The Sun.
London, England, 1862-09-26 00:00:00

SUICIDE OF MR. COVEN.

We have to record, says the Sheffield Independent,
the death, by suicide, of Mr. Benjamin Cohen, of
High-street, jeweller, who, our readers will recol-
lect, was arrested on Wednesday last on a charge
of feloniously receiving gold and silver watches,
stolen from Mr. Raynor, of Swansea, jeweller,
nearly five years ago. The premises of Me. W. R.
Raynor were entered by burglars during the night
of Dec 11, 1857, and watches and jewellery taken
away to the value of £1,200, the loss compelling
Mr. Raynor to give up his business. No clue could
be obtained to the stolen property until about
ten days ago, when information reached the
Sheffield police that several of the watches were
in the possession of Mr. Cohen. This information
was communicated to Mr. Raynor, who came over
to Sheffield, and, armed with the authority of a
warrant, searched the premises of Mr. Cohen,
in company with Detective-officer Brayshaw and
Inspector Jonathan Wood. Nineteen silver and
nine gold watches, of the value of about £2OO, were
positively identified by Mr. Raynor as part of the
stolen property, and a further number of from 50 to
160 watches were believed also to have formed part
of the booty, but could not be identified, being
watches sent to Mr. Raynor for repair. Mr. Cohen
was apprehended, and was taken before Mr. Dunn
at noon on Thursday, on the charge of being in il-
legal possession of the 28 watches identified. The
case was adjourned to give the prosecution an op-
portunity of completing their case. Mr. Cohen ap-
peared in a greatly excited state, and at the inter-
cession of his advocate, Mr. Broadbent, Mr. Dunn
agreed to release him on bail to the amount of £6OO,
secured by two sureties, as well as the prisoner's
own recognisances. Mr. Cohen remained in cus-
tody until Friday evening, when substantial bail
being tendered, he was released, and returned home.
His excitement had greatly increased during his
detention. He frequently said it was utterly im-
possible he could outlive the prosecution, and we
arc informed that from the time of reaching home
he was confined to his bed, and persistently refused
to take any food. Though he gave such emphatic
expression to the opinion that he could not outlive
the prosecution, 'and though he was evidently in a
state of the greatest excitement, his friends seem
not to have been under any apprehension that he
would attempt to take his own life, He was never-
theless closely watched. Mr. Henry Jackson, sur-
geon, was called in and attended Mr. Cohen regu-
larly. During a brief absence of his family and
nurse on Tuesday morning about 7 o'clock, Mr,Cohen
succeeded in possessing himself of his razor, which
would appear not to have been removed from his
room. With this implement he inflicted terrible
gashes in the abdomen. Considerable reserve has
been maintained as to the nature of these
wounds. We are assured, however, that the
principal wound extends in great part across the
abdomen, and that there are three other gashes at
right angles with it, each of a fearful kind, some
of the wounds severing not only the skin and flesh
of the abdomen, but the peritoneum or inner lining,
and literally letting out the bowels. Mr. Cohen
appears to have made no communication to his
attendants, but his writhings and the profuse issue
of blood quickly revealed what had taken place.
Mr. Jackson was immediately sent for, and at-
tended along with Mr. Tinsley, who was also called
in. The medical gentlemen attended to the wounds
with the utmost skill, care, and promptitude, but
they were of so terrible a character that from the
first no hope was entertained of Mr. Cohen's re-
Wan 3v lingered, lagYrevor, until a fuw mizulteto

before ten o'clock in the evanimg, when death put
an end to his agony.
The case is an extremes 17 melancholy one,
whether viewed in relation tO
the wealth and posi-
tion of the deceased or his trk:gic end. The case
t this was the
by
y, and
ex
against him was necessarily Ml,:ch weakened
the great lapse of time, but sgainh
large extent and value of the prope.-t
consequent necessity of giving a very bjear p thela -
nation of the manner of becoming possessed of it.
Mr. Cohen's explanation was that he bought the
watches from a man who represented himself as.
Mr. Raynor, of Swansea, stating that he had come
purposely to Sheffield to dispose of his jewellery for
Sheffield goods preparatory to going to Australia,
This story received some confirmation from the fact
that the watches still hear the name of Mr. Ray-
nor and other evidences of his ownership, which
one would have thought Mr. Cohen would have re-
moved had he suspected the honesty of the person
from whom he purchased. Be that as it may he so
shrank from the ordeal of a prosecution as to take
his own life.