The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-14 00:00:00

THE MURDER AT RIBCHESTEE.

The shocking murder of Ann Walne, beerseller
and small farmer, of Ribchester, briefly reported in
our journal yesterday, was one of the most brutal
tragedies that could be possibly imagined. The
neighbourhood in which it occurred has lately been
overrun with daring offenders, burglary and poach-
ing being their principal crimes. Mrs. Walne—or
Old Nanny," as she was generally called— lived at
the Joiners' Arms, and kept four head of cattle. She
had lived here 33 years, and had been a widow for
the last 18 years. She had two children, both of
whom are married and live elsewhere. For some
time the deceased had lived alone; and though 80
years old, was quite active and industrious. She not
only attended to her domestic, but her business
duties, with much celerity. She was a woman of
saving habits, and was supposed to have accumu-
lated a round sum of money, which it was believed
she had secreted in her house. To resume our nar-
rative of how she was found, so imperfectly stated
yesterday, we may remark that after Pye and Ward
(the latter being labour master at Ribchester work-
house, and engaged by the deceased to attend her
cattle night and morning) got into the house by the
back window, the iron bars of which had been
wrenched off, they called out, expecting that the
deceased would have answered, but eliciting no re-
ply, they proceeded upstairs, and in her own bed
found her lifeless corpse, the bedclothes thrown over
her head in a heap, her head much bruised, blood
oozingfrom a fearful wound above the right ear,
and another near the right temple, the bridge of
. her nose broken, her face discoloured, and her eyes
much swollen and blackened, her mouth gagged
with a woollen handkerchief, and her hands tied to
the bed-stocks with a handkerchief. Her skull had
also been fractured by a heavy instrument. Across

the foot of the bed was a churn-shaft or handle,
about five feet long, evidently one of the weapons
used to commit the foul deed. It had a few spots
of blood upon it. On a chair by the bed-side was
Is. 62d. in copper, and a purse containing three six-
pences. The house had been fully ransacked, and
all the valuables carried thence, even clothing.
Soon after the arrival of the police authorities
upon the spot, footmarks were detected near the
the back window, and suspicion fell upon a farm
labourer, named Thomas Davies, employed at Mr.
Baurn's, a neighbouring farmer. He was arrested
and placed in safe keeping, and his clogs partly
corresponded with the footprints. He is a native
of the Fylde, and on Monday went to the house

of the deceased to ask her if she wanted a farm ser-

vent. She gave a negative answer, and it is
thought he did this to ascertain whether she was
living alone. He strongly denies all knowledge of
the crime. Medical gentlemen who have examined
the-deceased say that death has resulted from the
wounds inflicted and suffocation, but that the blow
on the head was sufficient to cause death. It is
fully believed that the object in the first instance
was robbery, but that the deceased recognising her
assailant, called him by name, which made him
desperate and prompted the horrible murder. The
scene of the tragedy has been visited by a large
number of persons, and the strongest feelings of
commiseration have been raised in the district.
The coroner's inquest will be opened on Friday
before Mr. H. J. Hargreaves, coroner for the hun-
dred of Blackburn• —Manchester Examiner.

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