The Sun.
London, England, 1862-01-17 00:00:00

DOUBLE 111UR,DER I,V ESSEX.

CLAVERING, ESSEX, THURSDAY EVENING.
A frightful murder has been committed at Star-
ling-green, Clavering, a village on the borders of
the counties of Essex and Herts. The house in which
the crime was committed is in a lonely place. Built
in a hollow, it is about half a mile from any other
human habitation. The place was occupied by a
man named Samuel Law, a farm labourer and rat-
catcher, about 27 years of age, and his family. He
had been married to his wife Rebecca, aged 25, for
seven years. Two children were the issue of the
marriage, the eldest being over six years of age,
and the youngest a boy, named Alfred, 16 weeks
Old. Law was a man of loose habits. The woman
was sober and generally well conducted. They fre-
quently quarrelled during the earlier portion of
their wedded life, but of late years they lived more
happily together. About a month ago the husband
was charged with having broken a gate, and was
sentenced to a month's imprisonment in Hertford
Gaol. The term of incarceration expired on Friday.
His wife had during his imprisonment gone into the
Union house with her two children. He went to
her on the following day, and promised to take her
out if, as he said, he should sell every stick and rag
he possessed. He redeemed his promise on the very
next day, and early on Sunday morning he took her
out of the Union and took her home. On Tuesday
morning, it seems, the woman presented herself at her
mother's house, which is situated at Langley, about
3 miles from Starling-green. Her hands and dress
were besmeared with blood, and she was accompanied
by her eldest child. They had walked across the
fields and through a wood in the dead of night. Upon
gaining admittance she said that some one had broken
into the house and had murdered her husband. She
went into her mother's bed, and some time after-
wards told her parent that she herself was the mur-
deress. Soon after daybreak the statement came to
the knowledge of a tradesman named Codling, for-
merly a police-officer, who, with a young man
named Prentice, drove over in his horse and cart to
Starling-green, and entered the house. He went
upstairs, where a frightful spectacle was presented
to his view. Law's body, covered with blood, was
13 ing partly on and partly out of the bed. The head
was fearfully mutilated. Subsequent examination
disclosed nearly a hundred wounds on the head,
face, and neck, and from 15 to 20 terrible gashes on
the right hand and arm. While looking at the
body Mr. Codling was startled by hearing the cry
of an infant. It proved to be the youngest child,
which he wrapped up in a blanket and gave to Pren-
tice, without suspecting that any violence had been
used towards it. Mr. Codling went back to Lang-
ley, where the woman was, and went to her mother's
house. When the woman first saw him she reached
out her hands and said, '‘ Oh, my dear Sir, poor
Sam's gone." This sho repeated several times. She
said, " I didn't want to hurt him, but I could not
help it ; I was forced to it. I chopped him with the
bill. He went to bed first, and then I went upstairs
and struck him when he was asleep, and he shrugged
his shoulders and jumped up. I struck him again,
and he groaned very much." She said that she
struck him again several times after that. She then,
according to her account, went down stairs and re-
mained in the house nearly an hour, and then went
up again and asked him if he knew her. He made
striking him him there was
witness " This
a kind of expressive grunt of " Yes," and then she
struck him again several times. She further said
suchthat a
all
noiset e time she
a
on
murder I have seen a month ago, and heard Sam's
shrieks and groans just as I heard them last night."
setaiwrs as.
She also said that she went down stairs and put the
light out, and then started off to her mother's ; that
going along, she looked for a place to drown the
child (referring, as witness presumed, to the one
left alive), but she did not find any, and was afraid
lest the shrieks of the child might be heard by any
one. Witness said, " I wonder you did not drown
yourself." She replied, "I wish I had, but I thought
that one day out of hell was better than being in
it." She then referred to the other child—the one
that had been killed—and said, "I have killed poor
Sam, and the child as well. I hit it with the ham-
mer." She kept constantly repeating the same words
all the way to the lock-up, where witness consigned
her to the care of the police authorities.
On being examined the child discovered in the
room whore the murdered man was lying was found
to be suffering from severe injuries. These had been
inflicted about the head, apparently by a hammer
or some implement of that description. Mr. Robin-
son, a surgeon of Newport, attended the child,which
had been conveyed to the house of its grandmother
in this place, and that gentleman at once adopted
such remedial measures as he was able. The inju-
ries, however, were of such a nature that, after lin-
gering in considerable agony throughout the day,
the unfortunate little creature expired about nine
o'clock the same night. Although a very strict
search has been made in the house and in the out-
buildings for the hammer, the weapon has not been
discovered.
With regard to any motive
for such a crime
The no-
thing reliable is at present known. wretched
woman has not allowed a single word to escape her
which would enable the motive to be ascertained.
The Coroner's inquest was held yesterday after-
noon at the Fox and Hounds, Clavering, before Mr.
C. C. Lewis, coroner for this division of the county,
but no few facts were added to those above recorded.