The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-23 00:00:00

The Murder of Mr Briggs.

Yesterday Mr Henry, the chief magistrate of Bow-street,
granted a second warrant for the apprehension of Franz
Muller, the man suspected of murdering Mr Briggs on the
North London Railway.

The former warrant was obtained somewhat hurriedly at
a private sitting, on Tuesday evening last, and it was then
impossible to collect all the evidence desirable for the satis-
faction of the American authorities under the Extradition
Act ; but the officers were obliged to leave by the night train
to save the mail packet Manchester, which left Liverpool on
Wednesday morning, and further delay was impossible.
The warrant was taken, however, to
Am Wthheemresiitdewnacae
roefadtihlye
private letter ad-
dressedeln vid
ee rrsi ee
dat 1,0 andtlei nfui sr
furtherer rlis
Americanur supplemented ba
State.
There caR be
little doubt of the arrival of the Manchester, under ordinary
circumstances, a day or two in advance of the Victoria, the
sailing vessel which conveys Muller to New York ; but the
former ship is not one of the swiftest of the mail packets,
and this fact has given rise to some slight apprehension as
to the possibility, should any mishap arise, of her being a
few hours too late. With the view therefore of lessening
the chance of Muller's escape, Sir G. Grey and the Police
mmissioners resolved to procure a second warrant against
him, supported by additional evidence, and again endorsed
by the American Minister, to be sent out by the mail packet
leaving Liverpool this morning (Saturday), and which is
one of the best on the line.

For this purpose the following witnesses were examined,
and it will be seen that two or three of them were heard for
the first time—the evidence of Mr Lee especially being
somewhat startling, for unless he is mistaken, there must
have been two persons engaged in the murder of Mr Briggs.
Mr David Buchan, 23, Nelson-square, Peckham, woollen
warehouseman, deposed—l am well acquainted with the
late Mr Briggs. I had known him for many years. He
was uncle to my Rife. On the 9th of July last he dined
with me about 5 o'clock, and I afterwards saw him to the
omnibus, the Nelson, in the Old Kent-road, That was about
half-past 8 o'clock. He was to proceed by that omnibus to
King William-street, and get out there for the Fenchurch-
street Station. He was in very good health. He had his
watch safe. I know that because I remember distinctly
seeing him frequently refer to it to ascertain the time. I
believe the chain now produced, which I have examined, to
be his, but I am more particularly able to identify the old-
fashioned key and the broken seal. I had observed the
piece chipped out of the stone of the seal months ago. The
chain is an Albert guard which was given to him about 2
years ago by a friend. He formerly wore a different kind
of chain. When he came to my houso he had with him
the black bag now produced, in which he had brought
something for us, and I am almost certain it was empty
when he left. We had offered to send it back, but he said
it was not necessary, as it would give him no trouble to

cm.rry if.
Mr Henry said that for the sake of form, and in order to
enter the fact on the depositions, it was necessary to ask
the witness if Mr Briggs was perfectly sober when he left
witness's house.
Witness replied that he was perfectly sober--indeed, he
was a man of very temperate habits. On Sunday witness
bearing that Mr Briggs was laid up and in a very precarious
state, went to his house in Clapton-square, and found him
lying on the point of death.
Mr Thomas Lee—l live at 4, Parkfield-villas, King Ed-
ward's-road, Hackney.
Mr Burnaby (the chief clerk)—What are you?
Witness—l am a private gentleman. I knew the late
Mr Briggs well. The last time I saw him was on the
night of the 9th instant, at about ten o'clock. I was
waiting on the platform at the Bow Station for a train to
go to Hackney, when the carriages came up, and I saw
him in a first-class compartment. Ho said " Good
night, Tom," and I answered " Good night, Tom."
Knowing I felt some surprise at seeing
him uu
appeared in his usual health and
t so hisl a
te early.
Hhabits,
spirits. He was sitting with his back to the engine. There
were two men in the carriage with him. By his side
wli
thickset man, with light
seemed to me to be tall, and
opposite
rs dark. Inoticed
to thhiinan
was
man,a
stoutishthat
his hand, which was thrust
through the loop at the carriage window, was of unusual
Isaw m
of
Theyth e o other, because
in
the first thers t ligh
fullyt
was re of
o n him
his thanface.
com-
partment of a railway carriage, the division nearest to the
engine, and Mr Briggs was sitting in the corner, on the near
side of the line—opposite to the side on which he would
reflectedo
enter at Fenchurch street. I conversed with him a few se-
conds while waiting for the train to start, and then got into
a second class carriage further to the front. The next sta
tion would be Hackney-wick, but I went on to Hackney.
The train had stopped at Hackney-wick. I heard nothing
of the murder till I saw the PaPsrs on Monday morning.
William Timms, North London Railway guard. No. 17,
deposed—l travelled with the train of empty carriages re-
turning about 10.25 from Victoria Park station to Bow. In
passing the canal bridge I saw en object lying on the six-
foot way below at about 800 Yards from the station at
Hackney-wick. The engine driver also saw it, and said it
must be either a dog or a man. la,
•T e both put on the breaks
and stopped the carriages, and we and the fireman got down,
They lifted up the body, and said
We have run over a
man," The body Was taken to the Mitford Castle, Wick-
lane, and it was found he was not dead. After taking the
carriages on to Bow I went back to the Mitford Castle, and
stopped with him all night, helping in What was being done
to bring him to consciousness.
„ On his face and whiskers
there were some stains of mood, quite dry. The contrast
with his full white beard was remarkable. I did not examine
his clothes, The first person to identify the body was his
servant, who came over from Clapton. I a was not examined
at the inquest, though I was there.
Mr Alfred Henry Brereton, of Old Ford-road, surgeon,
deposed—On Saturday night the 9th July I was called in to
see Mr Briggs, at the Mitford Castle Tavern. That was
about U. o'clock, I found him 13iiag °II a table in a room
below in an insensible state. A police-constable was search-
ing him. By my direction the body Was carried up-stairs,
and placed on a mattress upon a
large table. There was a
tranaVersejagged WoUnd across the left ear, and another
jagged wound in front of the setae ear. Above the ear there
was a large scalp tumour and WO Yell severe wounds, one
of thetil tin the upper part of the scalp,
whole of Which
was more or less grazed. Both his hands were slightly
bruised Ile was still alive, big inseneible. I remained
with him until al* o'eloek nett morning, when his son
arrived with the family mediCal ntatt• I left him in their care,
and did not see him again alive. '.l: did not see him till Tues-
day, when I attended the post-taortera examination. On
Sunday Morning, abotft three o'clock, I went with the last
witness and a politle-tietgegnt to examine the part of the line
where the body was found. I'd it °Paet3 of about a foot in
diameter the earth was damp with blood. In order the
better to aseettaiti that it was human blood, I rubbed an
envelope upon it. OA the eloistened.earth I found a large
stones weighing about six ounces, tirni naling blood and light
or grey hair adhering to it. It was a fotindieh smooth
stone. About five o'clock the same morning >t etateined
the first-class railway carriage pointed cut to me by one o 1
the railway servants at Bow. oa one of the cushions on the
off side there was a smear of blood, as if from a hand being
wiped on it, and on another cushion there Was a spot of
blood about as large an a half-crown. On the near side seat,
next the engine, there was a grOt quantity of bleed upon
the cushion, filling up the cavities formed by the buttons,
and still quite liquid. he side Ivin(lowa also had spurts
and streams of blood upon it—roe arterial blood. On the
mat, upon the near side, there Was a spot or two of blnoti,
and a portion of a link of a gold chain Was trodden into
the mat. The mat was handed over to Inspector Kerres-
say. There was blood also upon the off side foot-boail and
wheel of the carriage outside. The next day I attended an
inquest, and on Tuesday I was present at a post mortem
examination. I again examined the scalp externally, ob-
serving the wounds already described. On raising the
scalp it was found that these wounds had net penetrated
entirely through, but there was a great quantiv of effused
blood underneath, and the bone was extensively :metaled.
The fractures corresponded exactly with the two severe

external wounds and the wound above the left oar. The
whole of the upper portion of the temporal bone, which is
the thinnest part of the skull, was very much fractured and
depressed. On removing the upper portion of th-2, skull we
found the brain healthy, but there was cffasion of blood
both above and below it. There were no marks of violence
upon the body except the bruises upon the head, and the
chest and lungs were healthy. The cause of death was the
fractures of the skull producing compression of the brain.
The wounds on the scalp I believe to have been produced
by a blunt instrument, but the other injurie:a appeared to
be the result of a more general blow. I have no doubt
these combined injuries were the cause of death. The scalp
tumour was probably caused by the fall upon the stone.
Policeman Ed ward Dougan, 71 K, deposed—On the night
of the 9th inst., at about twenty minutes past ten o'clock,
being on duty in Wick-lane, Bow, I heard some one cry out
that there was a man upon the railway. I then observed
some people carrying a body down the lino. I went with
them to the Mitford Castle, and found that the gentleman
was insensible, and that his head was very much injured.
I sent for a surgeon. In order to ascertain who the gen-
tleman was, I searched his pockets. In his left-hand
trousers pocket I found a bunch of keys and four sove-
reigns, and in the right.hand pocket another bunch of keys
and 8s 6d in silver and copper money. In his waistcoat
pocket was a first-class return ticket, and in his coat pocket
I found his letters, papers, and a silver snuff-box. There
was a patent fastening attached to his waistcoat pocket
for a guard chain, and there was a diamond ring upon
his finger. There was no watch or chain upon him. His
shirt front was rumpled, and there was one black stud in
it.

Benjamin Ames, North London Railway Guard, reite-
rated his previous testimony as to the circumstances under
which the hat, stick, and bag were found in the carriage.
Mr Henry asked whether it was usual on that line to leave
the carriage doors on both sides unlocked.

The witness said it was. His attention was first called
to the state of the carriage by a gentleman who had entered
it at Hackney-wick, and witness saw blood upon the win-
dow and cushions on the near side, and upon the off• side
cushion a spot of blood and a piece of human flesh aboutthe
size of the top of the finger. The door on the off-side was
closed and fastened by the handle, and there wore marks of
blood upon the handle outside. Witness searched the
carriage with his hand lamp and saw the hat produced all
smashed up under the seat in the corner. with a walking-
stick and black leather bag, both marked with blood. The
bag was looked and seemed to be empty. I telegraphed to
the stationmaster at Chalk-farm and locked up the carriage
so that no one should enter it. _ _ _

Mr Henry—What space of time would be occupied by
the passage of the train from Hackney-wick station, where
Mr Briggs was seen alive, to the spot where his body was
found?

Witness—lt might be three minutes or two minutes and
a half.

Mr Henry—You had better have the ground meaeured in
order that the exact distance may be known.
The witness concluded his evidence by saying that he
knew Mr Briggs, bat had not noticed him in the carriage
that night.

Mr Robt. Death, of 55, Cheapside, assistant to his brother
Mr John Death, deposed—At about 10 o'clock on Monday
morning, the 11th of July, a man of about 30 years of age
came into the shop. He had a foreign accent, and wore no
beard, moustache, or whiskers. He was of a pale sallow
complexion, and I think rather fair. He took from his
pocket a chain, apparently not attached to his watch, and
asked me if I would let him have a new Albert chain for it
of about the same value. Notwithstanding his accent he
spoke English so plainly that I understood him perfectly.
He wanted to have a new chain without paying any money
with the old one, which was of the best description of gold.
My brother then came in, weighed the old chain, and said
it was worth £3 10s, and a new bright Albert chain of the
same value was given him. The chain and the paper box in
which it was packed were precisely similar to those pro-
duced. The first chain shown to him was 5s more than the
estimated value of the old chain, but as he declined to pay
the excess a chain worth lOs less was given to him, and he
consented to take a ring worth 5a to make up the sum.
Mr Thomas Jones Briggs, 5, Warwick-terrace, North,
Upper Clapton, waterproofer, said he knew the chain pro-
duced was the same which his father had had for about two
years, having been made a present to him by a friend. The
last time witness saw his father alive was on Thursday, the
7th July. On Sunday morning, July 10, he was sum-
moned to the Mitford Castle. When the deceased was
removed to his own house witness saw the patent guard
chain which was given to him at the same time with the
chitin. attached t‘s *La waistcoat pocket. He idontiilpa tho
chain, and especially the old-fashioned key and the seal with
a piece chipped out of the stone, which had been particu-
larly noticed by his sister. He also recognised the walking
stick as that of his father's.

Elizabeth Sarah Repsch deposed—l am the wife of God-
frey Ferdinand Repsch, :tailor, of 12i, Jewry-srreet, Ald-
gate. My parents are German, but I was born in England.
I have known Franz Muller, a German tailor, about two
years. He used to work with a friend of my husband's, and
he then took a workroom of his own but continued to come
to see us. It was my husband who got him his situation at
Mr. Hodgkinson's, and when ho left that he worked for us
about a fortnight. The last time I saw him was on the
morning of Thursday, the 14th July, the day he sailed. He
told us he was going in the ship Victoria, from the London
Dock, to New York. On the previous Saturday, the 9th
instant, I had seen him at my house, where I left him at
about half-past seven o'clock at night, talking to his friend
John Hoffa. He had not told me he was going anywhere.
When I came back, at half past eight, Hoffa was still there
at work, but Muller was gone. I did not see Muller at all on
the Sunday, but he called on Monday between 10 and 11
o'clock, and seated himself on the shopboard beside my hus-
band. He then took out of his pocket the gold Albert guard
now produced, and said he paid £3 15s for it, and he showed
us a ring on his finger, with a white stone and a peculiarly
shaped head upon it, and told us he had bought it for 78 6d.
When he left he had the ring upon his finger. He told us
that he bought the chain and ring of a man at the docks
whom he met when he was going down to take his passage
ticket, and he thought it was a good bargain, I joked him
about it and said it was not worth the money, upon which
he took up the shears and scraped the chain to show me the
way of testing it. He said, "You see it is pure gold." I
observed that the hat he was wearing was quite new, and I
said to him, " How extravagant you are with your hats."
He said he had smashed his old one in getting out of an
omnibus to oblige a lady. No, that is wrong ; I was think-
ing of another affair. He said he had smashed his old one
and thrown it into the dusthole. I had particularly noticed
his old hat, because it had a striped lining, unlike any other
hat I had over seen, and I am quite certain the hat now
produced is the same. I do not know how it is, but I have
always taken particular notice of the hats worn by the
young men who come to our house. I have never seen
Muller since the morning of July 14.
John Hoffa, a tailor, living at 16, Park-terrace, Old
Ford-road, Bethnal-green, deposed—l know Franz Muller,
and have worked for two years at Mr Hodgkinson's, where
he also worked. For the last three nights before he sailed
I lodged in the same house with him. He was living there
before me. I formerly lodged with Mrs Repsch, and still
go there sometimes to see them. On Saturday I was with
Muller at Repsch's house, at about seven o'clock in the
evening, and when he left he said he was going to see his
girl—his sweetheart. I saw him next at dinner time on the
Monday following, at Mr Repsch's. 1 had paid no atten-
tion to his hat, and I could not say whether he had a new
one. Muller slept with me on the Monday, Tuesday, and
Wednesday nights. I bought a pawnbroker's duplicate
of him on the Wednesday. He said it was the ticket for
the chain which I had seen him with on Monday, and which
he had pawned for £1 10e. He wanted 12s for the ticket, as
he bad not enough to pay for his passage to America. I
borrowed the 12s and gave him, but I did not take the chain
out of pawn. It was pledged at 21, in the Minories. He left
me in bed at six o'clock on Thursday morning, and said
"Good bye," as he was going to his ship.
Charles Young, assistant to Mr Annie, pawnbroker, of 21,
Minovies, produced the Albert chain, which was pledged on
Tuesday, the 52th inst., at about two o'clock, by a man
whose appearance he could not recollect. It did not strike
him he was a foreigner, as he spoke such good English. He
gave the name, John Muller, 22, Jewry-street. I cannot
say if he was tall or fair. I might know him again.
Hllen Blyth, wife of George Blyth, a messenger, 16, Park-
terrace, Old:Ford-road, examined—We let lodgings to one
or two single men, and Franz Muller had lodged with us for
about seven or eight weeks previous to his sailing for
America. I had never taken any particular notice of his
hat, and cannot therefore identify the one produced, We
waited up for Muller till 11 o'clock on the Saturday night,
but ho had not returned at that time, and we went to bed.
Muller had a latch key, and he let himself in afterwards,
lint I did not hear the door. I saw him the next (Sunday)
morning when he came down to breakfast with uses usual.
I did not notice anything unusual in his manner. He ap-
peared to ba a little lame from a sprain of the ancle, which
he had spoken of on the Friday. He said he had got his
foot between a bus and a kerbstone in crossing the road near
London-bridge. He remained at home all Sunda , aynd went
out with us in the evening. Until lately Muller was always
home early in the evening, generally by 8 or 9 o'clock, but
latterly he kept later hours.
Inepector Tiddy, in reference to tho sleeve lining found
in the grate of the room which Muller occupied, said it was
a rag which he usually rubbed his boots with. There was
blood on one en,:it of it.
It appears that the cabman's wife, Mrs Matthews, re-
marked that Muller, being dissatisihd with the flat brim of
his hat, which Matthews purchased for him, had turned up
the sides in the fashion worn by foreigners, and this is pre-
cigely the appearance which the hat now presents, the alte-
ration, laving been evidently utade by a person lumens-