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

ALLEGED MURDER 71IR0UGH THE

lIIISCONDUCT OF A JYIFE.

An inquiry, which lasted several hours, was
opened on Saturday last in the surgeons' consulting
room at St. Thomas's temporary hospital, Surrey
Gardens, by -William Carter, Esq., coroner for East
Surrey, relative to the death of Thomas Searle, 50,
a sawyer, whom it was alleged was killed by a man
named Pearce, in consequence of an improper inti-

macy between deceased and the wife of the man
Pearce.

The learned Coroner, in opening the case, said he
trusted the jury would pay the most particular at-
tention to the evidence ; for if the information he
had received was correct, the deceased had died from
some fearful injuries inflicted upon him by another
man. The case would assume a most serious aspects
but whether it would amount to murder, man-
laughter, or justifiable homicide, it was impossible
to judge.
Sarah Cooper, sister of the male accident ward,
deposed that when the deceased was admitted into
the hospital, she noticed that he had two frightful
wounds on the head. Several of his ribs were also
broken, and his left ankle badly sprained. De-
ceased was seen by several medical gentlemen, but
he sank and died on Tuesday night. His dying
deposition was not taken by any magistrate.
Elizabeth West, the daughter of deceased, said
she went to see him in the hospital, and when he
became sensible he told her he had been dreadfully
used at a house where he had gone to see a person.
He did not say whether it was a man or a woman
he went to see.

Anna Wheatley, a single woman, deposed that
she lived at 12, Wood's-buildings, East-street,
Walworth. A man named Pearce, his wife, and
three children, occupied a room upstairs. The man
constantly lived there, but the woman would stop
away for several days and nights at a time. On
Saturday night she noticed one of the children go
out for some beer, and when the child returned she
heard voices in Pearce's room. The voices were
those of Mrs. Pearce, the deceased, and the woman's
husband. Directly afterwards there was a heavy
fall on the floor above, and a noise as if the table
had been turned over with some crockery on it.
Mrs. Pearce then ran to the top of the stairs, and
called out " For God's sake send for a policeman for
he is chopping his brains out." The woman Pearce
went down in the passage in great alarm. The
next witness heard was as if a heavy body were
being dragged along the landing and down some
stairs, and the next instant the deceased pitched
head foremost down the whole flight. Deceased
seemed as if he was thrown down, She noticed
that the deceased had two wounds on the forehead,
and he was smothered in blood. Witness went up
into Pearce's room and found a large quantity of
blood on the floor, and the walls were also be-
spattered with blood.

By the Coroner—Did not notice at that time any
chopper or hatchet. When Mrs. Pearce saw deceased
lying in the passage she said " 0 ! my poor Tom,"
and went up and held his head. The woman
Pearce afterwards said to witness, " This is all my
fault. I lived with him (deceased) for three months,
and this is the end of it. Pearce was a good hus-
baud to me."
Mr. Henry Green, surgeon, said he was called in
to see the deceased, and found him lying
in the
passage of Wood's-buildings, covered with blood.
,'There were two severe lacerated wounds on the fore-