The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-02-13 00:00:00

MURDER AT SHOLDEN, NEAR DEAL.

Perhaps no murder, not eves that of 3lr. Weare, has exerted
pre horror than the one just perpetrated st ShoMen, and attended
with as great barbarity as any of those it has been our melancholy
linty of late to record.
Elizabeth 3larah, the victim on this occasion, lived at a cottage
of her own, in a sequestered situation, and for a !toga Otiose Isai
excited the conversation of the neighbourhood, by the eccentric,
bat inoffensive nature of her habits. Her cottage was the joist
tenantry of herself, and the animals she had domesticated, and the
knowledge of her possessing sane small property, both in houses
and money, seemed to have pointed her out as a peeper object of
the ruthless wretches who have committed the inhuman outrage.
On the 24th ult. her neighbours were alarmed by obiening the
door of the cottage on the
.iar, and the shutters shut, contrary to
her usual practice; and a man of the name of Marsh, by the re.
quest of a .Mrs. Mackay, who resided a short distanee hone the
spot. was sent to the house, in order to ascertain the cause of this
unusual appearance. On his enuring the house he found leaning
against the door an iron coulter, belonging to a plough, which had
evidently been used to break open the door ; and also a bat, fitted
up as a dark lantern, which immediately excited suspicion that
something unfortunate had happened to the unhappy woman. Ho
Immediately called in the assistance of a person named Chandler.
to accompany him in examining the premises, wise, ere eateme
the bed-mom of the woman, found her in bed ; the left temple
depressing part of the anterior interior angle of the parietal boor,
and part of the frontal bent depressing the brain ; a wand en the
left fore-finger, separating all the integuments from {lee ea,
dividingthe that from the second ghalans of the askidlnefineWs
her arm broken, no doubt from the resist tee site wogs to the
human murderers.

tto the murder becoming known, great alarm was necessarily n.
cued, and the neighbouring Magistrates immediately gave nonce to
the Coroner, Mr. T.T. De Lomax, who attended with all fawn
nient speed and the Jury was immediately summoned of the mast
respectableinhabitants of Sholdea, accompanied by several of the
professional gentlemen in the neighbourhood, the Rev. Maas.
Deckhouse, Pennington, Mullins, and several other distinguished
gentlemen residing on time spot, and after several days investigation.
James Clover, Joseph Shelvy, Stephen Shelvy, and Hester his
wife, were cumnittesl on the extraordinary evidence elicited in the
course of the examination.
It appeared from the evidenceof several of the witnenes, did
two persona answering the description of James Clover and Jew*
Shelvy, were near llowe-wall-bouse, at eleven o'clock on the n*
of the murder, (which it is necessary to state is situate so the
high road between the house of Stephen Shelvy and the oxlip dt
the deceased), and who, both before and after the murder, had best
concealed in the house of S. Shelvy for tan suocesaive nights.
though both S. Shelvy and his wife distinctly swore, that neitberd
them had seen Joseph Shelvy since the 23d of December hat, td
J. Clover for live years.
Notwithstanding this, on their apprehension by Langley,*
principal and indefatigable constable of Deal, accompanied
Smith, a police-officer, a prayer-book was found (which was sun
to ty a young girl, aged 13 years, who attended oacasianally opt:
Airs. Marsh) and tire buttons, exac corresponding with it
button which 'had been ingeniously sewed on the hat (which formed
the dark lantern before alluded to) to fasten the door and two
pieces of sack farmed to serve the purposes of sandsh, sad whit*
it would seem had been worn by one of the persons contented ta the
outrage.
In the summing up the evidence, the Coroner adverted to the
wanton barbarism of the murder of an aged woman, who will
make no resistance, and who, it is likely, met her fate through *
cognizing the persons of her murderers ; and then by an clause
and ingenious exposition of the evidence, stated his full comtitlioa
that sufficient evidence had been shown to warrant the Jury in t♦
turning such a verdict as should enable hint (the Coroner) to trod
the prisoners for trial.
The Jury, after a short deliberation, returned the following sera
diet—" 11 ilful murder against James Clover, Joseph Shelve. mod
Stephen Shdvy, and against Hester Shelvy as an accessary 'be
the fact," who were in consequence committed to 3laidatone Owl
on Thursday, Bth inn.
The cottage itself exhibited a scene of dirt and desolation on (l-
amination, this poor woman having been accustomed to house he
stock within her lower rooms, front which several loads of ma nn
have been removed.
The body eau found stretched upon the bed, with nothing t'S
rags for covering, and with a piece of cloth over her face, which
had no doubt been placed then! by the murderers. The room a*
festooned with cobwebs of immense magnitude. and trot little bind
as discovered, owing to the age of the victim—Kentish Goo*.

A curious coincidence occurred in Doctors' Commons en
Tuesday last. Prnhatr (of a will) was actually granted r
two executors, named J. 7'hurtell and Joseph Ifurt,i3ch•
vichuls not at all connected with the parties concerned
the late infamous murder of Mr. Weare.
The grand fossil skeleton, found by Mary Ann'np rf
Lyme, in the blue has, a few weeks since, has at lc"=th
been disposed of to the Duke of Buckingham. The p
was Ha—Taunton Paper.

BIRTHS.
On Tues4lay last, in Strattaa-screet, the Lady of Otos":
Olen, Esq. of a son.
I
Ik:sq. nr
Tue6aa, 3 Y last,
a d hishrogbieterin. lini.steeet.
the
Lady
(..1
Stuart,

MARRIED.
At Inatherhead, on the 29th ult. by the Rev. James Dslbws,:
Vicar, Francis Rudall, Esq. of ('lament's Inn, to Donna, tivs'
daughter of Joseph emnler, of hcatherhead.
At Ilfracombe, Devonshire, Lieut.. Col. Newton, to Ellen,
erl7
daughter of Major Legrand, of Ilfracombe, and of Partathegtee•
Ireland.

DIED.
On Tuesday last, of an apoplectic attack, while attending
tl
West India Meeting at. the City of London Tavern. lU
Bullock, Esq. of Upper Bedford-place, in the s*l yawed his 1660
Lately, at Derby, the Rev. Henry Taft, ALM, *got 32. (I"
the Ministers of the AWesleyan Methodists in Birmingham.
On the ad inst. the infant son of Lieut—General Sir John
Osay
of Dunnikier.
On Tuesday last, at his house in Piccadilly, in his 80th Ye°.
Sir Wm. Paxton, of Middleton Hall, Uarmartheashire.

. _
HIGH WATKR THIS DAY AT LONDON-13111POS;
Horning, 47 rain. after 12. I Afternoon, 19 Min. lOW I.

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Printed at THE BRITISH PRESS Office, br NV. V"1}0
10!, Strand; and Published by S. CANNON' 66M° 140.5.