Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-11-11 00:00:00

EXTRAORDINARY ATTEMPrED DOUBLE

MURDER AND SUICIDE.

On Friday evening the particulars of a diabolical atempt at double
murder and suicide of the assassin, were received in the metropolis.,
the facts of which are a. follows :—A man named Henry Feather_
$ One had Le n for the last five years and a half in the employ of Mr
Passmoro, a farmer at E tat Down, near Barnstaple, North Devon, as
farm servant, and was always conselered a mild, inoffensive man. A
short time back, ho . ever, from some uueeplain deem, Festherstone
imbbed a no'ion that one of the female servants had entertained
opinions and maaiessted feelings of an unkind character towards
him. So impre red was he with this idea that, without any notice
whatever, he sought en interview with his employer, 'intimate 1 that
he intended b quit his service, and demanded payment of the
wages then doe to him. Mr. Paesmore enquired the reason-
of his determ.na ioa, to wh ea he h.d eo strangeiy arrived
and Featherstone reelied teat the females hid treat d him
badly, and he woul I no longer as.ociate with them. Mr.
Passmore, after some remoestrance, paid him £32 23, and Feather-
stone left the premises. Suesequengy, whi'e tee hons:keeeer and
another female were sitt'ng qn'ely at work in the kitchen, they wee
fearful y alarmed at hearing t .e report of firearms from the outside
of the house, followed by the breaking of the windows of the room in
wh ch they ware seated, and simultaneously a number of shots flew
shoat them in all d rectioas. They screamed aloud for assistance,
when Mr. Paramore aid some friends whom he was entertaning, and
who had heard the report, rushed out with lights into the garden.
They made a minute search, but, were unah:e to discover any one.
They found, however, a j .cket, which was at ones recognised as
having belonged t 3 Featherstone, end in the pockets of which were
some loose shot:, gunpowder, aid a bag of percussion caps.
Suspicion immediately !deed itself upon Featherstone, who
was known to entertain a feeling of hatred towards the two
females, and a most a live march was ialleved without delay;
nothing, however, was hesr.i of him. On the following day a further
and more rigal se arch was merle in the garden, wren a large horse
pistol was found outside the window, apparently dropped just where
fired. The police were made aCq7l4lll:ed with the circamstances, and
means were takes to apprehend Featherstone. Their ends were
ineffectual, bat, as Mr. Tamlyn, a gentleman reAding in the neigh-
bourhood, was amusing himself in Knowles Wood, he discovered the
body of a man suspended by a piece of new rope from a
branch of an oak tree. He could tut see his face as a
" comforter," had been drawn, cap-like, over it. He gave
an alarm, (having first ascertained that the man was dead)
and the deceased was cut down. The " comforter " being
removed, the deceased was identified as Featherstone. A most
nnusnol course was adopte i before the removal of the bcdy,
it bong taken to a private house and deposited in the room
where a man lived wit's his wife and family. At the inquest
which was forthwith held bebre the district coroner, the above facts
were deposed to; and, in addition, ,t was proved that the deceased
purchased the pistol and ammo Aden on the day before the attempt
at murder was made, from Mr. Frayne, of Barnstaple, and amongst
ha effects six £5 notes were discovered. Alt the witnesses deposed
that when deceased was la t seal nothing unusual was noticed in his
demeanour, and the corner, on leaving the case to the jn-y,
remarked that all lea had heard of the facts led him to believe Out the
deeeesed was in his Hest state of mind when he committed the d ed.
The jury then ratir.A, -•
the following verdict —" Teat the deceased died by his own lamed, he
not being at the time in h's right senses, mini, memory, and under-
standing."