The Sun.
London, England, 1855-08-25 00:00:00

(Thursday) week, about ten o'clock in the morning, I was '
fetched to 33, Hill-street. When I got there I went up stairs
into the second-floor front. There were Mr. Huggard, the
police-sergeant, Mr. Cripp, and the prisoner present. I
saw the body of a female lying across the bed, with her
feet resting upon a chair, the back of which was to-
wards the window. I removed the shawl which covered
her, and found the night-gown was saturated with blood.
I removed a handkerchief from her throat, and found
she was colourless, perfectly dead, cold, and stiff. I said
I could do nothing, and went down stairs.

Mr. Arnold—Were you enabled to form any opinion
of when the deceased died ?—Witness—Only from the
conversation I had with the prisoner. I asked at what
time it occurred, and she said, "Six this morning." She
said, in reply to my further inquiries, that she was pre-
sent, that her mother got out of bed to obey the calls of
nature, and in a moment afterwards she heard say, "How
wet I am ! I am dying," and she (prisoner) looked up and
saw her mother covered with blood. She then stated that
she lifted her mother's legs on the chair as they were
found, as she did not like to see them banging over the
bed.

Mr. Arnold—Did she say what she did next ?—Wit-
ness—Yes ; she said that after she had done that she
laid down on the bed, on the other side of the
body, and that her mother was lying on the same side
as when she went to bed on the previous night. She
said she did not call anybody, because she disliked the
servant girl, and expected her brother at ten that morn-
ing. She said she did not leave the room till eight in
the morning, and that she had her breakfast brought up
as usual by the servant. I had heard of her having gone
out that morning, and spoke to her about it, and she
said she had been to Larburg's, the cutler's, to get the
razor sharpened again. I asked her what for, and she
said to cut her own throat ; that she had tried it before,
and the cut was gone off it. I then looked at her throat,
and saw a few scratches there. The police-sergeant
showed me the razor, and I told him he had better
keep it. She seemed rather uneasy at having the
razor kept from her, and said, " I don't know what
right you have to take away my property." I told
her it was not right she should take away her life,
and the razor must be kept from her. She said to me,
" I shall profit nothing by mother's death." I asked
her why she wanted to make away with herself, and
she said she had nothing to live for now her mother was
dead.
In cross-examination by Mr. Lewis the witness gave
a particular description of the situation of the bed and
furniture in the room. The deceased was lying near the
centre of the bed, with her feet towards the window.
There was an impression upon the bed, but witness
could not say whether two persons had slept there ; it
was impossible for him to say, for a person sat upon the
bed, and one of the pillows was close down to the bo ly.
It was quite possible for prisoner on the other side of the
bed to have reached the breast of the deceased, Prisoner
did not tell witness she reached the breast of the de-
ceased ; she said she put her hand and found it covered
with blood. There was no blood about the room, but
a few spots that had trickled down the body. There
was no congealed blood on the floor, but the blood on
the bell was congealed. Believed the marks of blood
on the floor had trickled down her legs. The chair on
which deceased's legs rested was about two feet fr
the bedstead, and the same distance from the window.
Mr. William Martyn, of 14, Brompton-row, member
lof the Royal College of Surgeons, proved the nature and
extent of the wound in deceased's throat. She had been

dead s considerable time when he was called at one

- -
o'clock in the day. There was no mark of any other in-
jury but upon the throat, which was cut. The wound
was upwards of four inches in length on the left side of
her throat, gaping upwards of an inch, penetrating to
the spinal column, and deepest about the middle part,
where it reached the bone. It seemed to have been done
with a sharp instrument, and as if with one sweep of the
instrument. The wound in the throat was the cause of
death.
Mr. Arnold : A person with such a wound would die
from effusion of bloo 1 ? Mr. Marty n : Yes, sir.
Mr. Arnold :' Oa,n you form any opinion of the direc-
tion of the wound ? —Mr. Martyn : I could not say.
Mr. Lewis: Would such a wound have been followed
by an immediate and large effusion of blood ?—Mr. Mar-
tyn it would.
Mr. Lewis: Did you notice the hands of the deceased ?
—Mr. Martyn : I did so carefully.
Mr. Lewis—Was there any blood on them ?—Mr.
Martya—On both. The inner part of the wrist or band
of the right sleeve of the bedgown was marked with
blood, and a little above it. The outside of the sleeve,
about the elbow, was marked with some spots of blood.
The left arm was lying in a pool of blood by the side of
the body. There was no blood on the right side, except
on the hand and night-dress sleeve.
Mr. Lewis—Would such a wound as you have de-
scribed instantlyhave caused death?—Mr. Martyn—Yes,
almost instantly.
Mr. Arnold —You have seen the razor ; would you
think that likely to have produced the wound ?—Mr.
Martyn—Y es.
Mr. Lewis--You have no doubt seen many cases in
th,3 course of your experience. Did you see anything
about the bed indicating a struggle ?—Mr. Martyn—
There was nothing about the bed by which I could form
any suoh opinion.
Mr. Lewis—Was the bed in such a state as conse-
quent upon a body have fallen back, as if she had cut
her own throat ?—Mr. Martyn—l can't say it was in
any other condition.
Mr. Lewis—Perfectly consistent with that.
Mr. Lewis then questioned the medical gentleman
several times, with a view of eliciting whether, after the
infliction of such a wound, the arm of the deceased
would not instantly fall back and become perfectly
powerless ; but Mr. Martyn thought not, considering it
more natural that some movement of the arm would
follow.

Mr. Beckerson, an inspector of the A division, was
examined and cross-examined at very considerable length,
besides being severely rated by Mr. Lewis for having
questioned the prisoner for some time previous to taking
her into custody. The inspector declared that in his

desire to elicit the truth of the matter he had questioned
the prisoner in the presence of her brother and other
friends, having repeatedly cautioned her that she need
not reply unless she pleased, and that her answers might
be used against her.- After a lengthened investigation
at the house he felt it his duty to order the prisoner into
custody.
Mr. Lewis in good set terms complained that it was
disgraceful to treat an alleged murderess in such a way.
Mr. Arnold expressed his opinion that Inspector
Beckerson had done perfectly right.
The inspector's evidence was but a repetition of the
servant's, Sergeant M‘Leod's, and other witnesses
already given, with the addition that the prisoner sud-
denly observed while in conversation, " Do you suspect
me to have done it ?" and was very much excited all the
time the inspector was making his inquiries. Upon
hearing the inspector say, " It is now time for me to tell
you I suspect you, and I feel it my duty take 'ou into
custody," the prisoner wished to go upstairs into her
bedroom, and there changed her clothes, when there
were marks of blood upon the flap of the chemise she
took off. An important addition to the testimony already
given that Sergeant M'Leod picked up the skirt of a
petticoat under the deceased's bed, which was wet where
there was no blood, part of it having apparently been
recently washed, which prisoner immediately said was
hers, and that she had used it to wipe up the blood.
By Mr. Lewis—She made no hesitation in letting me
see her under garment.
It being now beyond the usual hour of the court rising,
Mr. Arnold further remanded the prisoner for a
week.

The prisoner, who appeared faint and weak, accele•
rated by the crowded state of the court, was then re•
moved and supported by her friends to the gaoler's
nom.