The Sun.
London, England, 1853-11-04 00:00:00

DREADFUL MURDER IN BUCKS.

The picturesque parish of Burnham, situate at the
southern extremity of the county of Bucks, within about
four miles of 'Windsor, has been the scene of an appaling
and mysterious tragedy within the last few days. The
victim of the barbarous act is a young woman named
Mary Ana Sturgeon, whose friends reside in Suffolk,
but who had been living for some years as a domestic
servant in the family of Mr. Bailey, at Britwell Farm,
previous to her taking the situation of housekeeper to
Mr. Ralph Willis Goodwin, of the Burnham Abbey
Farm, about three months ago. On Wednesday an in-
quiry was opened before Mr. John Charsley, coroner
for Bucks, at the Mile-house on the Colnbrook-road,
and adjourned for the production of further evidence.
According to the testimony already taken, it appears
that Mr. Goodwin, who is a highly-respectable young
man of the class of gentleman farmers, is unmarried,
and that his household consisted of the deceased and a
groom named Moses Attow. In the farmyard there is
a cottage occupied by John Bunce, the groundkeeper,
who lodges in his house several labourers employed on
the farm. In the evening of Tuesday, Mr. Goodwin
left his home soon after 6 o'clock, on a visit to a neigh-
bour, and returned about half-past 11. During Mr.
Goodwin's absence deceased called at the cottage of
Bunce, where she remained until about 9 o'clock,
when she returned to the house, for the purpose as
she said, of preparing the supper for the groom. The
groom states that he was served with his supper by the
deceased, and that he soon afterwards went to bed. The
farmhouse, it should be stated, is a modern and conve-
nient dwelling, built some years ago on the site of the
ancient Abbey of Burnham by the late Mr. John
Pocock, a part of whose large estate it formed. The
kitchen in which the groom had his supper is separated
from the other part of the house, at night, by a door,
which he says was locked on Tuesday night by the
deceased, the groom himself sleeping in a small chamber
approached by a ladder from the kitchen. He further
says, that when he had been in bed some time he
was aroused by a noise as of some one falling down,
and he thereupon got up, and proceeded to the cot-
tage of Bunce, who was partly dressed, with the
intention of looking round the yard, as he feared
something was the matter with one of the colts. This
proved to be the case ; and, after the animal had been
attended to, Bunce and Attow went round the yard,
but could observe nothing wrong. At half-past eleven
Mr. Goodwin came home, and Attow took his horse as
usual. Letting himself into the house by a latch-key,
Mr. Goodwin was surprised not to find his candle burn-
ing, as was customary, and on walking along the passage
upstairs, after be had provided himself with a light, he
discovered on the floor a human tooth and hairpin.
He also perceived a dense mass of smoke and a strong
smell of burning, both of which appeared to proceed
from the bedroom of the deceased, at the further end
of the passage. Calling Bunce and Attow to his as-
sistance, he went to the housekeeper's room, and there
a horrifying sight presented itself. The bedroom is pro-
vided with a fireplace, and, in contemplation of a visit
from some relatives, Mr. Goodwin had ordered fires to
be lighted in that and the other chamber. When the
door was opened, and objects could be distinguished
through the smoke, the body of the unfortunate woman
was found lying with her head near the mantelpiece, her
legs on the hearthrug, in the direction of the bedstead,
and on her legs and the lower part of her body was a
mass of fire still burning furiously, arid consuming the
flesh of the deceased ! A dressing table and a quantity
of linen had been used as fuel. The fire had burnt
through the floor of the chamber, and was already con-
suming the joists. Had Mr. Godwin's return been de-
layed one half-hour the house would have been on fire,
past redemption.
On examining the body of the deceased it was found
that both legs had been burnt off nearly close to the
trunk, from which they were completely separated. The
head and upper part of the body were not injured by
the fire, but exhibited marks of great violence. One of
the teeth was missing—the tooth found by Mr. Goodwin
in the passage. The head was injured as if by some
blunt instrument. Near the head of deceased was a
large pool of blood, and on the door of her apartment
and on the handrail of the staircase there were marks of
blood. When the reporter visited the room on Thurs-
day the remains of the deceased had been removed, buc,
the apartment was left as it appeared when the fire
was got under. It was indeed a sickening and heart-
rending sight, and the smell of the roasted human flesh
was quite apparent.

.
That the deceased was foully murdered downstairs, aid
her body then taken and set fire to in her bedroom, is the
general belief, but no distinct clue has yet been obtained
to the guilty parties. Suspicion at first rested on the
groom, but the result of the inquiry, so far as it has
proceeded at present, tends to establish his innocence.
At first it was believed that nothing had been stolen
from the house, and the absence of plunder rendered the
barbarous deed still more mysterious ; but yesterday
Mr. Goodwin discovered that some valuable rings, a
gold pencilcase, and other articles, were taken from his
bedroom.