The Sun.
London, England, 1862-08-12 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TITESD Y EVENING," AUGUST 12, 1862.

fled to find that she was bleeding from several
ghastly wounds in her head. She was insensible,
and they could not therefore get any account from
her of what had caused her injuries. She did in-
deed make a few gestures in response to their efforts,
but that was all—no articulate sound escaped her
lips. Steps were immediately taken to apprise the
police of what had occurred, and simultaneously
medical assistance was sought. This occupied
some time, and the unfortunate woman expired at
half-past six, just after the arrival of Mr. M'Cabe,
of Witton Gilbert, who practises as a surgeon. Dr.
Hudson, of Chester-le-street, arrived on the scene
shortly afterwards. He found the murdered woman
had received a severe wound on the left side of the
temple which had penetrated to the brain, marks
of finger nails on her neck as if her assailant had
attempted to strangle her, and the mark of a heavy
blow, apparently by the fist, over the left jugular
vein, and there was some extra vasation of blood
over that part ; her left arm was broken above the
elbow, apparently by a blow ; and there were dread-
ful bruises all over her arms. Her person in other
parts bore marks of great violence. The Irishman,
Cox, said to those around, in explanation of his dis-
covery of the crime, that about three o'clock in the
morning he heard the old woman groaning, and on
coming down he found the door fast. He broke
open the door, which shows marks in support of
his assertion, with a poker, and found the poor old
woman in the position already related. He said
the person who did it must have obtained access by
the loft above, but whether such means of access
exist there we could not ascertain last night. As
soon as information reached the head-quarters of
the police at Durham, Superintendent Johnson,
with a body of men, set off immediately for the cot-
tage. On arriving there Superintendent Johnson
proceeded to examine the A
most surprising, and apartmentreally
of the mur-
connection with the affair, is
sdiegrueifid
ewanomt afanc.t,
in
the appearance presented by the room. It
might naturally have been expected that evi-
dences of a severe struggle would have pre-
sented themselves, but so far from that being
the case, scarcely a single article of furniture in the
room appeared to be disturbed, or at all out of its
usual place. It may be mentioned here that the
door-key could not be found. A brief search resulted
in finding the deadly weapon which had been used
by the murderer in accomplishing his fell purpose.
It was the murdered woman's own coal-rake. On
applying the point of it to the large wound on the
temple, Dr. Hudson found it fitted it exactly, and
left no doubt on his mind that the unfortunate
woman had received her death-blow from it. The
murdered woman must have bled a great deal from
her numerous wounds, and yet the quantity of blood
was surprisingly small. The appearance presented
by the floor led to the conclusion that an attempt
had been made to clear away as much as possible
the traces of the bloody tragedy. The chemise of
the old woman was .found beneath the bed quite
wet, as if it had been recently washed. It might
have been expected that the bed clothes would show
by their position that the unhappy woman had
risen in haste ; but so far from doing so, they lay
almost undisturbed; and those who saw them were
led at once to the conjecture that they had been
placed that way after the crime had been committed.
A few sprents:of blood were found on the bed hang-
ings and furniture, but they were much less than
might have been looked for. That plunder had
been the object of the murderer was shown by the
state of the drawers. They had been thoroughly
ransacked, and a chest in which it was known that
the murdered woman kept her linen, had been
cleared out. After making a searching investiga-
tion about the premises, Superintendent Johnson
found himself called upon to order the Irishman
Cox and his wife to be taken into custody. They
were accordingly conveyed to Durham yesterday
forenoon. They will be brought before the jury at
the inquest of the unfortunate woman. Their little
child has been sent to the workhouse, where she
will remain for the present.
The suspected man is about 25 years of age, and
is described as being of a rather unprepossessing
appearance. He had resided in the cottage about a
month, and had previously been at Felton. He
was employed as a pitman at Nettlesworth Colliery,
a short distance from his residence. He only bears
an indifferent character in the neighbourhood.
Information was at once sent off to J. M. Favell,
Esq., coroner, Eighton Banks. He has forwarded
instructions to Dr. Hudson to make a post mortem
examination of the body of the deceased. Dr.
Hudson will carry out his instructions, and the
coroner has appointed the inquest to take place on
Tuesday, at Broadmires, at half-past ten o'clock.
The police, under the immediate superintendence
of Mr. Johnson, are actively engaged in getting up
the case.

THE MURDER AT MINSTER, ISLE OF

SHEPPY.

MINSTER, MONDAY.

This morning the inquest on the body of William
Elliott, who was found dead under circumstances
which left little doubt that he had been brutally
murdered, was resumed before Thomas Hills, Esq.,
coroner of the county, at the Halfway public•house,
Minster, near Queenborough, Isle of Sheppy.
It will probably be remembered that at an early
hour on the morning of Wednesday, the 30th ult.,
the body of a man was found lying in a wheatfield,
at a place called Pheasants Field, about a mile
from the Halfway-house, with marks of gunshot
wounds on his face and chest that had been recently
made, and the matter being put into the hands of
Mr. Superintendent T. M. Green, of the Kent
county constabulary, the corpse was at once iden-
tified as being that of a man named William Elliott,
about 30 years of age, and who was a single man,
in employment at Sheerness dockyard. At the open-
ing of the inquiry, some merely formal evidence was
taken, and no clue was at that time found to bring
to light the perpetrators of the frightful deed ; but
the activity of the police resulted in the arrest, on
suspicion, on Monday, the 4th inst., of two men,
Wm. Johnson, a corndealer and small farmer, re-
siding at Sheerness, and his son, Edward Johnson,
living at the same place with his father. The pri-
soners were taken before the sitting magistrates at
Sittingbourne last Tuesday, and several witnesses
were examined ; but it was considered advisable for
the furtherance of the ends of justice that the de-
tails of the examination should not be made public,
and it is, therefore, now sufficient to say that the
evidence was purely circumstantial, but so far con-
clusive as to warrant the bench of magistrates in
remanding the prisoners to St. Augustine Gaol, and
to refuse the bail which was offered by Mr. John-
son, the solicitor, of Faversham, who attended on
behalf of the accused.

At the sitting of the Court this morning the
learned coroner read over the evidence taken on the
previous occasion. John Cheeseman, a boot and
shoe maker, living at Sheerness, identified the
deceased.

Mr. Edward Stride, surgeon, stated that he saw
the body of the deceased man a little after one
o'clock on Wednesday, the day of the supposed
murder, and found on examination external marks
of gun-shot wounds on the right side of the chest,
as well as some on the forehead, and the whole of
the face. On the right side of the chest the shots
had nearly all entered the lungs, one of the shots
had passed through the eye, and those in the face
had penetrated it deeply. Death had been occa-
sioned by the shots penetrating the lungs, and the
shots had proceeded from a gun held on a level with
the chest of the deceased. There were no other
marks of violence on the body, nor any sign that
the deceased had been engaged in any struggle.
Sergeant T. M. Green stated that ho found the
body of the deceased on the day referred to in Phea-
sant's Field—about eight pr nine yards from the
fence separating the field from the road. The
deceased was lying on his back, with his hands by
his side. There was some blood on the side of
the fence next the road as if the deceased had
been dragged through the fence, and there was also
blood in the road. Within about three yards of the
fence there was more blood, as if the body had been
left there for a short time, and marks were then
visible of its having been dragged on the back in a
semi-circle to the spot where it was found, about five
yards from the blood he referred to as being in the
field. _ - _

Mr. Stride being recalled, said that he wished to
correct his former evidence as to the shot being in a
straight or horizontal line—they had entered the
body as from above downwards. He was still of
opinion there had only been one discharge.
Eliza Elliott, sister-in-law to the deceased, said he
lodged with her, and was in the habit of going out
every evening and returning about nine o'clock.
Witness's husband was on friendly terms with the
deceased, and they had never once quarrelled. He
(deceased) never took out a gun, nor was be in the
habit of poaching.
George Curtis, aged 14, said ho lived in Limekiln
deceased
Cottage, Queenborough-road. On Tuesday evening
about seven o'clock he went to Queenborough, and
on his way back he saw a man crawling in Mr. Vin-
cent's beans in a field adjoining the road. He was
efrigohort.oten yards from the road, and had on a white
said
way betweennig
farther The man he saw in the bean field was not the
I,,,ebecause when he (witness) got along a little
~ goorw deceased coming towards him, and he
deceased ht." Witness met him about half-
the_ila haystack that is there and where
cottwag:ifterwards found dead. Witness
meadoNevaF the stack, and as he was walk•
lived in a
jeg up the
the same road herd deeeassted
clothes walking v4efaSaw a man dressed in dark
towards Queenborough,
in if he saw him in the
saws
sehcoluoltdh
eksn. o wHtehe(winiatn again
previously taken.
nee's) got in-doors and di-
rectly
be heard a gun fire, which c appeared to be in

the direction of the stack. That was about 20
minutes past nine.
George Brown deposed that about nine or a little
after on Tuesday night, the 29th of July, he saw
Mr. Wm. Johnson and his son in their cart coming
over Forty-acre Hill. That is the lower road to-
wards Sheerness, and leads past the Queenborough-
road, and where deceased was found. Just before
they got to him (witness) a hare crossed the road,
and Johnson got out of his cart and walked along
the hedge side with a double-barrelled gun in his i
hand. The son was up n the cart and whistled to
his father three or four times, who then returned,
and jumping into the cart, drove off very quickly.
James Reynolds confirmed the statement of last
witness.
Thos. Noakes, sergeant of the Kent police, said
that he saw Johnson and his son on the evening of
Wednesday the 30th at the Halfway House, and
asked them if they were in the Queenborough-road
the night before. The elder one said to the younger
,‘ I'll answer him," and he then said to witness,
6, Yes, he did." Witness asked if he met any one,
and Johnson said he did not remember. He (wit-
ness) then asked if he had a gun with him that
night, and Johnson said yes; that he took it out to
shoot a stoat with it, and that it only had one charge '
of shot in it. He proposed to go down and see it,
and Johnson said it was standing empty in the
stable. He proposed to walk down, as it would
make such a talk if he was seen with a policeman,
and they walked down together. When the son got
there he produced the gun, and the left-hand bar-
rel had evidently been recently shot off. Witness
remarked it, and Edward said, " That is the barrel
we fired at the stoat with the day before." (The
witness produced the gun.) He searched the house,
and found nearly a canister full of powder, but not
any shot except a very few in a paper in the kitchen.
Mrs. Cullis deposed that she lived next door to
the Johnsons, and that on the evening of Wednes-
day Edward Johnson came to her house in Sheer-
ness and asked for a ramrod of his. He took it,
and went into the stable, and immediately after she
heard the reportof a gun there, and, looking over
the fence, saw the smoke in the stable. In two or
three minutes she saw William Johnson and Ser-
geant Noakes come down, but Edward had gone
away in another direction, and shortly after re-
turned home again with the cart. Witness saw the
Johnsons come home in the cart on Tuesday, be-
tween a quarter or half after nine. He went out
again afterwards, and returned at 10 minutes to 11.
It was not anything unusual for the Johnsons to go
out in the evening.
After some further evidence the inquiry was ad-
ourned at a late hour.

EXIRAORDINARY CASE OF WHOLE-
SALE POISONING.

Pursuant to the arrangements made at the last
examination on Thursday last, Constance Wilson,
alias Catherine Taylor, was again brought up from
Horsemonger-lane Gaol, and placed at the bar of
the Lambeth Police-court, before the Hon. G. C.

Norton, for further examination in relation to the
charge of her having caused the death by poison of
Mrs. Soames in October, 1856. This arrangement
had been come to with a view to the completion of

the depositions of Mrs. Nacke and Miss Soames,
the daughters of the deceased lady, so as to enable
them to return to their present domicile in Germany.
Mr. Chipperfield, as on the former occasions,
attended for the prosecution, and Mr. Neale for the
defence. _ . . .

The deposition of Mrs. Nacke having been read
over to that lady she suggested several amendments,
which were accordingly made, and in reply to Mr.
Norton she said, that at the time of her mother's
death she did not suspect the prisoner, but that
after the alleged robbery, which at the time she
(witness) believed to be fictitious, she then had her
suspicions like her uncle, Mr. Barnes, who had
always expressed his suspicions against the prisoner.
Mr. Chipperfield here intimated that there were
a few questions he wished to put to the witness,
and in reply to his interrogatories,
Mrs. Nacke said that on the Friday before her
mother's death the prisoner went out of the house,
and was absent at least two hours. She did not
say what she was going out for. In the course of
the Thursday or Friday, witness did not see her
mother empty the slope. Her mother could not
have done so, as she was too ill to get out of bed.
She saw the prisoner empty them on the Thursday,
for her mother was too ill to move.
Mr. Chipperfield—Now it has been said in this
court that either you or the prisoner told Dr.
Whidborne that your mother had lent a large sum
of money to a man she met in an omnibus, some-
where near the Angel at Islington, and to whom
she was to be married; was it you that made that
statement to the doctor?
Witness—No, sir, nor anything to that effect ;
nor did I say to him that my mother had been
poisoned or anything about poisoning, and if Dr.
Whidborne has heard anything of that kind it was
not from me. The prisoner took possession of my
mother's keys and also all other things belonging
to her. My mother was accustomed to keep
her receipts on a file and her money in a cash-
box. I cannot say how soon after her death it was
that I looked for the cash-box, but when it was
found there was no money in it. On the day after
the death—namely, the Saturday, the keys, to-
gether with my mother's purse, containing ls., were
brought down stairs by me into the front kitchen by
some person that Ido not remember. The cash-box
was generally kept in one of the drawers of a chest
of drawers which stood in the kitchen.
In cross-examination,
witness said she remem-
bered the apartments the prisoner had occupied en
the first floor. They had been occupied by a lady
and gentleman named Haddon before they were let
to the prisoner, and she had no recollection of a
robbery having been committed there before the
priboner came. It was not true that there were du-
plicate keys of the rooms of the house No. 27, but
there were two keys to each of the rooms of the house
No. 13, one for each lodger and one for themselves.
She did remember the prisoner complaining of her
having lost something from her room, and that the
police were called in on that occasion. She had
never heard her mother talk of getting married
again, but she had heard prisoner and her mother
joking together about marriage, and when she spoke
to her mother about it she said, " If there would be
any good to you both (meaning her sister and her-
self) then it might be." There was no particular
person mentioned. At the time of this conversation
her mother spoke in a joking tone. She never kne w
on any occasion of the prisoner baying borrowed
money from her mother. The prisoner paid her
rent regularly. The ten pounds demanded of me
on the promissory note were paid in two payments,
the last about a fortnight after my mother's death,
out of money I had borrowed from my uncle.
In reply to Mr. Norton, the witness said the
promissory note was entirely in her mother's hand-
writing. With respect to the prisoner going out
on the Friday, she had not mentioned it on her
former examination, because she had not been
she
(witness)
asked about it ; but she was sure it was on the
Friday
the prisoner went out, because on that
day
was sitting with her mother,
and she could not recollect who it was who brought
her down the keys to the front kitchen.
The depositions of Miss Sarah Soames were here
read over to that witness, who, in further examina-
tion by Mr. Chipperfield, said that she had written
to her uncle, Mr. Barnes, about this prosecution
immediately after she had read a report in the
newspapers of the vitriol case.
Mr. Norton inquired the meaning of the vitriol
case ?

Mr. Chipperfield replied that it was a case in
which the prisoner had been tried at the Central
Court, for administrating vitriol, or sulphuric acid,
to a Mrs. Farrell, and on that charge she had been
acquitted. The fact had been elicited in the course
of the cross-examination of the witness, and it was
therefore admissable on the present deposition.
Mr. Norton—Certainly.
Examination resumed—Witness only saw the
bottle of medicine. On the Wednesday evening after
the deceased had gone up with the prisoner, the
latter came down stairs again alone in about a
quarter of an hour, and brought down some pork-
pie, which, she said, had been sent to her from the
country. On the Friday preceding her mother's
death the prisoner many times told her that her
mother was very much better; but her mother
said, in the prisoner's hearing, that she did not
feel at all better. She did not say anything to Dr.
Whidborne about her mother having lent £BO to
some man she met, nor did she ever say anything
to him about her mother having taken poison. She
never saw anything in the manner of her mother to
suspect that she wished to destroy herself. On the
contrary, on the Thursday her mother told her to
mend her petticoat in order that it might be ready
for her use when she got better.
The depositions were here signed by the two
witnesses, who were respectively bound over on
pain of imprisonment to appear and give evidence
against the prisoner, on the charge of wilful murder,
at the sessions of the Central Criminal Court, to be
holden on Monday, the 22d of September next- ,
Mr. Neale complained of the absence of medical
evidence, without which there was no case for com-
mittal.
Would
Mr. Chipperfield said the medical evidence wo
be supplied at the next examination, for which pur-
pose he asked for a further remand.
he
Mr. Norton granted the application, and at t
same time intimated that at the close of the case ne
should certainly commit the prisoner for trial.