The Express.
London, England, 1860-12-20 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORTHERN CIRCIIIT.—Yoas, Die. 19.
(Mors Mr. Justice Hill.)
Us Portrinuor XIIIIDIII.

George Thor 17 was charged with the wilful murder
of Elizabeth Ift,then. at Upton, near Pontefract, on the
2nd September! set.
Mr. Price and Mr. Marne prosecuted ; Mr. Foster and
Mr. V. Blackburn defesded the prisoner.
The village of Upiesis distant between five and six miles
from Pontefract, and a mile from the Tillage of Bsdaworth.
Upton firm, the same of the murder, is in the occupant's
of Mr. Spink. The home consists of a kitchen and two
ratting roam on the ground door and three bed rooms
above. Immediately behind the kitchen, and about two
yards to the right of the back door, is an out-house used as
a coal place, fu., and it wee here that the body of the mar.
dared girl was discovered. The common road from Wake-
field to Askern akirts the house, and the only build.
ings near are some cottages, ocupped by
men. 05 Sunday, the Ildeptansbne aboutian=
two o'clock in the afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Spink, who wire
but recently married, left home to visit some friends at
Barrington, a place four miles distant. The house was left
in charge of the decreased, Elizabeth Mitchell, who was only
14 yeah of age. The girl had been in the DOITiOD of Mr.
Spink since the previous Martinmas, her parents residing at
North Elmeall, a village about a mile sad a half from
Upton. The only other person in the bowie was George
litThorpe,the farm servant, who is nomad of the murder.
been in Mr. Oplak's envies sines the latter mid of
March last. It mews that after the master and Wean=
had left home Annie Cooksen, a young woman 18 yeses of
age, who resided near, joined the deceased and Thorpe, and
continued with them until about five o'clock, when she
returned home to tea. During the afternoon the
hope teaming the girl Cookson and deceased. prisoner
was
snouling with the former, and -trying to obtain a
brooch which she was wearing, when the dammed seised
him by the hair of the head and drew him beak. He then
began swearing, and went away to look after the beasts, re-
turning again after a short absence. He did not appear
angry. Annie Cookson soon after left the home
pro-
ceeded home. The murder must have been committed
shortly after this time. Annie Cooksaa, after yartaktpg of
her tea, returned to Mr. Spinks's home. She found to -her
astonishment the front door bolted, and she was immediately
after very much frightened by perceiving the body of the
deceased lying in the coal house clam by the back
door of the kitchen. She took her by the hand,
and said " Illimbeth ;" but the dsoewd not answer-
ing she mu away and gave the alarm. Several
persons were attracted to the spot by the report
of the girl's death, and the body, which was quite dead,
was conveyed into the house. they were doing this
the persons carrying the doomed observed a small patch of
blood on one cheek, and they also felt something wet under-
neath her. On examination this
_proved to be blood oozing
from a hole in the dram, below the ahoulder-blade, on the
left side. The prisoner, who was out at this time, returned
shorts after
on , and on gazing at the dead body of the de-
omthe floor, he said, " Will, this is a-- queer
thing, however." He also added that he bad not billed the
girl, and that he had not seen her for two hours. About
the time the murder must have taken place several partite
distinctly heard the report of a gun, and the primes, was
soon after observed rag away from the house, sad his
whole demeanour sensed changed. The surgeon who ex-
smined the body fouled in deceased's gown, stays,
and chemise a divider hole about the Om of a
florin burnt through them, as if a gun bad
been discharged close to the body. There was a
large orifice immediately below the left shoulder bone ; one
of the ribs, the seventh, was fractured ; the heart was shat-
tered nearly to pieces, and the left lung wounded. Fifty-
three corn shots were found lodged in the heart and lungs.
Information of the reorder was given to the police, who
placed Thorpe trader es:treadle/me the same night. On the
following morning Mr. Superintendent Hall, of the West
Riding constabulary, went to Mr. Spink's house for the pur-
pose of searching the premises and collecting evidence. He
found that a gun belonging to Mr. Spink, which had not
been in use since the previous March, bad been recently
discharged. This gun had been removed from one of the
sitting-rooms, communicating by a door with that in which
the and Thorpe were sitting, but which the
latter bad end
right to enter. Sams shot and
caps had also been disturbed, sod • porn= of a cep
which had hese need, simil in size and ce, was
found in the kitchen, ass if It had dropped from the nipple
of the gun se the party who had used it was returning it to
the place from whence he bed obtained it. When taken
into custody by Mr. Hall, and charged with the offence, the
prisoner denied it, and bops aryusg. Shortly afterwards
Mr. Hall told the prisoner he wanted him to go and show
his box. He said he would rather not, but would give the
superintendent the key. Mr. Hall, however, compelled
Thorpe to go with him and see the box
ssearched. When the
police officer was thus engaged in emu:ming the clothes, the
prisoner put his hand down into the box, and gave the super-
intendent hold of a blue smock, and mud, " I'd this on yester-
day." Mr. Hall subsequently ascertained that on the day the
deceased was killed, the prisoner wore a white smock
frock, and on looking more minutely into the box, • white
smock was found, on the cuffs of which were discovered
spots of blood. The marks appeared to be fresh. These
were pointed out to the primmer, who never spoke, or made
any reference to or explanation of them. After the
York
was apprehended, and before he was lodged in York
Castle, he attempted to hang himself, but he was discovered
in time and cut down, and was then taken to the musty
gaol. With regard to motive, the learned counsel (Mr.
Prim) stated in his opening speech that the prosecution was
not inapeeitlim to prove more than the fact that theprisoner
bed frequently expels...l dislike to the deceased, because
she wee in the habit of telling her mistress tales.
After the whole of the witnesses for the prosecution had
been heard, Yr. Foster made a powerful speech for the de-
fence. He eadeavoured to show that the demeanour of the
prisoner immediately after the discovery of the deceased was
that of one altogether innocent of such a charge as had
I been laid against him ; and urged that there was nothing
to show that, at the very time the body was discovered,
there was not some other person than the prisoner, and who
was the &crud murderer, in Mr. Spink's house. He asked if
if it was consistent that a youth like the prisoner, labouring
under the fright which must necessarily attend the committal
of such an act as murder, should as soon as it came to the
knowledge of the villagers run to the very spot where lay
his victim scarcely cold, and the evidence of his guilt. The
testimony in reference to the smock was also worthless,
inasmuch as oily the alight smear of something red had
been shown on the smock, without the slightest evidence
that that smear was of blood. In fact, the whole theory
which had been set up by the prosecution, was more in
favour of the deceased having met her death at the hands of
a stranger than at those of the prisoner, who, it had been
shown, bad never bad a quarrel, sod had: lived together on
the most cheerful and comfortable terms. The only motive
which the prosecution had adduced for the committal of the
act, was a little alleged anger at having his hair pulled,
and also an expresso which a boy said the prisoner
had made use of to the effect that he liked his master
and mistress, but not the girl, as she told tales.
The learned counsel then, assuming that it was the Fi-
lmier who bad fired the gun, pet up the hypothesis that
he had done it in a lark ; that desirous of frightening the
deceased, he had taken the gun down in ignorance of its
being loaded, had put on a cap, and fired it off, and that
afterwards he had discovered to his horror that be bad
killed the deceased. If it was such an accident as this,
then there was no malice, and therefore no murder ; nor
yet was it that minor offence called manslaughter, but
simply a death by inadvertence.
The learned Judge having summed up,
The jury retired, and returned into court in twenty-five
minute's with a verdict of Not Guilty.
The trial lasted about nine hours.