The Sun.
London, England, 1862-09-06 00:00:00

711 E MURDER IN DORSET.

We briefly reported a day or two since the
shooting murder of one farmer by another at the
small village of Walditch, near Bridport, in Dq-,%-
etstiire. We take the following additional
s from the Sheibourne Journal of Thursday:—
The place whr.lre this terri'ole occurrence took
place is the little village of Walditch, situate a
mile and a hr.ilf from Bridport, towards Dorchester,
and a lit tl,e off the highway to that town. It
is a place of some 300 acres and 200 inhabitants.
Two of 'the chief inhabitants of the village are Mr.
Daniel), Stone, the unfortunate deceased, and Mr.
Char'ies Fooks, who now lies under the awful charge
of murder. There is some sort of relationship
between the parties, the sister of Mr. Stone being
married to Mr. Fooks, of Longbreedy, who is cousin
to the prisoner. From some cause, or perhaps
causes, some of which may be suggested by what
follows, there has been for some time no good blood
between the parties. About eight o'clock on Friday
morning last Mr. Stone, in company with a young
man named Parrett, was passing the house of Mr.
Fooks, when the latter, who was in the kitchen
at the time reading a newspaper, jumped up, seized
his leaded double-barrelled gun, opened the front
door, and fired both barrels, part of the contents
of ome or both of which entered the back of Mr.
St-one's head, killing him instantly. The mur-
derer, as soon as he saw the consummation of this
3iatal deed, shut to his door, fastened it, and rushed
upstairs, from whence the sound of a third discharge
was heard, and on Mr. Shephard, a neighbour,
looking into the house from the back by a ladder,
he found the miserable man extended on the floor,
his face covered with blood, and he apparently seri-
ously injured. Mr. Shephard got assistance, and
with a crow-bar the bed-rooom door, which had
been fastened inside, was burst open, and the
wretch'ed man was lifted on to the bed. He remarked
that this was not the work of a day, but of 15
years, and he hoped it would be a warning to the
parish. The murderer must have re-loaded both
barrels of his gun, as one was found not discharged.
:ft is surmised, as his powder and flask were in the
"kitchen, that after he rushed up to his
bed-room he returned down stairs for ammu-
nition, loaded both barrels, and then with his
foot attempted to discharge them. The wounds
thr.a he inflicted are not of a fatal eharac-
tfir. He was, of course, taken into custody imme-
diately on the arrival of the police, and as his
wounds rendered it advisable that, at least for the
present, he should not be removed, he was kept in
custody in his own dwelling, When our reporter
-visited the place on Saturday he was in charge of
three constables. He vpis arrested by police-ser-
geant Lavender.

The prisoner rents about 80 acres of land in the
parish under Lord Wynford. He has property of
his own, and is regarded in the village as wealthy.
He is a tall, strong, dark-complexioned, " fiery"
roan and not very well liked in the village where
he was born and bred. Two of his brothers, re-
spectable men, live the one at Toiler and the other
at Chideeck.

The unfortunate deceased was of short stature,
kight complexioned, " a little, joking man," as he is
'described. He occupied about the same quantity
of land as the prisoner, under Mr. Gundry, the
present high sheriff of the county. His age was
about 30, and 20 years of his prematurely short life
he had passed in the village. He was not married.
At the inquest the following witnesses were
called :

Wm. Parker said—l live in Walditch, and am a
labourer. This morning, about half-past seven
o'clock, I was walking in the village of Walditch,
and when near Charles Fooks' house I saw him
staAding in the doorway with a gun in his hand.
Vie raised the gun to his shoulder, and pointed the
muzzle of the gun towards Mr. D. J. Stone's head.
It was the back part of his head at which he pointed
it. The gun went off, and Mr. Stone fell in the
road. I was only about three or four yards from
him. I saw blood flowing from his poll. I did not
attempt to take him up, but went to call some other
people. I very soon, returned, when I saw John
Bishop and others carrying the body to Mr. Stone's
house. I then left and went for a doctor. lam
quite sure thrt I saw Charles Fooks point the gun
and fire at the head of Daniel Joseph Stone.
John Bishop sworn—l live in Walditch, and am
a labourer. This morning, while in the garden be-
longing to my own premises, about half-past seven
o'clock, I heard the report of a gun, as if it was
fired in the village, very near me. I ran out into
-the street at once, and saw Daniel Joseph Stone
lying in the road on his face. It was about five
yards from the door of Charles Fooks' house.
Daniel Stone was covered with blood, which was
flowing very freely from a wound in the back of
the neck. I took hold of him immediately, then
lifted him up, and spoke to him, but he could not
speak to me. He breathed twice whilst I had hold
of him, and then died. I, with assistance, carried
the body to deceaF4ed's house, where it now lies. I
did not see anything of Charles Fooks. Fooks'
door was ahv.t when I went out. I do not know
who fired the gun. When I went into the street
the only person I saw was a little boy about seven
or eigl'A years old, carrying a small basket. The
boy ryas about twelve or fourteen yards off. I saw
no r,erson with a gun.
1-4 a Juror—lt was about three minutes after the
g'an was fired that I went out.

William Shephard said—l live in Walditch, and
am a brnshmaker. About half-past seven this morn-
ing, whilst in my own garden, I heard the report of
fare-arms, and heard some shots passing around me.
in about two or three minutes afterwards I heard a
second discharge, which had a very dead sound, as
if fired within a confined space or house. I went
into the street, and there saw a man, named Henry
Adams, wbo beckoned to me and said, " For God's
sake come, for I believe master has killed himself."
His master was Charles Fooks. I went at once,
and after some difficulty I broke open the door of
Charles Fooks' bedroom. I then saw Charles Fooks
lying on the floor in a heap by the bedside. I lifted
him up, and finding he was alive I sent for the
medical man. Mr. Hay, the surgeon, arrived as soon
as Possible. There was a double-barrelled gun by the
side of Charles Fooks on the floor. One hammer was
dawn, as if the gun had recently been discharged.
She other hammer we' full-cocked, with a cap on
the nipple, as if the gun was loaded. There was a
ramrod on a box very near him. I also observed a
powder-flask and a shot-pouch lying on the same
box. From the time 1 heard the first report until
I saw Charles Fooks lying in his bedroom it could
not have exceeded ten minutes. I saw nothing of
Daniel Joseph Stone. I do not know who caused
the report of the firearms, Mr. Fooks was fre-
quently firing off the
gun, so I did not take much
notice of it when I heard the report. Whilst
Charles Fooks was lying 01.1 the bed, he
several times, 'Sh
He repeated
as teased me tong enough,"
and he also said, " the other one dead ? I hope
be is." I have been with him the most part of the
day, and have not heard him mention the name of
Daniel Joseph Stone. I gave the gun to William
Lavender, the sergeant of the police.
By a Juror—l never saw him stand at his door
and fire off a gun.
AV. Lavender said—l reside at Bridport, and am
'sergeant of the police. This morning, about 8 o'clock,
from information I received, I went to alditch. I
'ere saw the body of Daniel J. Stone lying dead in
own house. I then went to the house of Charles
Fooks, and there saw him lying on the bed upstairs
in his own bedroom. I saw he was suffering from
zi wound on the left side of his forehead. He was
sensible. I then searched the room, and in the ceil-
ing I saw two holes, about four feet apart from
each other, and each hole about three inches in cir-
cumference. They looked as if they were gun shots.
then received from Wm. Shephard a
double-bar-
relled gun, powder flask, and shot pouch. The right-
nand barrel was discharged,
and the other barrel
looked as if it was loaded, as it -
had
a cap on the
nipple. The right-hand barrel seemed to have
recently discharged. On trying the left-hand bees
rel I found there were only a few grains of powder
and a wad in it. I then went to the bedside of Chas.
Fooks, and informed him that I)Aniel Stone wa,
dead. His answer to me was, " I suppose so.' Re
-was about to make some other remarks, when I eau_
tioned him, and told him his words would be used
against him. He said, " Very well, he has teased
me long enough." He did not mention who teased
him. He also said he had been very nervous dur-
ing the last month. I then searched him, and found
in his pocket some gun caps and some wads, of the
same description as the one I found in the gun. I
then charged him with the wilful murder of Daniel
Stone, and took him at once into custody.
By the Foreman—When 1 had the gun given me
the hammer of the left-hand barrel was down, but
there was a cap still on it. Both holes could not
have been made in the ceiling with one shot.
W. H. Hay said this morning, about 8 o'clock, I
was summoned to Walditch, to see Mr.DanielStone,
and in his own house I saw the dead body of Daniel
Stone, lying on a sofa in his bed-room. He was
quite dead. There was an abrasion of the skin
on theforehead, nose, and lip, as if from a fall.
There were,
p
parently, wounds through the left
ear. There
the were also longitudinal wounds on the
neck, also several wounds on the
lbeafecksiodfetohfe neckand the back of the head. All
thou wounds, I consider, were gunshot wounds. I
have since made ap
ost-mortem examination of the
body. The soft parts of the neck were much con-
tused. I found also several shots flattened against
the occipital bone. f) n opening the spinal canal I
found extravasation c;blood, and one shot at least
wounding the spinal marrow above the third cer-
vical vertebra, and this was the cause of death. I
tin of opinion that Daniel Joseph
Stone came by
his death from
a gunshot wound or wounds atthe

back of the neck, womading the spinal marrow, and
causing extravaaation of blood in the spinal canal.
I produce some of the shots I have taken ;rom the
body.
By a Jurcr—Death must have been jut ~ntaneous.
In reply to some of the jury, Mr. Hay said that
Charles Fooks would not be able to be moved now,
but he did not think that his (Fook, wound was
likely to be fatal.

The Jury, after a very short consultation, re-
turned a unanimous verdict of Wilful Murder
against Charles Fooks.
The witnesses were then bound over to appear at
the next assizes, and the jury were dismissed.
As to the wretched man Fooks, he is gradually
recovering from his wound, and, just as our report
left, it was expected he would be removed to the
police station, Beaminister, preparatory to being
taken before the magistrates_ His demeanour, up
to the present, is anything but penitent for his
atrocious crime ; he supposes "he shall hang for
it." He is strictly watched by three policemen, and,
doubtless, this is necessary to prevent another at-
tempt on his own life. On one occasion he asked
them why they did not go down stairs and have
plenty to eat and drink. They had no occasion to
fear leaving him alone. He could not hurt him-
self. He does not like the idea of being confined
in prison till March, and hopes to ho bailed out.