The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-11-20 00:00:00

THE ERITH MURDER.

ADJOURNED INQUEST.—On Tuesday, at half-past four,
the adjourned inquest on the body of Mr. Carter, of whose
melancholy end we have given full particulars, was resumed
before Mr. Carder, one of the county coroners. The
first witness called was Edward Carter, an auctioneer, of
Battersea-rise, who recognised the body of the deceased, he
said :—I saw him alive on Tuesday, the 4th instant, when
I met him in Union-road, Battersea. He was passing me,
and I said, " Are you going to London ;" and he said,
"Yes, to the docks." lam executor to his father's will.
His fathe died in May, 1855, and he contemplated going to
Australia prior to that event, but his father's death stopped
him. In consequence of his going to Australia it was
necessal that money should be raised to the extent of
£lOO, and arrangements were made by myself, my co-
executor, and two of the legatees for the sum to be
advanced to him, and it was advanced. In reply to the
Coroner, the witness testified to the soundness of deceased's
mind. The surgeon who examined the body after death
reported as follows :—I found on the left side of the chest,

region of the heart, in a space from abrut tF
ghth rib downwards, and from the breas

second to the c

bone to the armpit sixteen punctured wounds,
No appearance of injury except an
abrasion of skin on the right elblw and two slight abrasions
on the knuckles of the first and third finger on the right hand;
they were fresh wounds. The head was opened next dar.
On opening the chest I found great infusion of blood in both
cavities of the chest, The pericardium was full of blow!.
Opened the perecardium and took out the heart, in which
there were eight punctured wounds, one of them being so
large that I think it was the effect of two thrusts ; it was
twice the diameter of the guage. There is one wound on
the apex of the heart, and another on the side of the left
ventricle, which does not penetrate the cavities of the heart
The other penetrates into the cavity of the left

!ow penetrating,

some supe

ventricle

very deeply. The wounds all correspond with the instru-
ment produced. There are external wounds corresponding
with those in the heart, and the sixth rib is splintered near
the large wound, both externally and in the heart. I
proceeded afterwards to open the vicera of the abdomen,
which were all healthy except the liver, which showed
slight signs of being affected by drink. On dividing the
scalp, I found the scalp was in an ecchymose state to a large
extent, and on removing the scalp I found there was great
extravasation of blood; and, on proceeding, I found an
angular fracture about three or four inches in extent,
running from the vertex to the temple on the
left side. This witness considered it would be
utterly impossible for a man to inflict such
wounds upon himself He had counted six cute in the
waistcoat, thirteen or fourteen in the linen shirt, and about
as many in the flannel shirt. After some further evidence,
the enquiry was adjourned for a week. Owing to the
strenuous exertions of Superintendent NI allalieu, and the
assistance of four of his most expert officers, there is every
reason to believe that the perpetrators of this most frightful
murder will be speedily brought to justice. That there
were several persons engaged in the matter is beyond doubt.
The carpenter's page, which was found in the hand of the
deceased, has been proved to be the instrument with which
the wounds in the body were inflicted.