The Sun.
London, England, 1841-01-30 00:00:00

DREADFUL

INQUEST ON THE BODY.

Tile coroner's inquest on the body of Mrs. Shedden was
held on Wednesday morning, at eleven o'clock, and did
not close until half-past six, when the Jury returned a ver-
dict of " Wilful murder against Charles Rudge," a lad
who was apprehended on the night of the murder on sus-
picion. It was held at the Anchor Inn, near the house of
Mr. Shedden.

The first witness called was the husband of the deceased,
Alexander Shedden. The witness stated the circum-
stances of his going to Bristol on the day of the murder,
as we stated them yesterday. Some things had been
taken. Mrs. Shedden was in the habit of fastening the
front door when be (Mr. Shedden) went out, as she had
frequently expressed a fear that seme harm would come
to them in this out-of-the-way place. The witness ex-
plained, in refereace to a dispute which he had mentioned,
that he (the prisoner) had kept some money which was
given him to pay for some pipes, and having lent Mr. Shed-
den a book, and made application to have the bock re-
turned (he having in the meantime been forbidden the
house, on account of misconduct, and their missing several
little things), Mr. Shedden refused to return the book un-
less he returned the money he had kept, and that he had
again applied for the book with the same result, and he left
the house, muttering curses, and swearing that he would
have the book. The prisoner was employed by him occa-
sionally in working in the garden, and other cdd jobs.
When the witness left him hie wife was employed in making
a machine to sweep the kitchen chimney, as it was too
narrow to allow a boy going up, but the brush did not ap-
pear to have been used. [At this time the prisoner tainted,
and fell into a fit, which continued for about ten minutes.]
Mr. Shedden, in continuation, stated that the candle was
in the same state as when he left the house, and bore no
appearance of basing been lighted. When the candle
was lighted I was surprised to find the front room shutters
were fastened, which was also the case with the kitchen
shutters. I was surprised, because Mrs. Shedden was not
in the habit of shutting the shutters until the last glimpse
of light. :lad disappeared, as she was very saving of her
candle, and the kitchen shutters were not nsnelly closed
until ehe went to bed. Besides this, the leFtrning •shich
held the pet hur shutters up to the ceiling hai been forcibly
torn down, as if they had been shut by a stranger. It was
more than a month before this since the prisoner had been
employed by me.
Mr. Bell, the surgeon, who examined the body, thought
all the blows were inflicted by the same instrument, such
as a hammer ; but all the wounds on the right side were
contused, and all on the left incised, from which he in-
fercd that the hammer must have had a cutting side to it,
which must have been a large one. Several of the wounds
were sufficient to cause death. The body was quite cold
and rigid, and she must have been dead some hours. The
blood on the wall must have been caused by a second blow
inflicted un the bleeding surface. It is probable that
Mrs. Shedden was sitting in her chair by the fireside when
the blows were inflicted ; should suppose from the position
of the arms that the deceased had struggled.
Wiliiam Furze, a boy about sixteen, saw Charles Rudge
about eleven o'clock on Monday—( From the prisoner—
" It's no such a thing, you did not")—going up the path.
I was in the field on the side of the hedge sowing wheat.
I saw him again about three o'clock go down the road.
Rudge looked very hard at me; I am quite sure it was him.
The prisoner asked the witness if he did not say at Mrs.
Shedden's that he saw him (Rudge) go down the road at
four o'clock. The witness replied, that he said at that
time it was between three and four, but he had no watch.
He thinks now it was a little after three o'clock.
William Butt, assistant overseer of Horfielo, deposed to
his having assisted in apprehending the prisoner, and also
to the conversation which took place on the occasion, the
material point in which was, that the witness was quite
positive of the prisoner having first mentioned the name of
Mrs Shedden in connection with the murder. On coming
down stairs the prisoner lid mentioned the name of
Mrs. Shedder). I said, " Who said anything about Mrs.
Shedder. ?" and the prisoner said, " Some of you."
The prisoner here said he wished to put a question to
the witness, and entered into en explanation as to the way •
in which Mrs. Shedden's name was first introduced, which
the prisoner said was by cne of the policemen in answer to
his mother, who asked what seas the matter ? The police-
man said, " Why, Mrs. Shedden has been murdered at
llorfield," and he (the prisoner) said, " Good God I Mrs.
Shedden ! 111 go with you, then, for I declare to God and
man I am innocent."

Henry Lewis, policeman, deposed to the apprehension of
the prisoner, and also to the prisoner having been the first
to mention the name of Mrs. Shedden, as stated by Butt ;
and also stated that the prisoner said, when he was con-
fronted with the body, that he was innocent, but he had
helped Mrs. Shedden to shake the carpets, but that he
left about twelve o'clock. The prisoner was taken to the
station-house and searched, but nothing particular was
found on his person but two duplicates and a purse. His
clothes were examined, and on his trousers and boots
marks of what appeared to be blood were found.—(The
clothes were here produced and shown to the jurors ]
The prisoner said when he was on the way to Mr. Lar-
cham's office, " Well, they shan't have the hanging of me,
for I will make away with myself;" and he afterwards ex-
pressed a wish to see the Rev. Mr. Clifford in his cell, as
he wanted to communicate something which he was to
write in his book, but not to tell any one until he (the
prisoner) was dead, and then it was to be revealed to his
mother ; but the prisoner said it was not anything about
the murder or any bloodshed.
Mr. Bell was recalled and examined as to the appear-
ances on the boots and trousers of the prisoner, and gay,.
it as his opinion that they were marks of blood.
W. Ilerap,th, Esq., was called to examine the boots
and trousers of the prisoner, and pronounced that there
were four spots of blood on the right leg of the trousers
and one on the string of the boot, and that they were
recent.
Mary Nelson, a beershop-keeper, residing near the pri-
soner's father, deposed to the prisoner having drunk a half
pint of Burton ale at her house at ten minutes before one
o'clock on Monday.
. _

This closed the evidence, and the Coroner, having cau-
tioned the prir•cner, asked him if he had any statement to
make; but the prisoner, acting under the advice at his
father, declined making any statement. The Coroner
then ordered the room to be cleared, and proceeded to
read ever the e:idence and to sum up to the Jury. Ver-
dict of " Wilful Murder against Charles Rudge."
On hearing the verdict the prisoner fainted; he reco.
vered in a few minutes, and was then removed in custody,
prote3ting his innocence to the last.

The Marchioness of Lansdowne and Lady Louisa
Fitzmauricc will leave Bowood Park, Wilts, on Monday
next, for Lan,chwne Howe, for the sers.n.
THE SCHOOLMASTER WANTED AT HOME
Thursday, at an inquest held before Mr. Wakley, M. P.,
the verdict having been returned, the Coroner said that
the Middlesex Magistrates were so food of Coroners'
Juries that they now required all Christian names to be
written in full on the inquisition paper by the Jurymen.
There was an old saying that " the schoolmaster
was abroad," but he thought that he was very much
" wanted at home," for some persons could not write
at all, and at an inquest he had recently held
only five Jurymen out of thirteen could do so. Mr.
Wakley, after these observations, signed his own name,
and handed the paper to the Jury. Seeing that one gen.
tleman detained it longer than he thought necessary, he
asked him the reason, when the Juryman exclaimed,
" Dang it, I've done it at last ; but I've been so long used
to sign my name, which is I3enj tmio, ' Ben,' that I forgot
how to go through with it." All the Jurymen having
signed, the Coroner, on looking
over the names, dis-
ctavcred ti:t the person izlio had'becn si puzzled had, as
he said, "done it" at last by writing " Bcnyarnian."