The Sun.
London, England, 1847-07-23 00:00:00

of the murdered man. On the morning of the 12th, it
would appear that Mr. Wraith had gone to speak with
one of hie nephews, Joshua Green, a young lad, who
lived a short distance off with his mother. Ho went for
the purpose of telling the lad to come to his (Wraith's)
house, to help to pick some stones. The boy came, but
later than he had intended, on account of a heavy shower
of rain, On arriving at th• house, which he did soon
after the usual dinner time, he knocked, but received no
answer, and found all fast, and finally, from the appear-
ances of the place, which he would describe, he went
away and gave the alarm to his mother, which imme-
diately led to the discovery that the whole family had
been murdered only a very short time before. The ser-
vant was found lying on her back near to the door of the
kitchen which opened into the yard, and her body was
still warm. Mrs. Wraith's body was lying in the same
position in the passage, and near to the front door.
Mr. Wraith's also in the same position in the parlour,
where the dinner things remained on the table. The
injuries sustained by all three of the unfortunate people
were of such a kind that, in the opinion of the medical
men, not one of the three could have committed sui-
cide, and that of itself would induce the supposition that
neither of the three could have participated in either of
the murders. The house had been found quite fast
all round, the key of the outer door of the kitchen, as
before mentioned, being subsequently found in the well.
Michael M'Cabe, now one of the witnesses, had been ap-
prehended on the afternoon of the same day. That man
lived at a spot called High-town, three miles from Mr.
Wraith's. He was a hawker by trade, dealt in glass and
earthenware, and bought old rags and bones. The pri-
soner Patrick Reid also lived near, along with his father
and mother, at Daw Green, about two miles from
Wraith's house. He was of the same calling as M`Cabe.
going about with a basket and hawking pots for sale.
The well had been searched on the 19th of the same
month. It was then pumped dry, being full of water up
to about two feet of the top, and in it were found the
key of the kitchen door, along with a soldering iron,
which latter would be shown to have belonged to the
prisoner, or his father, and to have been taken away
from the house of a neighbour of the name of Kilty, only
the night before the murders were committed; and on
that key and that iron there were still, on the 19th, al-
though they had been in the water, such indications as
a scientific chemist would describe as being those of
blood. Some evidence would also be offered to prove
the appearance of blood upon a part of the clothes of
the two men, M'Cabe and the prisoner. Mr. Bliss
then proceeded, after a very particular description
of various localities, and their relative' distances
in the neighbourhood, to trace the steps of those
two persons, M`Cabe and the prisoner, from place
to place, during a period of several hours, on the morn-
ing of the 12th, up to and subsequent to the time of the
murders. M'Cabe had been seen by several persons at
different spots, very near to Mr. Wraith's, and the pri
sower also, and the two, either just before or just after
the time when the crime must have been committed,
were seen within a few yards of each other, and that
within a few yards of Mr. Wraith's house. Near that
house there was a public-house, kept by a man named
Chadwick, called the Shoulder of Mutton, and the two
were both seen at that house, the one coming in about
ten minutes after the other had left. To all appearances
the two men were at that time going from house to
house in their ordinary occupations as hawkers. Near
about the time when they were both seen near Mr.
Wraith's, a witness had heard a loud shout or cry to
proceed from the direction of Wraith's. Reid was at
first seen with a cap on, and he was then going towards
Mr. Wraith's. Afterwards, when going in an opposite
direction, he was wearing a hat; and he was then pro-
ceedine• on the way towards his own house. When be-
fore the magistrate, Reid had made a statement, in which
he said that he had, about the hour in question,
called at Mr. Wraith's house with his basket, but
having knocked, and finding the door fast, and no
one to answer his knock, he left, and went away.
He further stated, that afterwards, as he went to-
wards Mirfield Church, he came in company with " ti
woman," and a witness would state that he was with
a woman there, but that she was the prisoner's °viz
mother. M•Cabe's evidence, if credited, was important
as affecting the prisoner, because ho also said that he
had called at Mr. Wraith's about the same time, knocked
at the door, at first got no answer, but then heard foot
steps at the door ; and the door being then opened a
few inches, a man looked out at him for a short time,
and M.Cabe said that that man was the prisoner at the
bar. He (L'l'Cabe) said that something on the floor of
the kitchen, just near the door, attracted his attention.
He looked down and saw something white, sprinkled
with blood ; and he added, that the prisoner, perceiving
that he could see that, then shut the door. M'Cabe at
that time heard a moaning noise within the door. He
asked if they " wanted any pots" to which answer was
made from within, in a low voice, " No, sir." M`Cabe
then went away. The prisoner, it would seem, had for-
merly been on very good terms with the family at Mr.
Wraith's, but some time ago he had a quarrel with
Caroline Ellis, the servant, respecting a tea-caddy. He
charged her with having taken one from his basket, and
the dispute between them ended in Mr. Wraith making
him quit the premises, since which he had been heard to
say that he would be revenged for it, and, speaking of
the servant, that he would " serve her out." Mr. Noble,
the governor of the gaol, would repeat to the jury a
statement made by the prisoner since his committal.
The jury, Mr. Bliss concluded by saying, would have to
consider the case in two points of view : to say if the
evidence made out the charge, supported as it was by
what M'Cabe would say ; and, if they doubted his
veracity, to say if it were not sufficiently established by
the facts spoken to by the other witnesses.
The first witness, Mr. Charles Clapham, was ex-
amined merely upon the plans of the premises of Mr.
Wraith, distances, &c.
Joshua Green, the lad mentioned by Mr. Bliss, said
that Mr. Wraith, for whom the witness worked, came
to him about half-past eleven on the morning of the
12th of May, desiring him to come to help gather some
stones. He came to the house of witness's father, at
Cripplegate, opposite to a public house called the King's
Head. Went accordingly at half-past one. Usually
went at one, but was then prevented going at that
time by a shower of rain. Went then to the kitchen
door, which was fast. Knocked and kicked at the door,
but no answer, and no noise, except that he could hear
the " tic-tac" of the clock. Stopped at the door five mi-
nutes or so, and then went to the kitchen window, the
shutters of which were about four inches open only, and
the sash closed. On looking through he could just see
something white laid on the floor, but could not tell
what it was. He then went round into the garden in
front of the house. The blinds of the room in which
the family dined were closed, and he could not see into
the room. At the front door he saw blood running out
under the door in "blobs" (running out "in lumps like.")
It ran on the step. Then ran home and told his mother,
in two or three minutes after seeing this.
John M`Kennall, Thomas Green (brother of Joshua),
Mr. Henry J. Watkinson, and Mr. Uriah Bradbury, the
two latter surgeons of Mirfield, were then examined as
to the particular appearance of the house, and of the
bodies of the three murdered persons. Mr. Watkinson
detailed at length the result of his examination of the
bodies. The throats of all three had been cut in the
most dreadful manner, and in the instance of Mr.
Wraith, it appeared that a blunter instrument had at
first been tried, and then a sharper one used for the
purpose. One of Mr. Wraith's razors was found lying
on his breast, as he lay on the floor. His pockets were
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found some pieces of pie crust, or bread, which they would
seem to have been recently eating at their dinner, and
also some of their teeth, which latter had evidently been
knocked out by the blows inflicted by the murderer's
hand. There was a poker in the parlour, and some of
the injuries might have been done by that, and many of
them by such as instrument as the soldering iron now
produced, and found in the well. There were two
drawers opened in the parlour, which appeared to have
been rifled of a part of their contents. The table-cloth
and a n Tkin upon it were spotted with blood, and a
silver pint drinking cup, found on the table, also
had blood upon it. It contained some beer, and ap-
parently there was blood mixed with the beer, blood on
the handle, and running down the sides of the cup, as
if the murderer had taken up the cup to drink with a
bloody hand. Mrs. Wraith's wedding-ring had been
taken off her firger. The bones of one of her arms were
broken, and the female servant also had a broken arm.
From the evidence of these witnesses the scene of the
murder appears to have presented one of the most dread-
ful sights that can be imagined. It was supposed that
the girl had, at the moment of attack, been engaged in
cleaning the kitchen fender, which was found lying at
some distance from the fireplace, with a small plate or
saucer on it containing some sand.
Mr. Watkinson said that on the body of the girl there
was one garter, an elastic garter of a brown colour. He,
on the Saturday (the 15th), went with the constables to
Mrs. M'Cabe's, and there, in a box, they found a piece of
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ing. On the 14th took the prisoner into custody. Told
him he was suspected of this murder, and that informa-
tion had been given of his being seen near the house of
Wraith. Reid then said, " Well, I was there about the
time you mention with my basket, selling things. I
knocked at the door, but no one answered, and I walked
on." Being asked if he chose to say where he then
went, he proceeded to tell of his going forward and
meeting with " a woman." Asked what dress he had on
on the 12th? He replied, the same he then wore, which
the witness then took off him.
Cross-examined—There is a reward offered for a con-
viction of the offender in this case. Witness was twice
with M`Cabe, in York Castle, yesterday (Sunday) the
18th of July. The first time, at noon, he made a
statement. Had no conversation with him the second
time, at about two o'clock ; but believed the statement
he made the second time enlarged the first. Witness
had no doubt but M`Cabe's stockings had been washed,
when they were fund so wet as before stated.
Mr. Sergeant WILKINS now submitted that M`Cabe
should be called at once, before he closed his examination
of arr. Green, in order to see how far Mr. Green might
controvert the statements of M'Cabe.
His LORDSHIP thought that course would be proper,
and, therefore,
Michael M'Cabe being put into the box, he stated,
on examination in chief, that he was an Irishman, and
had come to England when "at the breast." He was
now about thirty-five years of age. On the 12th of
May last was living at Hightown. Is a married man,
and had lived in the same neighbourhood fur about five
years. Had been from six to twelve times in all at Mr.
Wraith's, hawking pots. Before the 12th of May, how-
ever, he had not been there for twelve months. On his
next elevi
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