sixpence. From
the young MASIFIKLD's drawers cheques, bank notes
and cash were taken. This, and other circumstances,
seemed to show that the robbery must have been
perpetrated by some one who knew the premises
well. But, singularly enough, the cricket money in
a desk in the same room was not taken, though it
was notorious in the office that young MAsSEIELD
was treasurer, nor was another desk rifled though it
was equally notorious that WOODWARD kept money
there also.

Who could have done the deed? It was conclu-
sively proved that JONES had been in the habit of
borrowing money, and when he was first appre-
hended more than 101. was found upon him, to-
gether with some stamps and a pocket-book. But,
on the other hand, there was evidence that
he had told some one in conversation he
had in his possession a considerable sum of
money which he did not wish "to break into."
Moreover, a search was made in his fire-place for
the ashes of such cheques as he might have burnt.
At first nothing we, discovered, but a month after-
wards acme were found which were alleged to be the
remains of cheques on the National Provincial Bank,
some of which had been stolen ; but upon inspection
the eye of the Judge could not detect the letters
alleged to be discernible by the astute witness. In
short, there was nothing found in the possession of
Imess which could be identified as part of the property
which had been stolen. It is true a packet of small
silver coin, one of which was Mr. MASESIELD'S
marked sixpence, was found in a lane near the sane
of the catastrophe which was most frequented by
working men. No packet lay there early in the
morning; but about eight o'clock, just about the
time JosEs had been there, the packet in question
was picked up. No doubt if JONES was the robber, ,
he might have got rid of that. Again, a bludgeon
was found in this man's box; and this might have
rendered the old woman insensible. Bat bludgeons
are common things. Again, • diary was found on
the prisoner which, singularly enough, had been kept
with accuracy only during the three days between
the 16th and 19th of May, when he was suspected.
Was this done by JoNns to furnish evidence in his
favour, or from a nervous anxiety to be able to recall
accurately the events which had passed, for he
began to be suspected ? Lastly, the state of things
within the house seemed to show that the deed must
have been done in the dark, and by some one who
was not a professed housebreaker. If a candle had
been lighted, it must have been seen in Mr. MASS-
FULD'S, and this seems to show that the criminal
must have known the premises ; and, in this case, he
could not have been a professional burglar.
Oa the other hand, it is clear that the clerk JONES
certainly slept in his bed on the night of the murder
—his behaviour exhibited no conclusive marks of
guilt; and indeed if his coolness after the commission
of the deed was so extraordinary, it strangely
deserted him on his trial. 'there is no reason
to suppose that this clerk would have been
ignorant of Mr. MasEstatn'a movements, nor
is it probable that he would have resolved
to commit • murder for the purpose of perpe-
trating a robbery, without diligent inquiry as to
whether Mr. Idn•Enctn had any money in the office
on the 17th of May, of which there is not a trace.
In sheet, the ease against Joins was purely circum-
stantial. Circumstances, as Mr. Justice BYLES weU
observed, are sometimes like dumb wane.** stand-
ing round and pointing to the criminal. But in this
case they pointed both ways, and therefore the jury
adopted the safest conclusion by pronouncing the
verdict of " Not Guilty."

COUNTY COMITS.—n• Lord Chancellor hu ap•
pointed Allan Madam Skinner, Esq., Q.C., to be jodpe of
the county courts of Staffordshire held at Oldbory,
end Wolverhampton, in the plus* of Mr. Stejeeat Clarke,
doomed.

CRTBTAL PALACE—OX IS SHILLING DAT.—FRI-
DAT, Au OM 6.—Adiallsions mi Fel mat, 3,866 ; ditto, by
inns ticks% 401: total visitors 3,967.