The Sun.
London, England, 1855-04-13 00:00:00

OLD COURT:

THE MURDER IN FOLEY-PLACE.
( Continued fro our impression of yesterday.)
Cross-examined by Mr. Le Breton—The ignsoner did
not seem excited when ho made the statement. When
he was seen by Mr. Brydges, the surgeon, he made the
same statement, and said that he had become desperate
abont the Thursday previously.
The woman Jane Williamson was then examined, and
stated that upon the morning of the murder the prisoner,
after having committed the deed, came to her room and
said that Lambert was dead. He then ran out of her
room and she heard the report of a pistol in an adjoin-
ing one. The witness then went on to detail the nature
of the intimacy which had existed between them, and
said that he wished her to quit the house of the Lam-
berts in Foley Place. When the Lamberts had told
the prisoner they intended him to go, she saw them.
and they said it weekd be better. Prisoner asked
her to go out and meet him, add she refused.
She afterwards received two letters from him waking
appointments. Prisoner used to say he was un-
happy, and that he should die, and that his ghost
would appear to her the same as it did in the
Corsican Brothers. He also spoke of his daughter at
Penshurst. _ _ .

---
The other evidence given proved the finding of the
bullet in the skull of Mr. Lambert, whose death must
have been instantaneous, and the removal of the pri-
soner to the hospital.
Mr. M'Enteer then proceeded to address the jury on
behalf of the prisoner. He said that, under all circum-
stances, a counsel who was entrusted with the defence
of a prisoner whose life was involved in the inquiry in.
curred a deep responsibility, and he felt that responsi-
bility to be still greater on the present occasion on ac-
count of his small experience at the bar. Ho could not
help feeling that the life of the ,prisoner might be sacri-
ficed to any mistake or negligence on his part, and he,
therefore, entreated the jury to consider calmly the
facts he should lay before them, and not all ow the in-
terests of the unfortunate man at the bar to be jeopar-
-dised by any omission of his. The facts of the case were
in themselves sufficient to create a . great deal of pre-
judice, and that prejudice, without doubt, must have
been increased by the fact that only a,very short time
befirc this occurrence another double murder of a very
fearful character had been committed by a foreigner. He
should, letwever; show the jury that the present was a
totally different case ; that the prisoner, so far from
being a man of violent temper aid habits, was a man of
kind and gentle demeanour and conduct, and also that
at the time he committed the crime he wa.s a decided
lunatic, and therefore not reeponsible for his actions. Th e
learned counsel then called the attention of the jury to
various works upon insanity, and referred to cases where
juries had acquitted prisoners upon the ground of insanity
under similar circumstances to the present. He said
that there could be no doubt that a man who was really
insane might go on for years, without exhibiting any ap-
pearance of insanity ; and although such a man might,
in the result, commit an act of violence of the kind now
imputed to the prisoner, yet, if his brain was really pre-
viously affected, he would not be responsible ; and a
jury ought, under such circumstances, to return,a ver-
dict of not guilty, on the ground of insanity. The learned
counsel then proceeded to detail the facts which he nro-
posed to lay before the jury, to show the insanity of the
prisoner, and he observed that they would not forget
that if they returned the fatal verdict of guilty, the fate
of the prisoner was inevitable, and if there were any
mistake it could never be recalled ; but, on the other
hand, if they returned the more merciful verdict, declar-
ing the prisoner not to be responsible society would be
protected from all chance of further violence on his part,
and for the rest of his life he would be placed in a posi-
tion. that would obviate all possibility of his doing any
further mischief.
The following witnesses were then examined for the
prisoner :
Mr. John Crawfurd said he resided in Grafton-street,
Bond-street, and the prisoner came into his service in
1850, as valet and butler, and , continued about five
months with him. He was highly recommended, and
his conduct in the discharge of his duties was very good,
and he was a universal favourite. His wile died while
he was in witness's service, and this event appeared to
occasion him the most exaggerated grief, and for days
he was quite inconsolable, and was continually weeping.
Elizabeth Davis, cook-to Mr. Cracifurd, said that
after the death of the prisoner's wife his conduct was
completely changed, and upon one occasion he said his
struggles were more than he could bear, and he thought
he should destroy himself. He also said that his
struggles generally came on on Fridays.
Win. Eagleton, a tailor, residing at Penshurst, in
Kent, said he remembered the prisoner working with
him, in 1851, at that place as a tailor. lie was a very
sober, quiet, inoffensive person. He married a native
of Penshurst, and she died in child-bed, and after this
he exhibited great depression and melancholy. His wife
died in 1854. She was his second wife. His first wife
;was an Italian woman, and she died while he was in
Mr. Ciawfurd's service. He left Penshurst to go to
London, in the summer of 1854. Before he went away
he repeatedly talked about dying:
By the Court—Witness observed nothing particular
about the prisoner after the death of his wife, except
depression of spirits.
James Cook, a shoemaker, at Penshurst, said he knew
the prisoner when he was at that place, and he and his
wife and child lodged with him. Before his wife died
the prisoner was a very cheerful man, but afterwards lie
appeared very much changed, and was very melancholy.
A surgical operation was performed upon him, and after
this he seemed to suffer a great deal, and repeatedly
cried, and said—" Poor Louis—poor Louis—many
troubles—many troubles." Upon one occasion the pri-
soner told him he should be no more trouble to him, for
that he would throw himself into some river, and he
cried very much. He also said that he would not be left
alone ; a little boy was employed to be with him.
By Mr. Bodkin—Tbe prisoner was very much attached
to his wife. and she died suddenly in childbirth.
• • John Simmons 'gave evidence of a similar character
with regard to the change in the demeanour and conduct
of the prisoner after the death of his wife ; and he a:so
said that upon one occasion the prisoner asked him to
shoot him. He likewise said at another time that he
thought when a man wanted to die, the best thing for
him to do was to shoot himself. The prisoner also said
that he thought the doctor wanted to poison him, and
that he had put a halfpenny into some medicine that he
sent him, and it turned bright, and therefore he knew
that it contained poison.
, By Mr. Bodkin—Witness did not pay much attention
to what the prisoner said, as he was Continually saying
such strange things.
Mrs. Simmons, the wife of the last witness, .proved
that [the prisoner frequently told her in the morning
that he had had awful dreams, and he was sure he should
come to some awful end. He also repeatedly asked
he to purchase sixpenny worth of laudaumn for him
in order that he might be sent to sleep.
Dr. Bailer, the medical gentleman who Lad attended
upon the prisoner at Penshurst, sale' that he first came
under his notice about three years ago, when he was
Buffering from congestion of the liver. After the death
of his wife the prisoner appeared to be Offering from
melancolia.
Mr. Jiistice Erle asked the witness if there was any
difference between melancolia and melancholy
The witness said there was not. (A. laugh.)
Dr. Bailer proceeded to say that the operatiori he per-
formed upon the prisoner last year was of a very trivial
character, but the prisoner exaggerated everything and
feared he was going to die, and witness bad great trouble
to induce him to consent to the operation, and after it
•had been performed he became very violent and almost
unmanageable. The prisoner was only suffering from a
very slight fistula. The prisoner tore away the bandages
that were applied, and so prevented the wound from
healing. The witness added that the prisoner had a
great many extraordinary delusions upon the subject of
his malady, and from all the facts that were within his
knowledge he came ,to the conclusion that his mind was
affected.
Two or three of the prisoner's countrymen were then
called, and they spoke to his havigg, exhibited latterly a
great deal of depression ,of spirits, and tha; they con-
sidered his conduct of an extraordinary character.
Dr. Conolly was then examined, ant he said that he
had heard all the evidence that had been adduced, both
for the prosecution and for the defence, and the result
he had arrived at from all the facts was that the mind
of the prisoner was in an unsound state.
This closed the evidence on behalf of the defence, and
Mr. Bodkin then called Dr. M‘Murdo, the surgeon of the
gaol of Newgate, and Dr. Mayo, and both these gentle-
men expressed their opinion that the mind of the prisoner
was not at all affected.
Dr. M`Murdo said that the prisoner had been under
his charge for several weeks, and he had had ample op-
portunities for observing him, and he never observed
anything in his conduct to justify him in coming to the
conclusion that he was of unsound mind. Both gentle-
men expressed an opinion that the prisoner was suffering
from hypochondriasis, and they said, that being in this
condition would account for many of the delusions that
he appeared to entertain upon the subject of the malady
from which he was suffering.
Dr. Sutherland, al,ho, as well as Dr. Mayo, had his
attention called to the else by direction of the Govern-
ment, was also examined.—He stated that he conversed
with the prisoner for an hour and a half on different sub-
jects, and he did not observe any symptoms of aberra-
tion of mind. He said lie had heard the evidence relat-
ing to the delusions Of the prisoner upon the subject of
his malady, and he was of opinion that they were merely
illusions, the result of hypochondriasis, and nut delu-
sions that were the result of insanity. ,
Mr. Bodkin now replied upon the whole case.
The lesined judge summed up the evidence with great
care and minuteness, and at 20 minutes past nine o'clock
the jury retired to deliberate upon their verdict. They
returned into court in less than a quarter of an hour, and
gave a verdict of guilty.
The prisoner was immediately called up for judgment,
and his lordship addressed him as follows :—Luigi Bare-
nelli, you stand convicted, upon clear evidence, of the
crime of wilful murder, and it only remains for me to
pass the sentence of the law, which is, that you be taken
back to the gaol from whence you came, and from thence
to a place of execution, and that you he there anged
the neck .uutil you are aid that .y dy be
after wards buried in the gaol, and may the Lord have
mercy upon your soul.
, The prisoner, who appeared almost in a fainting elotei
was thou assisted from the dock.