Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-10-03 00:00:00

THE ATROCIOUS MURDER I'AEAR STOCKPORT.

The tragic occurtenee at Boarahall is still involved in
some degree of mystery. Weitever may be the suspicions
entertained, nothing is certainly known respecting the
perpetrator or perpetrators of the Cold blooded murder
which hts attached such a gloomy interest to so secluded
and pictureeve a vieinity, We stated yesterday, that the
eldest son bf the deceased, James Henderson, *as taken
into custody on Tuesday evening, on the charge of murder-
ing his father. There was nothing, in his manner at the
time, and nothing has-been evinced since, which would lead
to any other conclusion than that this result eves not
einexeected by him. ' He •of course asked for the grounds
of the chltge; and Mr. Sueerintendent Andrews told some
of the- suspicious -cireurnsiarces vvhich had satisfied the
',tithes-4;es of' the propriety of the-step. We may here
m-rtion ens circumstance net a little remarkable,
which our readers will admit, if not conclusive as
evidence, is of e miderable weight as a ground of
suspic on, On the room in which deceased now lies buing
examined, the officers picked up some papers which
had been used as wadding in charging the wrapen by
which the murder was committed. Oa the stair and in
the' yard cutside, other paper was f ;and which ha 1 been
similarly employed by the FO7, James, in shmtiag, as he
said et the
.fieure of a man he saw on the stairs. On the
piece of piper being (x1;1141.41, they were found to be
portions of a printed b• ok, and to correspend the one Is i•,13
the other, bath as regards th' qa dity of the paper, the
size of the type, Ste. Oae of the pieces also' appears to
be the top corner of the page of a book, as it bears the
number of a page on it, and in the room of the accused
were found a number of parts of a "serial tale, the paper
and type of which correspond wi h the papers found, and
from among the handle of parts so foun', the pelt is
wanting which th mid contain a page whle the number
c trrespondieg to that on the wadding scrap. Toe accused
was taken on Thursday before Col. D orenpoos at
St ;ckpert, end remanded till Thursday next, by which
time it is expected the inquest _ will be concluded.
The ietteest, ea the b udy of deo as ad was ipened yesterday.
The foil swing was the chief part of the evidence adduced:—
Jane Heniers m said : I am dauetter of the dere sea, and
resided with him at the [lardy Farm, Bramhall. My
father was tenant of the farm, under Coined Davenport.
He was sixty years' of- age. • There were two setts and
two daughters, including' meself, residing at the farm,
my mother, three men servants, and a boy, and a woman-
servant. All slept in the house, with the ereeptFun of two
men, who slept in the granary. My father slept alone for
the lag fourteen months. He slept in tee front-bed-room,
where his body now lies. My brother YilneS• slept alone
in the other Poet room, and had done so for a few
months past. I slzpt alone in one of the back bed-rooms,
on the same fl or, which is entered by the first door ou
the let at the head of the stairs. My mother and a married
sister slept in anceher back bed-room on the same floor.
My brother Thomas slept in the attic, where there are two
beds. Thomas wan alone ie one of the bads, and the other
was occupied by one of the servant tnen and the
boy. The granary in which the other two servant men
slept adj ;ins the house, but there is no internal com-
munication. On the night of Tuesday hot, my mother
and I went to bed about 12 o'clock. All the other inmates
bad then crone to bed, except my brother James. I un-
dressed and went to bed immediately after getting to my
room, and I fell asleep in about tea minutes after getting
into bed. I did not hear my brother James come to bed.
Before going to bed I saw thet the kitchen door was locked
and barred. /I did not look at the front door. My moth r
generally looks to the doors to see that they are secared.
We don't qse the front door much, bet it is generally open
every day. I don't know if it was .open on Tuesday.
When I went to bad my brother James was writing in the
sitting room. My father went to bed between nins and
ten o'clock. Tke first thing I can remember-after I awoke
on Wednesday morning, about two o'c'ock,' was the sound
of footsteps On the stairs. Imtned:ately after that I beard
the report of firearms. I heard only ' one report.
did not go out of my room on hearing the report,
as I was afraid ; but a short time afterwards
the two men servants who slept in the granary,
and the one who slept in the attic, came into my bedroom
and said that my father had been shot. I then got up
and went into my fathei's room, aed found My•father lying
on the bed. He was lying on his back; his head• on the
pillow, and his hands outside the" bedclothes, but I di I not
observe how they were lying. I have often seen my father
asleep in bed, and he was then lying in the same position
as when asleep. When I went into ;he room there were
present my mother, two brothers, and the three men
servants ; my sister came in behind me. My brother
Thomas had his trousers on, but -nothing else; be had
not on his stroking.. My brother James was in his
night-shirt. I di I not notice whether he had any
stockings on. An exeminati in of the house was made
by the men, but they found no trace of the robbers.
My b other Thomas seated at that time that the kitchen
door was open when he got do vu. The sitting-room door
woe found open, and my brother James's desk had been
broken open, and £l4 10 taken from it. My brother James
t, 11 ma that sum had been t.ken from the desk, as ha h d
left it there the night before," but I hod nerer seen the
money in the desk. A drawer in the cupboard, in the
kitchen, which was not locket, ha:, been opened, but
nothing was missed from it. We have a dog in the house ;
a Scotch " cellie " It aces not make any alarm et
strangers, except when out of deers. Jean Hmtiersoa,
widow of the deceased, said : I went to bed on Tuesday
night last at twelve o'clock. My danehter Jane went up
stairs ai It, me, b-tt I lay with my daughter Jessy, who
had eerie to bed previously. My husband had gone to
bed about nine o'clock. When I went to bed, I left my
s.)n James in ths sitting room. I fastened the outside
kitchen door, and I sew that the front door was fastened.
I was not long of e isg to sleep after getting, into bed.
I heard my son James come upstairs, bat I had been
asleep in the frith in, and could not say how. long it
might be alter I had left him. After Jam s came to bed.
I went to sleep again immediatelte I was next disturbed
by the report of firearms abut two o'clock in the morn-
ing. James then came out of his r.tom and shot
a gun down stall. I think it was not half a minute after
the report which awiltencti me when James fired. After
the second shot, I heard soon 's as of peop'e running down
stairs. The footsteps appeared to be of pa-sons who were
either in their stocking feet, or with something over their
shoes. I then heard James calling to Tom to come down
stairs itneullately, that there were re lehers in the house.
My datighter end myself got out of bed,'and held the dscr,
in case the robbers should come into the room. My sons,
J ;Ines and Taoaras, aforwarde earn s into my roam.
Thomas had only bin trousers on ; and Javar,s was in his
nighoehirt. I did sot notice if he had on stockings. Two
other sluts were also fired aUerwards, at the kitchsu door,
to frighten the robbers. Thomas lleederson, son of deceased
said :—I went to bad on Tuesday, night last at half-past 11
o'clock. I slept in the attic ; and the servant man and boy
slept in the same room. I went to sleep immediately that
getting into bed. I was dis urbed about two o'clock in the
morning by a report of fi -earms. The sou-ld came
thine below, but I did not know ex-.ctly fro:n where.
I got up and awoke the servant man and boy. I struck
a match and lighted the ensile, and pat on my trousers.
The man put: on his trotoere, bat the boy went to bed
again. When I was putting on my trousers, my brother
called there were ro'obers in the house, but I cacnot tell
whether it was after or before the second shot. I went
down the stir towards the landing, the servant man with
me, and while there I saw me brother come out of his
roem With the gun, ant we alt went down together. In
coming down the 'stair I heard my brother loading the
gun in his bedroom. I heard !aim ramming ho• h hatrels.
I got down first with.the candle. I found the kitchen
door aauding open. It hid been fastened by a wooden
bar across the deor, and a leek. The bar of wood was
placed against the wall, partly reared up, and not broken;
the . lock wes uninjured ; the key was in the lock is
the inside. We did-- not • extnine the front door nor
the windows at the time, bat we examh ed them after wards.
We then went into the granary, where the other two
servants slept, and git them into the house; after which.
we wide a thorough examination. Notre of the windowshad
been broken or interfered with, nor the front door. We
examined the sitting room, and found James's desk broken
open, and £l4 10i. taken horn. i'. It was Money belong-
ing to my brother J.rnea. We then went upstairs to my
father's room, where we had not yet been. We found him
lying ie his bed, on his back, with his head on the pill )w,
and his arms outside the bed-ctothes, forded across his
chest, as if he had been asleep when fired upon. I Lever
stw the £l4 10s. in my brother's de: k; but my broiler
James said he had lelt it there, When I was putting on
my trousers, after my brother fired, I heard footsteps on the
stairs. It appeared like the footsteps of three or four people.
Wnen I came out of my father'a room, my brother gave me
the gun, which he had charged, and I fired both banes
into the air, at the b u k door. From the time that my brother
fired on the stairs, it would be a quarter of an hour before I
fired off the two barrels at the back. My bro'her was in the
habit of shooting. I recollect, hearing from Jane that
my brother had shot one barrel at a sparrow, the mow ing
before. I afterwards saw a dead sparrow in the kitchen.
Jassy Farlan', wife of Edward Eariam, Garmer, Woodford,
and daughter of deceased, said : I slept in the same room
with my mother. I went to bed on Tuesday night I.st
between eight and nine, and did not hear my mother come,
as I was asleep. I was avarice about two o'ch ck in the
morning by the report of firearms. I rose up in bed
immediately, and then my mother and I get out of bed.
Before we got out of bed I heard my,brether Jaelea's door
open, and sbor ly after he shot and called, but I am not
certain which he did first. My brother's firing was not
snore than half a minute after the first report. After the
first report I beard = footsteps: in nay father's room The
.sotuid was tut if she persona had aontatiaiwg on their shoes,