The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-18 00:00:00

THE MURDERS AT MIRFIELD.

APPREHENSION OF ANOTHER OF THE SUPPOSED MUR-
DERERS. —HUDDERSFIELD, FRIDAY.—The murders of Mr.
Wraith, his %% ife, and servant girl. at the village of Mirfield,
which are almost unequalled in England's calendar of crimethrill.
for atrocity and cruelty, have produced the mort4
sensation throughout the county. The unfortunate creatures
sacrificed were (excepting the servant girl) between seventy
and eighty years of age. They were much respected, being
inhabited.
and inoffensive people. The house which they
and where the horrid crime was perpetrated, stands in a
somewhat secluded spot, about one hundred and fifty yards
from the public road, and no other building near for
some two hundred yards. Mr. Wraith is known to have
possessed a considerable sum of money in the house,
which cannot now be found, leaving no doubt that plunder
was the object of the murderers, for it is pretty evident that
more than one was engaged in the bloody affair. The hor-
rible appearance of the sufferers can never be effaced from
the memory of those who saw them. The skull of each was
beaten to pieces, the jaws driven in, throats cut, the arms of
the two females fractured, and the fingers broken to pieces,
as if the arms and hands had in vain been raised to protect
the head from the fearful blows of the inhuman wretches.
The sight was most horrifying. In places where the bodies
lay were pools of blood, in which the teeth and brains of the
deceased were lying. Amongst the first to enter the house
after the discovery of the murder was Mr. Kennel, the land-
lord of the King's Head, at Mirfield, who states the drawers
and boxes in the house were open and had been ransacked,
and the blinds had been drawn down and pinned together,
to prevent persons looking in. The mother of the poor
servant girl, Caroline Ellis, on hearing of their shocking fate
swooned, and died the following day. On Friday, Mr.
Superintendent Green apprehended an Iris'rman named
Patrick Reid ;who was:seen, in company with M'Cabe (already
in custody), near the house at the time the murder must
have been going on. Marks of blood were found on his
clothes, and the police are in possession of circumstances
which will in a great measure be the means of unravelling
the mystery that at present exists. Both the prisoners are
imprisoned at Dewsbury Lock-up, in charge of four police
constables.

MURDER OF A WOMAN BY HER
HUSBAND AT BIRMINGHAM.
On Friday evening an inquest was held at the Grand
Turk, on Ludgate-hill, on the body of Margaret Leonard,
about 41) years of age, wife of a man named Peter Leonard,
a paper hawker, and residing in Tanter-street, who died in
consequence of injuries received from being thrown down
stairs by her husband, on the morning of Saturday last.
They had for a long time past been in the habit of having
quarrels, which often resulted in blows, one or both being
generally in a state of intoxication; and from the evidence
it will be seen that this was unhappily the cause of the
quarrel in the present instance, which resulted in the death
of the woman. The husband himself was present in custody,
and cross-examined one or two of the witnesses. He did
not appear much concerned as to the result of the investi-
gation ; but when any portion of the evidence was parti-
cularly against him he became agitated, and trembled very
much. The excitement created by the event became very
great in the neighbourhood of Tanter-street, when it was
known that the death of the woman had taken place;
and towards the close of the investigation the room
was crowded by persons anxious to hear the pro-
ceeding. The first witness called was Mary May, wife
of James May, comb-maker, and residing nearly oppo-'
site the house of deceased in Tanter,treet. She
knew the deceased, Margaret Leonard, who, she believed,
was quite well on the morning of Saturday last. About half-
past seven o'clock that morning witness saw deceased and
her husband come home together, and go into the house, both
of them appearing to be intoxicated, as might be inferred
from their staggering walk. On going in they shut the door
after them. Witness heard loud talking between them, the
husband cursing the wife, calling her bad names, and order-
ing her to get up front the floor, where she was lying, to
fetch some coal and make him breakfast. She answered, " I
will, Peter." After this, witness went on with her employ-
ment, and did not hear any more, until the husband himself
came over to her door, about ten minutes past eight, when he
said, " Will you corns over to my house, and help to gat Mar-
garet out of the cellar? for I've shoved her datoevvatele3gr,,ea;lob,uigt
passion is the devil " Witness went oveara
with a neighbour, of which the man
Mrs. Forty, who had immediately,
asked. On
looking towards the cellar, clown the stairs
said his wife had fallen, they found the door shut; but
having got a light, they discovaetred the unfortunate woman
the two lower steps, and her
lying with her legs and feet. o
body stretched outwards, with the head doubled up under
the right shoulder. her face was covered all over with clotted
blood, and there were al so two pools of blood on the cellar
floor. Leonard himself was askedi
iteo
anhedlpdhieer;,,upbusttawirist,nebsu!
lie said, "No, let the dirty
•
with th assistance of Mrs. Forty an anot ier neighbour
who came in, had the deceased removed up stairs, where
they laid her down by thin fire-place, and washed her,
being all this time in an insensible state and speechless,
but groaning heavily, and making a noise; blood was
streaming, also, from both ears. Witness and the other
neighbour
wished to put the deceased into bed, but her
liusband said he would not allow her to go into a bed of his,
and when they wanted to put the pillow below her head he
refused. using words equally indecent with the above. He
was still drunk, but soberer than when he went into the
house. Other evidence proved the determined purpose with
which apparently the prisoner had sought to murder the
unfortunate woman, and his heartless indifference to her
agonies. The jury, after a consultation of about ten mi.
„utes, returned with a verdict finding Peter Leonard Guilty
of" Wilful murder.

NUMEROUS ROBBERIES.—On Saturday information
was received of the following robberies:—From Mr. Hes-
' j‘ethin the Edgware-road, a purse, containing thirteen so-
vereigns ; from the office of the terminus of the railway,
Brightnn, the property of the Brighton Railway Company,
029/. 2s. 4d; from the billy-boy Sarah, lying off the Rose
and Crown-stairs, Shad Thames, the property of William
Wake, a silver watch, No. 951, chain and seals; from Mr.
Goodfellow's, the Waterman's Arms, Lower Shadwell, several
silver spoons, a quantity of tobacco, sugar, and clothes, be-
longing to lodgers; from Mr. Howell's, the Haad-in-hand,
Holborn, 60/. in gold; from the Thatched House Tavern,
9, Red Lion-street, Holborn, a quantity of silver plate and
linen, marked "T. IL I."; from Mr. Brown, of South-
ampton, in a house in Leman's-pond, Southwark, 27 sove-
reigns, six 5/. and four 101. Bank of England notes; and
from Mrs. Gullives, 51, Trafalgar-square, Walworth, 50 so-
vereig-iis and 106. in silver, and a quantity of plate, marked
"S. A. 6."

BIRTHS.
On the 10th inst., at Hillhead House, Pollockshaws, Mrs
Alexander Broadfoot, of a son, who survived only two days.
On the 10th inst., at Park-hill, Frome, the lady of Thomas
E. Marsh, Esq., of a son.
On the 11th inst., at Maida-vale, Paddington, Mrs. George
Flint, of a son.
On the 13th inst., at Sutton-place, Hackney, the lady of
George Blaxland, Esq., of a son.
On the 13th inst., in Bryanston-street, Portman-s4
the wife of J. Humpage, Esq., of a son.
On the 13th inst., in Norfolk-street, Strand, Mrs. Law-
rence Levy, of a daughter.
On the 13th inst., in Manchester-square, Mrs. W. Hakes*
of a son.
On the 13th inst., at Compton Castle, Somerset, the la(1
of George Singer, Esq., of a daughter.

MARRIED.
On the 13th inst., at Dartford, Henry, son of Mr.l'Bl3l
Hubble, Northfleet, to Barbara Kettlewell, second daughter
of the late Mr. James Hards, Dartford.
On the 13th inst., at St. George's, Hanover-square, Mr. C.
T. Wood, of Drury-lane, to Martha, youngest daughter a
Mr. Thomas Coggan, of Fulhan—

DIED.
On the 17th of March, at the Cape of Goed Hope, on board
the Gloriana, Martha Eliza Coster, the wife ot Lieutenant
Coster, 14th Light Dragoons, aged 23.
On the 12th inst., Ann, daughter of the late Bryan Cor-
coran, of Mark-lane, aged 65. of
On the 12th inst., at Herne-hill, Mrs. Simpson, relict
the late T. Simpson, Esq., aged 86.
On the 12th inst. at Brighton, Mary, relict of the late
Manning, Esq., M.P.
On the 13th inst., at Totnee, Devon, J. Blower,

- - _
Leann: Printed and Published by ?SURD° YOUNG, of Ns. /it
Strand, Printer, at The San Office, N 0.112, Strand, In the
of the 13eyoy, .in the Count" of Dilddlesea. hiQudets a"V
1647.