The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1809-08-16 00:00:00

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FURRY ASSIZES.

crovpos, *vacs? U.
Jam's Cooper and Mary Cover. his mother,
• -aged it, were indicted fur thP wilful murder of
Joseph 1 johl ii, at Compton, in this county, on the
4th of May last. The tint count of the indict-
ment stated the murder to have liven committed by
fracturing the skull, and the second by cutting the
throat.
Mr. GURNEY mid the COMMON SUNJEANT pro-

secutstl tlw case, which was of rather n singular
nature, and depended ou circumstances which were
proved by a number of different witnesses, and the
investigation lasted nearly the whole day. The
deceased was a man possessing more property than
is usual with permit: in 14 class of life. He lived
in a mall cottage adjoining to the Prisoners ; in.
deed it had been formerly but one cottage, and had
lately been diviiitd into two tenement., the one
eecimital by the deceased, and the other by .the
.i,Prierfintics. There wine door of emumutileition
Si Awry's the two tenements, hut it was grimed, that
Adiatever passed in one 'muse could be distinctly
heard in the other ; and, as one of the witnesses
atisteil, the clock mild be heard to tick. The de-
ceased, 1113116, was an old man of mar 70. but was

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halo and twenty ; he woes of very penurinas leshitii,
and hail merit money, which lie woe fond of•dis.
playing. Oche of the aiteesses ileverilxil hint as
always carrying the..: canvas hugs, in one of
(which he kept notes, in anotlwr gold and id-
. vole and in a third, copper money ; and if he want-
ed to pay only a six-pence, lie would tip all the
Kohl and silver into his hand ; and the witness add-
ed, lie Mid peen him with 1001. in his possession.
The whole cottage iii which he lived was tits pro-
perty, and the prisouer Cooper was Ins tenant for
the part which he occupied. Nobody lived in
Cooper's part but himself :old his mother, and
Hollis, the deceased, lived ante ; r woman of the
name of NViailont coining to hum daily to perform
his little household urra.igements. On Wednesday,
the 3d of Mar, the day prreeding Guildford fair,
he hail desired a person of the name of Goddard,
to go with bins to the fair, us he wanted to bay
some sheep; Goddard told him he could not go
with him, luf advised him to be early. On this he
declared his intention of breakfasting end setting
off the 'Jest morning by four o'cloi k ; and having
declared this to Mary Wisdom, he told her she
need tint come to him the next Jar, as he should
be at the fair ; she therefore did nut
*lay make her daily visit, tint, on the Friday, about
ten, she aria her daughter, u girl aleint thirteen.
The child found the door unfastentd, and, on
opening it, she saw !loins Irmo deed on 'the *nor,
with a great deal of lineal about hint. She ran out
and saw Moore, the colismide, crossing the com-
mon, and he immediately returned with lies. A
surgeoa was tent for, mid several people soon wait..
The body twit; lying on the _floor with the legs
crossed, and the head Icing on the arm. evideutly
composed to that attitude by the murderer, after
the deed. A cup of coffee, half drank, vi as nit the
table, u piece of toast before the *re, another piece,
parity eaten, lying ou the hearth, the butter
boson Itrols,u, and the pat of butter tin the Auer,
near the fret of the deceased. Vie chair it. which
Ili. had been sitting was ovciturued, and 'Ma hat
near, from whence it appeared he had been
attie•ked chile hr was sitting. at his '
The. body ea. moot shocknigly tunngled..-the scull
was fractured in two places, the jaw broken, a *ti-
ger broken, the arms bruised, and tlib Ilesast cut so
as almost to si ver the herd from OW
der the hody was found a clesp-kiiitV; almost cover-
ed with blond, and a poker, which fitilia the hriosea'
made in the ch l i iii ley-piece. As from !lest circuru-
%truces it uppeureti that sow struggle must Mire
taken place, which the Prisoners must have heirs
in their cottage., if it had hero done by any stranger, '
they were witterelientled 1.1) the Friday e‘settiog, and
their house aiehed, h,ut nu critiewce of their guilt
was found. The trunk of the deceased had liven

rummaged, and as ouly two shillings ‘vere found on
his person, it was presumed that the murderer had
carried Of his tootle). The Magistrates, on ex-
aminatina, finding nothing but suspicion against
the Prisoners, discharged them, but on maw-
trent inquiries', they were again apprehended, mad
flee 10110.111 g eirtlilliNt9llll:.• were given in es Weiler.
Abuut a fortnight before the murder, the de-
ceased and the Prisoner James Cooper had brim'
quarrelling, open uhich the deceased declared, as
Cooper had not panel his resit, he would have hem
nut ofihe etiita.4e, and lie 'actually applied tole per-
amt to upon him. 111 this (linseed,
er went in Joon., he saint to his mother, " that
once wtthio is fortnight lie with
mother exclaimed " God forbid r'
answer was, if she did out liuld her torietie he would
serve her s.. to.. :—To which she replied, " well, it
is no great matte', for nobody tikes the old fellow."
fact the 'tinnier sea. perpetrated within dim time.
Mary IVisslom moved Ow* Oil the Wednesday
evening she told [)ame Cooper that Masten Hollis
was going to the tint the siva dav, and that she
should not come again until the Criday, and she
also mentioned that lit onus ginitg at hair in tilt
moment:. When the knife wits fimail i.l the room
under the hotly, the Prisoner, Nl:try ex-
claimed " that is old Holi4 s hoar;' noon aids Is
a Mr. Sinallpiere, in the room, observed. too
c loom have *eels enough of the koire to kssow it :'
• rid tastrel It was tfita so covered with blued, that.,
o person could nave recognised et, in IN then
state. Mary Wenlown proved et wa. not liaolba'a
bear, will that ins knife was Jellied in tin sot-
he, of the room, probably knocked oat at hos band
i e the scotiir.
perm., of the name of Jams l%'igman said.
t!lYt Ile truly rate bluntly knife to be :the
Prisoner's, that he Stud borrowed Cooper'. kni'e a
fent daya ',wrote, when the: were sit W.ITIC together,
to ea.. some tal;ie,a, mid lie verily lieliei•ed that the
biooriv knife mothered was the satin; knife which
to Pro-uaer then lent lime.
The poker we. theta prAve-d, and likfax,v%Vib.
&au wma, siw utterer knew Master -Hollis to have
env poker.
Ai:other worn,-, minted 111.1isabfqlo Hart, said,
she doled liaise a week at Cooper's. and 'the h. -
h.vett it to be the same poker which she Imo! seen
at Cooper's, especially as sines the iunolcr she had
missed Coorwea poker.
Colueilmistnit. as atkeer from twill, searched the
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