The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-03 00:00:00

The Horrible Murder in Staffordshire.

lied-en-lay the inquest was resumed at the Spread Eagle
Caseley, before Mr W. 11. Phillips, deputy-coroner for the
Wolverhampton dimtrict of Staffordshire, on tho body of Eliza
Siletto, aged about G years, who was found dead, and her
body in a decomposed state, in a fiald of wheat at Coseley.
On the discovery, suspicion at once attached to the girl's
father, a miner, named Richard Hale, who had been im-
prisoned on the charge of causing the death, by neglect, of
the child's mother, whom, after the birth of the child, he
married. He was known to have uttered threats against
the child, and to have desired her death. After Bale's
arrest a woman was also taken into custody, named Cecilia
Baker, with whom he has recently cohabited, and who was
seen by two witnesses coming out of the cornfield in com-
pany with Baker, from a point near to the spot where the
body was after wards found, and during the time that it must
have been lying there.

Three witnesses now deposed that the two prisoners were
together at a coal wharf, where the woman worked, not far
from the field, but that they did not go from the Wharf dur-
ing the time that it had been deposed they were seen together
in the field.

Dr Wrightson, analyst, of Birmingham, a late professor
at the Sydenham College there, deposed that he had com-
pleted his investigation of the clothes, as well as the hand-
kerchief that was known to be round the child's neck during
her life. He had found blond upon several parts of the
dress of the deceased, as well as upon the handkerchief. He
had found blood upon the ribbon of the bonnet and upon
several parts of the frock. He found blood very distinctly
on the front part of the dress, on the chest. He had also
opened out the silk handkerchief, and he found that towards
one corner of it there was the mark of a cutting instru-
ment. It was of about an inch or an inch and a quarter in
length, and was at a point where the blood had stained the
handkerchief. He had not examined the edges of the cut
with the microscope, but he could speak positively to the fac t
that it was a clean cut, and not a tear or a worn hole. It
was such a cut as might have been caused with a knife. He
also found a pin in the handkerchief, with which it had ap-
parently been fastened round the neck of the deceased. He
also examined a portion of the material composing the
trousers which Hale wore at the last inquest. He found on
the portions that he examined slight stains as of blood that
had been washed out, and he also found evidences of a slight
smear as of blood in another part of the material. He found
that he could not detach any portion of the substance from
these marks, and he could only examine them by submit-
ting them to chemical solutions, for the purpose of testing
by examination with the microscope. He had since ex-
amined the solutions so obtained chemical re-agents, and
although he found indications of blood by those tests, yet
he did not find them sufficiently strong or sufficiently con-
firmed by the microscope as to enable him to affirm that
there were any marks of blood. The soil that had been given
him as having been found beneath the body also contained
blood. He had come to the conclusion that the blood upon
the handkerchief was human blood. Of this he had no
doubt, and in coming to that conclusion he had examined
the blood of sheep and oxen. There were two light-coloured
hairs near to the cut in the handkerchief, which were of a
similar character to the hair on the scalp. He had calcu-
lated that the blood which had been absorbed by the hand-
kerchief weighed two ounces, but that would represent only a
small portion of the blood that flowed over the handkerchief.
A witness, who at the last inquest deposed that he saw
the prisoners together near to the field, and not far from the
spot where the body was found, on the day on which the
witnesses mentioned above said that they both remained
at the coal wharf all day, now added that since the adjourn-
ment ho had since examined the place, and had come to the
conclusion that he saw them in the field itself, nearer to the
body than he had at first imagined.

The Coroner in reviewing the evidence, called the attention
of the jury to the fact that the handkerchief, saturated with
blood, was found some distance from the child, compressed
together, as though it had been thrown there—that the
child was lying with her hat off, and placed by her side,
and with her shoes and stockings off, the shoes being also
placed by her side, and the stockings tucked in them. It
was therefore conclusive that the deceased had not been
struck down by lightning, and if she had it would have
been impossible, the surgeons had deposed, for so much
blood to have flown from the corpse if it had afterwards
been attacked by vermin. Then both the surgeons had
given it as their opinion that the copious quantity of blood
had flown from a wound before death, on or about the
throat.

deceased, who was thereupon committed for trial at the next
Staffordshire Assizes—but he was afterwards taken, with
Baker, before the magistrates at Bilston, who commenced an
independent inquiry so soon as the prisoners were arrested,
and who had remanded them until yesterday afternoon.
The prisoners were under examination at Bilston when our
report was despatched.

TRAGIC OCCURRENCE AT EDINBURGII.—The
Scotsman states that at a late hour on Tuesday
night a very mysterious occurrence took place at Edinburgh.
In the second storey of a large tenement situated in Rose-
street, there has lived for several years an old man, about
GO years of age, named Lindsay, a shoemaker, who has oc-
cupied a house consisting of a room, kitchen, and bedcloset.
His habits seem to have been somewhat eccentric. He kept
no servant, but cooked his own food, and performed, with-
out assistance, the domestic duties of his small household
His secluded and somewhat irregular mode of living was
not the result of poverty. Ile was a man of means , had
purchased three storeys of the tenement in which he re-
sided—and was regarded by the neighbours as occupying a
thriving worldly position. On Thursday, a young man,
aged 25, named Geo. Dowdle, an ivory turner, who is a
distant relation of Lindsay, arrived at Edinburgh, and took
up his abode with the old man in Rose-street. Dowdle, it
appears, has only recently returned from Australia, but for
what purpose he came to Scotland has not transpired. Since
Thursday, Dowdle and Lindsay have been living together,
and going about the city in company. On Tuesday they
had been out as usual, and returned about half past 11 at
night, About a quarter past 12 the neighbours were alai med
by hearing a loud noise proceeding from Lindsay's bedroom
as of men engaged in a violent struggle. This lasted long
enough to rouse several from sleep ; and just as some were
about demanding admittance to the house, tho window of
the shoemaker's house was suddenly thrown up, and Lind-
say appeared in his night clothes. His neck was streaming
with blood, and he was making vain attempts at articulation.
By this time the police had been attracted to the spot,
and were on their way up stairs when Dowdle ran down
and told them that the old man, his relative, had cat his
throat. On entering the place, Lindsay was found lying on
the sofa with a deep gash across his throat—a pillow satu-
rated with blood was lying in the middle of the room, and a
razor with a white handle, also displaying marks of blood,
was found not far off. The old man was unable to speak ;
but in reply to questions put to him he wrote down answers
on a slate. The substance of his communication was to the
effect that on entering his house that night, along with his
relative, he had gone immediately to bed, and had been
awakened by feeling a razor drawn across his throat by
Dowdle. Springing from his bed he seized Dowdle, and the
struggle commenced which was beard by those in the
adjacent houses. Dowdle's version of the story is that the old
man had been in a desponding state of mind for the last three
days, and had threatened to make away with himself ; that
after shaving himself the previous day he had put the razor
in his pocket, carried it about with him, and, on entering
the house on Tuesday night, had cut his throat with it.
Medical assistance was promptly procured, and Lindsay's
wound dressed, and up till late on Wednesday night he
was going on favourably, although in a precarious condi-
tion. It is rumoured among the neighbours that Lindsay
kept a considerable amount of money, bank cheques, &C.,
in his house ; and it is also said that, when taken to the
police, about GO sovereigns were found on the person of
Dowdle, who carried them in a belt strapped round his
waist. Dowdle was on Wednesday brought before the
police-court, and remitted to the Procurator Fiscal, who is
at present engaged making investigations into the matter.
A NEAT TRICK.—The following anecdote re•
meeting the famous Eau de Cologne of Jean Marie
Farina has just appeared in a French journal :—" There are
many Farinas at Cologne, all of whom, of course, claim to
be the real Simon Pure. A French gentleman, who was
recently in that city, being anxious to obtain a few bottles,
entered the handsomest of three fine shops, all pretending
to sell the genuine perfume. After making a purchase, he
conjured the master of the establishment to say whether ha
was indeed the real Farina. The shopkeeper seemed greatly
embarrassed, but at last confessed that he was not, and that
the real Farina kept the shop on the other side of the street.
The gentleman thanked him for his candour, and imme-
diately made another purchase at the shop indicated. The
next day the Frenchman, happening to pass through the
street in company with a native of Cologne, related his ad-
venture, and was not a little astonished when his friend
exclaimed,' The rascal I why, the shop to which he recom-
mended you is a branch establishment of his own.' "

THE PRICE OF AN OATH.—On Wednesday last,
at Winslow petty sessions, the eitting magistrates, P.
Dauncey, Esq., and W. S. Lowndes, Esq., inflicted a fine
of 4s and costs, amounting to 8s 6d, on Daniel Neal, a shoe-
maker of that place, for having uttered a profane ot.th,
whilst in a state of intoxication, on the 22d ult., and ordered
him, in default of payment, to be sent to gaol for ten days
with hard labour. lie was also fined ss, and Ss 6cl costs
for getting drunk,