The Sun.
London, England, 1862-07-21 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGSNCE.

WESTERN CIRCUIT.—WIN CHESTER f JULY 19.
(Before Mr. Justice Keating.)
THE HORRIBLE MURDER AT WATERLOO.
Edward Lee, 26, a gipsy hawker, was indicted
for the wilful murder of Eliza Colt Lee, at Water-
loo Ville, Hants, on the 21st June last.
The gipsies congregated about the Castle, find
there was considerable excitement among them.
The Gipsy Queen was outside the court-house,
gaily dressed, and the feeling against the prisoner
was intense amongst his tribe_ His immediate
gipsy relatives and friends expressed a hope that
his life might be spared on the ground of insanity.
On being brought to the bar prisoner seized the
iron railings, and gazed around in a wild manner.
He is a tall, well-built, gipsy man, with a piercing
black eye, but could not be termed of repulsive ap-
pearance. He exhibited all the appearance of lunacy.
Prisoner, on being called upon to plead, said in a
crying tone, " Oh, I'm guilty," and then stared
wildly at the jury.
It will be remembered that on the 21st June last
the prisoner and his wife, who was in an advanced
state of pregnancy, were travelling together in a
van, when Lee was seized with a fit of jealousy,
jumped from the footboard into the van, seized his
wife, and having obtained a razor from a bag hang-
ing in the van he forced his wife's head over the
half-door of the cart and cut her throat from ear to
ear, nearly severing her head from her body. He
then flung her body into the road, where it was
found by police-constable Deegan. Prisoner was
conveyed to Winchester Gaol.
Dr. Lyford, surgeon of Winchester Gaol, said—
Ever since prisoner has been in gaol he has continued
in a state of violent excitement. I believe that he
is of unsound mind, and I should have no objection
to give him a certificate for a lunatic asylum. Ido
riot think prisoner is capable of understanding the
plea.
The question of sanity having arisen, the jury
were empanneled to try whether the prisoner was a
lunatic or not.
His Lordship explained the law in such cases,
and concluded by saying, if they found the prisoner
of unsound mind he would be detained and taken
proper care of.
Prisoner cried out in a mournful tone, " Oh, gen-
tlemen, I ain't mad. Will you let me speak ? Oh
hear ! they wouldn't let me speak when I came ui;
to the court."
The jury having considered their verdict, found
the prisoner of unsound mind, and incapable of
pleading to the indictment.
Prisoner exclaimed " Oh, dear !" and gazing
wildly at the judge and jury, clutched the iron
rails of the bar, and crying aloud, said, " Oh, my,
where am 1 to go to, sir ? Oh, dear, dear, where
am I to go to ?"
As he refused to withdraw his hold of the iron
railing in front of the bar, he had to be forcibly
removed, uttering piteous cries as he was conveyed
below.

THE MURDER ON THE HIGH SEAS.
John Colvin, aged 31, a man of repulsive appear-
ance, was indicted for the wilful murder of Capt.
Thomas Williams, of the merchant vessel Pasithea,
on the high seas, on the 20th of April last.
Mr. Montague Bere prosecuted, and Mr. Bullen
defended the accused.
Mr. M. Bere opened the case. lie said, if after
hearing the evidence they believed that it failed to
establish that vindictiveness and malice on the part
of the prisoner necessary to render him guilty of
murder, they then, if they believed that the wound
was inflicted by prisoner, and that he had no inten-
tion of killing him, would give him the benefit of
the doubt, and find him guilty of manslaughter.
The prisoner was steward on board the Pasithea,
and on April 20,when the vessel was about 300 miles
N.E. of the Cape de Verde Islands, the captain,
mate, Mr. Harris (midshipman), and Mr. Smith (a
passenger), were at dinner together in the saloon.
Prisoner, in his capacity of steward, was going back-
wards and forwards to the pantry, which was only
four feet square, and during dinner time, whilst
prisoner was in there, a plate was heard to break,
upon which Capt. Williams expressed some annoy-
ance, and went to see what had happened. As soon
as the captain entered the pantry he closed the door,
and shortly afterwards voices were heard, and a
noise as of scuffling between two persons. Prisoner
was heard to say, " What do you mean, Capt. Wil-
liams ?" and almost directly Captain Williams was
heard to exclaim, " Oh, Mr. Bishop, he is killing
me." Mr. Bishop directly went to the door and
forced it open, and found the captain lying with a
wound in his stomach, from which the bowels pro
truded. Captain Williams was taken to his cabin,
where he died in about half an hour. There was no
evidence to show that the knife produced the death
of Capt. Williams, but of that the jury could not
entertain much doubt. Three or four other wounds
were found on the person of the deceased, and a
wound was also found on the prisoner at the back
part of the neck. Prisoner's statement was that
Capt. Williams came to the cabin, on account of
his
having broken the plate, with a carving-knife in
his hand, and said, What do ou mean by
destroy-
ing my property, you scoundrel? I will bavfili'l
life." And then deceased caught hold ofby
the neck with his left hand
and
stabbed
ehim at
Aensued, and
the back part of the head.
our
na illias falling
they both fell down, Ca
ptai tried to wrest the
on the top. Prisoner said be,
knife from deceased's hand, wni_ch accounts for the
s.sessiTh.e Capt. Williams fell
knife being in his po fatal stab, and just
en by Mr. Bishop. Now,
then the door was burst
on the knife and received .
teoepeetabin was so extremelysquare
small—being only four
o.,prisoner's ao he should show that th
size to have
im-
possible•the manner he described, and it was
fallen dovvli
also
guies,fo
quite iuimpossible for the de
a person
deceased to have gone
ith the knitsin •
- would tell them that he saw the identical
Bishop .
the cabin w
into
knife lying upon, a dessert plate in the pantry be-
fore the scuffle,
. far
.away from the pantry door, on
the other
.side of prisoner, so it was impossible that
the captin. could. have gone into the cabin with
that knife in his hand, and it would be clearly
proved that the knife seen on the plate by Bishop