The National Register.
London, England, 1811-12-15 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL

, • ATROC'IOUS MURDERS'

The task of a Journalist, at all times difficult,' frequently
afflicting. He has to describe, not only the convulsions of States
that rend all the ties of ancient policy asunder, and let loose the
devastations of war, but he must continually detail the acts of
fraud and iniquity committed by his fellow-creatures in their
private lives. To him, in the present age, the great field of the
world and the less extended sphere of society, yield little more
than i stances of splendid and successful crimes, or individual
infamy and guilt. The iniquity of man stands fully revealed
before him, and he cannot but own, how infinite the mercy of
that Being must be, who does not sweep so corrupt a race from
the face of the earth, but gives it time for repentance and for•
giveness.

It has sometimes fallen to'our lot to transcribe the descriptions ; 1
of acts of violence and blood committed by negroes in the \Vest
Indies. Maddened by the loss of liberty, country, and friends, j j
from which they had been infamously torn, and lacerated by the
cruelty of their masters, these burning children of the sun, in
whose estimation revenge is the supreme good, as it is the most
powerful feeling in their nature, watched the hour of dreadful
retaliation, and joyed in the blood of their oppressor, and the de-
struction of all his race. Neither female weakness, nor the in-
nocence and helplessness of infancy, could check the slaughter-
ing hatchet, and vengeance was only glutted when victims .
ed. Guilt raged there in its most tremendous shape, and we.
shuddered at the mere report of its excesses. What shall we
now feel or say, when we have to relate an act cornmined in
this city in cold blood, and with no other apparent impulse
than that of plunder, which equals, if not sarpasses, in citielty,
the most inhuman instances of African murder ! A husband, his
wife, their apprentice boy, and a babe which had but just passed
the threshold of existence, which, so far foon resisting or im-
peding the robbery, would in its innocence have smiled at the
assassins of its parents, whilst still red with their blood: a whole
family sacrificed at once for the purposes of lawless gain ! This
is a deed that calls too loudly for vengeance, to remain long un-
discovered ar.d unpunished. Let the ingenuity and activity of
man execute the' will of Heaven. The servant maid has been
providentially saved to assist in the discovery, may it be prempt,
and ma) the perpetrators of such atrocious guilt, soon meet the
vengeance of outraged justice and humanity.
The following are the fullest particulars we have been able to
obtain respecting the horrid deed.
The servant girl of Mr. Marr, who kept a lace and pelicse-
warehouse, at No. 29', Ratcliii-highway, on yes erday se ;might,
about 12 o'clock at night, was ordered to purchase a few oysters
for supper, and pay the baker's bill. She left her mistress suck-
ling her chile, about three months old, in the kitclon, and her
master was employed behind the counter, arranging his goods
preparatory to closing the shop. She endeavoured to purchase
the oysters, but not succeeding, she returned in about half an
hour, and found the shop shut up, and the door fastened. She
rang violently at the bed without any one answering. The
esvatchtnan came up, and enquired the cause of her wanting to ha
admitted, when she answered that she belonged to the family.
The watchman assi-ted in knocking and ringing without any
answer being returned. The watchman who hol i resiously seen
Mr. Mare and the servant lad put up the window shutters, be-
came surprised, and immediately informed the near neighbour
of the circumstances; when Mr. Murray, a pawnbroker, whose
family had not retired to rest, was induced to get over the yord
wall, and entered at the hack entrance of Mr. Mares house; he
was attracted by a light on the landing place, he took the light,
and the first horrid spectacle was the errand boy, James Biggs,
about 14 years of age, lying on his face, at the further part of the
shop, with his brains knocked out, part of them actually covering
the ceiling, and blood on the wall and counter. Alarmed at the
frightful scene, he called for assistance, when the watchman
and several others scaled the wall, and accompanied him in his
pursuits. Mr. Murray proceeded to the street door, where he
discovered Mrs. Mare lying on the floor dreadfully wounded and
lifeless. The party then opened the shop-door leading into the
street. He then went behind the counter, and found Mr. Marr
lying down, and bleeding profusely about the bead, with no signs
glee. He next proceeded to the kitchen, and,
:petrified with

horror, he saw the little babe in the cradle with (re of its cheeks
entirely knocked in with the violence of a bb w, and its thrdas
cut from ear to ear. It is supposed the fright a the mother, at
hearing the groans in the shop, left the infant in the cradle to
run up stairs, when her life fell a sacrifice, and the murderers
dispatched the child to prevent its innocent cries from alarming
the neighbourho,d. When the watchman was calling the hour
of twelve, he examined the pips, and found one of them loose;
he rapped at the door, and heard a voice In the shop, and in-
formed them of the circumstance, when he was answered. "
alt
was right," and proceeded on, when he again returned on hear-
ing the servant girl ring the bell.
l'he above is the relation of this melancholy and diahaticall
murder. No suppoiition of the wicked intentions of the villains
unhappily is revealed. No soul was living in the house to relate
the disaster! It is supposed the return of the girl in so short
time alarmed the wretches, who had not time to rub the pre-
mises, as no property Was lost, and in searching the sho • 1.1,21.
in cash and notes was found in a tin-box, besides monee on .!r.
iVfarr. A ship carpenter's paen maul, broken at the point, a:A
a bricklayer's long iron ripping-chissel, ahem 20 inches in length,
were found, the former covered with fresh lolood.—lt i, supposed
the murderers entered and concealed themselves in the yarel..
Crowds. of spectators thronged Ratclitf-highway during the
whole of the week, and the countenances of every one cast a me-
lancholy gloom, rarely exhibited on -the most distressing occa-
sions.

CORONER'S INQUEST.
On Tuesday at two o'clock, an inquest was held at the Jay
Sailors public-house, before W. Unwin, Esq. Ceroner, On the
bodies of Timothy Marr, Mrs. Cecilia Marr, their Miele wet,
am! James )Fish', the servant led. The following was the. evi-
deuce:
Margaret Jewell.—" I lh'ed servant with Mr 'Man."; I went
to the counter to my master, Who was behind it ; !le gave rive a
pound note; it wented a few minute to twelve ; I left him busy
behind the counter; I went out of the door, and tureed welts
left to Taylor's ; they were shut up, and I returned again past
the window, and still saw him behind the counter; I went to
St. John's hill to pay the baker, they were shut up likesei.e; I
went with the intent to get some oysters, but found the sitepe
were shut up ; I returned ieiain to the door of my master's house,
I fated it chisel.; shut up, and no light to be been; I think I was
out about 20 intim:es; l rang at the bell, and no one answered ;
I rang repeatedly ; whilst I was at the door; the watchman went
by on the other side of the way, with a person in eine g' ; I cer-
tainly heard some one coining down stairs, which I thought was
my master coming to let the in; I am certain I heard the chila
cry very low; I ratig again, and knocked at the door with my
foot repeatedly, when a man came up to the doer and instil:eel
me ; I thought I would wait till the wetchinen came, es hide he
shortly did, and called the hour of one, at the same ti :re desired
me to move on, net knowing who I was; I said I belenieed to the
house, and thought it very strange I should be locked out; he
then observed thee had not fastened the pin of the window; the
watchman then knocked, rang at the bell, and called l`e!tirr
through the keyhole; Mr. Murray, the next door meg! leen,
then came out and asked what was the matter the watchman
then told him that I was locked cut; I continued at tee door
with the watchman till Mr. Murray came out again, an' eaid
there was a strong light backwards; Mr. Murray went haek-
wards, while another watchman, who had joined the first, made
an alarm ; Mr. Murray got into the houie barks...Ards, and
opened the street door, when the watchman and myself en-
tered." •
[I !ere the poor girl, struck with the remembrance of her
mistress's mangled and bleedeig body IN iliCh preset; ted iiFelf
on
the opening of the door, was So overpowered, that she fainted on
the spot, and was carried out in a state of in•eneleiliteel
John Murray---" I am a pawithrokar, residing at No. 30. R at-
clitfe-higliwity, next to the house of the decease d, Mr. Marr.
About ten minutes after 12 -o'clock on Sunday morning last, I
was sitting at supper with my family, and heard a noise in Mr.
Mares house, which appeared to he on the shop floor, ani re-_
sembled the pulling of a chair, and the sound of e voice, as if
proceeding from the fear of correction, like a boy's or a woman'.,.
l'his all occurred in about a minute's space; a little before one,
as far as I can recollect, I heard a ringing at Mr. Meres•bell,
which continued at intervals till a quarter past one; we were
tl:en about to go to bed ; I heard a bell ring with additional vio-
lence, and went to the door to know what was the matter; I
was then informed by the watchman that the shutters were not
fast by the omission of a pin; that the girl was shot nut; that
she hid rung at the door, and no one came to answer : I told the
watchman to pull hard at the bell, and that I would go at the
other side of the house, and endeavour to wake them, or neike
them come to the door; the watchman did pull the hell very
hard, and I went to the back of the house, and caked out Mr.
Marr three or four different Wales ; no allover was made, and I

tame again to the front of the house; I saw a light at the back of
the one pair; I told the watchman w ring louder, and that I
would endeavour to get into the house by the back door ; I went
to the back of the house, and threw myself over the fence, and
finding the yard door open, immediately proceeded to the land-
ing place of the first floor, where I found a candle burning ; see-
ing the two doors open where Mr. Marr used to sleep, I called
out " Marr, Marr, your window shutters are not fastened ?"
but nobody answered me, and on account of its being the bed-
room did not gu in ; with the candle I went throttit the shop to
the front dour, to let the watchman in ; when I got to the
door, at the foot of the stairs which leads into the shop, I saw the
boy, 1. Pigt,s, lying dead on the floor, just within that door, and
mithio sit tett of the foot of the stairs "ibis head was bleeding,
and his brains were visible ; goirw on further towards the shop-
dour, I saw Mrs. Marr lying dead close to the street-door, with
her face downwards, and her feet against the door, and her head
bleeding very much. I immediately opeued the door, and let
the watchman and several others in. I then began to look for
Mr. Marr, whom I found lying dead behind the counter, with his
bead very near the window : his face was downwards, and he
was bleeding very much about the head. While I was standing
by the body of Mr. Marr, the servant and others came out of
the kitchen, and said the child in the cradle was dead. Soon af-
ter I went down into the kitchen, and saw the child in the cradle
dead, bleeding about the mouth and throat.—Soon after which,
one or the Police Officers showed me a large maul bloody. Mr.
Mire came into the house the latter end of April, Mr. Marr
seemed about the age of 24; Mrs. Muff about the same age, and
the child about 14 weeks. The wbo.e family consisted of the
four who were murdered, besides the servant girl."
George 011ey, the watchman, corroborated the testimony of
Isle. Murray, and stated, that Mr. Murray said, for God's
sakt• come in ; see, what a murder!" The other parts of his evi-
dence was similar. He said, the last time he saw iVIr. Marr was
when he was calling the hour of 12, at which time he was putting
up the shutters. He was present in one of the hack-rooms when
the Police Officers found the maul ; the head of it was upon the
ground, and the handle leanini; against a chair, it was covered
with lihrid, and some hairs were fou..d upon it. He also saw
vitexhissel which was afterwards found, but upon which there
was no blood.

Salter.—" I am a surgeon, and live in the parish of St.
George. I viewed the of the deceased by d sire of the
Cort.ner.—Tirrioihy Marr, the younger. The left exterml car-
=otid artery divided, the left side of the mouth laid open, with a
wound three inches in length, with sLveral marks of violence on
the It-ft side of the face. _ _

" Cecilia NUTT. The left side of the cranium fractured, the
temporal bone wally destroyed, with. a wound just aboVe the
articulation of the jaw, two inches in length, then winding into
the left ear, and a wound at the back of the ear.
" • timothy Mart-, the elder. The nose broken, the off occi-
pital hone fractured, and a violent blow on the right eye.
" James Biggs. Several contusions on the head and nose, with
the occipital bones ereadtuliy shattered, and the brains providing.
No other marks were found. I SAW sufficient cause to occasion
death in each of the parties."
The Coroner, after the examiration closed, stated to the Jury,
that having now before them the inelancEoly statement of the
facts, unassisted by a particle of testimony calculated to point out
the perpetrators of the atrocious and wicked act of murder, to
which their attention had been so painfully directed, their ver-
dict, unfortunately, must be given generally on the imperfect
evidence brought forward. lie trusted, therefore, that they
would not sulr:r their verdict to be influenced b) the passing
reports, originating from the laudable anxiety of every one to trace
crit and detect the wretches, whose future existence must evi-
dently he marked with remorse from a consciousness of guilt, and
who, prthaps, in a little time, by the hand of Providence, and
the exertions of the Police, would be brought to detection and
merited punishment. The Jury retired for a short time, and
brought in their verdict of " Wilful Murder, against some per-
'son or persons unknown, on each cf the bodies.

Several persons have been apprehended on suspicion, but no
proof appearing against them they were immediately discharged,
Wednesday night, however, the Magistraterobtained some in-
formation, and early on Thursday morning Police Officers from
most of the Public Offices, were dispatched in every direction.
The following particulars of a suspicious nature have transpired :
About halt past one o'clock on Sunday morning, a man Di the
employ of Messrs. Sims, of Sun Tavern-fields, returned home.
The foreman of the worki paii the niFn 'eight shillings early on
Saturday evening. When he vent to his lodgings, the woman of
the house observed the smock-frock which he wore to be very
dirty ; and said to the man, " Where have you been ?" He re-
plied " that an oil cask had burst over him, and that he had en.
deavonred to wash it oft." The woman said, that cold water
would not take away the oil, and that she could not anull