The Sun.
London, England, 1855-09-20 00:00:00

NEW COURT.

(Before Mr. Justice Crowder.)
henry TVatts, 38, coachman, was indicted for the wil
ful murder of Sarah Watts. . _ _

Mr. Bodkin and Mr. Clark prosecuted, and Mr. Parry
and Mr. Francis defended.

The facts of the case, which Mr. Bodkin opened to
the jury as one of manslaughter rather than murder, have
been recently fully before the public. The prisoner, atthe
time of the occurrence, kept a beer-shop in Spring-street,
Paddington, and deceased, who was spoken of as a
most exemplary character was his wife. Upon Satur-
day the 14th of July the prisoner, who was drunk, had
been chastising his son for some offence, when the de-
ceased interfered, and said that the prisoner had better
do his duty to the children and send the boy to school.
Upon this the prisoner struck her several times with the
same cane, in consequence of which she began to cry,
upon which he abused her and turned her out of the
bar. She then tried to go up stairs, but he went
up before her, and upon her reaching the
landing he either struck or pushed her down the stairs,
and she fell to the bottom, and became partly insensible.
She was then taken into the room of a lodger upon the
ground floor, and placed upon the bed. The prisoner
followed her in, and again ill-used her, but was finally got
out of the room,and the deceased remained there for about
two hours, when, feeling better she left the room, and was
assisted upstairs into her bedroom. Almost directly
afterwards a scream and a fall was heard, and upon the
lodgers in the house going upstairs, they found her
lying senseless, and the prisoner ill-using her. They
again placed her upon the bed, and tried to keep prisoner
from getting at her ; but he succeeded, and repeatedly
dragged her from bed, and struck, kicked, and beat her
head about the floor. He said she was drunk, and not
fit to live, and that be would do for her. This conduct
he pursued from the middle of the afternoon until
late in the evening, when the lodgers, finding that the
poor creature was in a dying state, begged the prisoner
to send for a doctor, but refused, and said she might
die and be d—d. Finally a Dr. Reece was sent for.
Prisoner abused him, and in his presence again tried to
ill-treat the poor woman, who was then in a dying state.
Prisoner said he would not let Dr. Reece attend
her, and sent one of his children for Dr.
Forbes. Dr. Reece then got her into bed and left her
in the care of the lodgers. The prisoner then again
dragged her out of the bed, shook her, beat, kicked, and
pinched her. Finally, Dr. Forhes'came, and from that
time the prisoner was prevented from d assaulting her.
*Dr. Forbes found her quite insensible, in which state
she remained until Monday night when she died.

The case had not concluded when we went to press,

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.-(TIILS DAY.

GUILDHALL.

- -
James Hurley, aged 63, was brought up on remand
before Sir P. Laurie, charged with having several pieces
of silver spoons in his possession supposed to have been
stolen.
Police Constable 115 stated that on Friday evening,
from information he received, he went up to the prisoner
in Barbican, and asked him if he had some silver spoons.
He replied he had, and said he picked them up in Fins-
bury-square. He took the prisoner into custody, and
found four spoons in his possession, broken in half, with
the crest erased, and 11. 18s. 11d. in money. The pri-
soner endeavoured to dispose of the spoons at the shop
of Mr. Benham, refiner, Barbican.
Lawson, the beadle of Leadenhall-market, said the
prisoner had been forbidden the market from his pilfer-
ing practices. He believed he was a returned convict.
The prisoner admitted he had been transported, but it
was 25 years since.

Sir Peter Laurie, however, discharged the prisoner,
ordering the spoons to be detained by the police.