The Express.
London, England, 1867-07-23 00:00:00

dial
T 6.

THE PRWITTFUL MURDER AT WOOLVEETON-
CONFESSION OF THE !MURDERER.

The inquest on the body of Martha Britten,
who was killed and then burnt, was hell yesterday by DT.
Wybranta, coroner for East Somerset, at the Red U
Inn, Woolverton, before a jury, of which the Rev. C. P.
Baker VAS foreman. The room was crowded. Mr. 14,
miter, solicitor, of Frome, watched the proceedings sa
half of the family of the prisoner, who war present.
prisoner is a somewhat aged man, gray-haired, and dressed
in a suit of black, and appeared to feel his position. 14
Valentine Gould, chief countable of Somerset, was present.
and Mr. Superintendent Duggan, of Frome, in whore cm.
tody the prisoner wax.
As the prisoner has confessed the crime, it is imam,.
nary to do more than give his own statement.
Superintendent Duggan said the prisoner, when taken
into custody, said " It's a bad job." He roduced the
statement written by the prisoner on Sunday morning,It
was directed to Mr. Woolly, his brother-in-law, and w.,e
ea follows :—" Mr. Woolly,—l do to you what I could not
do to any one else. With shame and true abhorrence mid
repentance of the deed I have done, I confer it was
that foully murdered my poor wife. It wan done in the
heat of pinion and in • fit of jealousy, and arose thus. I
sew what I shall keep to myself —told her of it—she
treated it lightly, which enraged me. I caught hold of the
first thing that came to hand, struck her with it three se
four times. Oh, how I wish I had been blind or God
had struck me dead before I did so. ob.
what power the devil must have over me. It
seemed as though I had almost a hundred devils ie
me, and, I believe, had twenty people been there, I should,
had they interfered, served them in • similar ;
but after it was done, and I reflected a little time, oh, how
I detestedand deplored the act—viewed it with abhorreike,
and oh, what I would have gave to bring her to life
I fully intended then to have destroyed myself, but was
prevented by two thoughts—first, that, alone in the boort,
the child would come down and first find us, and no doubt
would lose his reason, or something as bad. Second, that
probably God may forgive murder even, but not sell.
murder. Then I thought of at once giving myself up, but
then the devil or my awn evil heart tempted and induced
me to try and hide my act from the world, which 1 did
immediately by carrying her poor body over the wall by the
pear tree into the maltAouse, and finished the next
night. I chose that place for reasons Roger
and her friends will understand. The reason I would not
take your hand was, I could not put the hand of a ma.
derer into that of my sister's husband. Once you rid,
if anything happened to me, you would take care of the
boy. Will you do so now There is a draft on the old
Bristol Bank for 350 f. in m trunk. Do so for not mine but
his sake, and I hope, poor fellow, be may reward you. 06,
what I have brought on myself and friends, and first begun
and ended by false friends, which has been my baba
through life. Oh, how I pity and feel for poor Elizabeth
—you—your family—my boy—Charles and Joseph. As
for myself, now I feel my doom is fixed, and that since the
last tragedy I deserve it, but not before. I have no wish
to live. May God receive my wife's soul in his abode
above, and may He forgive me and receive mine at last
also. As for man, I do not ask, nor expect, to relines
forgiveness. Do let me again beg you and poor Elizabeth
to take the poor boy into your care, and may God
bless you all and him. (Signed) Geo. Murree.
Witnessed, Edward Duggan, Superintendent of Police,
Thomas Westcombe, police-oonstable' No. 194. Dated
at Frome, this 21st day of July, 1867. Four o'clock, p.m."
He shook very much and said, " I could write more, but I
can't." He then voluntarily made this statement to me :
" I killed her on Thursday night. I put her body in two
sacks. I tied a rope round her neck. I dragged her body
up the ladder by the pear tree, threw it over the tiles,
dragged it over the plank which was over the cistern, and
then set fire to the place. Oh, God forgive me, I loved
her, I struck her with a piece of lead down stairs." That
is the whole of the statement. He seemed to be in a low
depressed state. He made no reference as to the time nor
where the body remained from the Thursday till the
Saturday.
The coroner cautioned the prisoner in the usual manner,
and he replied, " I don't wish to say anything."
The coroner then summed up and the jur in a few
minutes returned • verdict of " Wilful murder" against
the prisoner George Britten, who was formally committed
for trial at the next Somerset assizes.

MARL

'TS.

RETURNS.—JuLT 20.
i Deliver& Pr. Stott UN.

35,845
UAW
02.518
144,418
is
218.254
118,584
13,252
T 1,763
2,208
5,942
2,542