The Sun.
London, England, 1852-10-08 00:00:00

MURDEROUS GAROTTE ATTACK.

Leeds is gaining an unenviable notoriety for the
frequency and reckless character:, of garotte robbe-
ries in its vicinity. Our columns have from time to
time recorded these outrages as they have occurred ;
and we have now another desperate attack upon a
Leeds merchant to report, and for which two well-
known desperadoes have been sent to York-castle.
On Wednesday last, at the Leeds Court-house, two
fellows were placed in the dock charged with an as-
sault upon Mr. Joseph Hartley, a young man, a mer-
chant, in North-street. The names of the prisoners
are John Lees and William Williamson—the first a
tall pockmarked man, and the other considerably less
in stature. Both prisoners resided at Hunslet-hall.
The scene of the outrage was Hunslet-moor, a lonely
place, the neighbourhood of which is frequently the
r,sort of desperate characters. We will let Mr.
llartley tell in his own words the particulars of his
unfortunate adventure :

Mr. Hartley, who had got fearfully mauled about
the head and body, said, on Saturday night I and my
brother left the Leeds Archery Club about twelve
o'clock, and walked in company to my father's house
in North-street, and I there left my brother and pro-
ceeded alone to Hunslet Carr. I went along the
ecialw .ggon way from Leeds to Hunslet, and as I
went through the gates which lead to Hunslet-moor,
I was passed by two men who had followed me, and
that was the first time I bad noticed them. On going
through the turnstile one of the two men rudely
pushed before me, and we walked nearly together
through the turnstile, and as he passed me, in cense-
quence of the push he gave me, I looked into his face,
and noticed very distinctly that his face was pock -
marked. The lesser man had a dark shooting-coat on
and a cap. They walked about fifteen yards
before me in the same direction, but they
w slackenedhen I
wasth their
reprising
atnhde
them,
one overtookofth e
ttnhe coonand
my neck,
his beinglegstrahr;ew his
armstime. roundHe
twisted
myback at the
atround miee and
tried to force me on myandfacaels, while a
final;
avouredo
moremoennmsyeizfetideeb. otlh
tmhyenaernmd.e,
on my back, in order to crush the man behindh me,
t sot rt ohvr
throw
wt om myself
thhuet nj rwa tahe erd ri
iovoesae d f 'ohri ws
ahrodl ed., and
pressed me at the turnstile then reuthsmhe ea
dni
naatinnin
wyt
heo
throat,rheaadr
and put his hands there and on my chest, and forced
me against the man who was at my back on the
ground. While this was doing I got my right side
turned to the man who was on my back and I saw
his face distinctly. He grasped me on the throat,
and I was up and down several times struggling with
them. I never got my throat during the tussle libe-
rated from his grasp. While I was contending with
one man the other kicked me twice on the face and
once on the stomach. The tall man, who had hold of
me by the throat, said to the other prisoner, " Stick
to him, Bill," and repeated it, saying " Stick to him
with thy teeth," and then the man called " Bill" got
hold of my left hand with his mouth, and bit it, but
I succeeded withdrawing it. Before this my trousers
were torn entirely in pieces in their attempts to get
at my pockets. The man called Bill—the little one—
then tried to get at my coat pocket, in which there
were my purse and a cigar-case, but I got hold of his
arm so that he did not succeed in searching this
pocket. Then in the after struggle I got partly on
my knees again —the tall man still retaining his hold
of my throat. Bill then called out, " D—m him how
he kicks," and then they got on my knees. I per-
ceived a gas light on the other side of the railway, and
I cried out, " Murder," and then the man who had
hold of my throat tightened his grasp very much, so
that I almost became insensible ; and the next thing
I remember was that I was set free, and the men ran
away. I ran after them, but slipped and :ell. At the
same time I heard one of them shout out " Has thou
got it." I saw two persons come towards me, named
Robinson and Smith, who joined in pursuit, the
two men succeeded in getting out of sight. I found
myself very much injured—my trousers completely
torn off, my coat spoilt, my eyeglass pulled off my
neck umbrella, spectacles, and hat were
gone, and neckerchief unloosed, my shirt torn and
bloody, and my waistcoat torn. My face was bruised
head beaten severely, and my throat black
badly, my
my
swollen. I was taken to the house of Mr. Smith,
wbere I obtained a pair of trowsers, and he accome
panied me to Hunslet Carr.
A medical man proved that Mr. Hartley's in
were of a very serious, though not now of a really
dangerous
w witnesses
h
in the
spoke to facts corroborative of the
prosecutor's
and criminative of the pri-
soners, course of Tuesday were captured
nature.
Ocherstatement,
oiakiag in a publicill
ro houseson,
though
be uand
h
byLees th e
theL prosecutor Leeds police,drinking in a public house; and
Lees the prosecutor swore to them most distinctly. He
swore
was not quite so positive about Williamson,
he had no moral doubt of his identity. An attempt
was made on behalf of the prisoners to set up an alibi
bu t t
broughth e
scene of the outrage, a few minutes evidencebothoLf the
es
and NeVssin'elusliamson. netaoreirts
own-
tnceesaslspl
witnesses
ofro for thatt pur-
poseto
the
mission, than the prosecutor'sm had done.
Eventually the prisoners were remanded till Thurs-
day, and on that day were committed for trial at the
next Yorkshire assizes.

DREADFUL MURDERS near ABERDEEN.
A shocking double murder was committed at Kiity-
br-wster, about a mile north of Aberdeen, on Mi nday
night. Tee victims were a widow woman named Ross
and her grandchild, a little boy about five years a age.
The murderer is it man named George Christie, formerly
a private soldier in the service of the East India Com-
pany, from whom be at ono time enjoyed a pension,
which was taken from him on his being convicted of
stewingsilver plate from Murth-bouse, about three miles
west of Aberdeen, on Deeside. Christie had been em-
ployed ,brashing bere in a barn adjoining Mrs. Ross's
house for a few days previously, and ne, as will as those
working along with him, had been in the habit of getting
from Mrs. Ross water to cook their meals. On Satur-
day Mrs. Ross had expressed in his hearing her inten-
tion of selling two pigs; she did sell them, and a wiiti to
rob her of the proceeds is the only motive that can at
present be conceived to account for the brutal deeciii
Between eight and nine o'clock Christie left Aberdeen,
saying to an acquaintance that he bad forgotten son.c.
thing at Kittybrewster. Peter M'Robbie, a gardener,
whose bere he had been thrashing, came down soon after
to look into the barn, and not finding Chriatie there be