The Sun.
London, England, 1840-05-07 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY, MAY 7, 1840.

very much concerned. Ido not know whether or not
the street door was fastened when I went to bed. I
weet to bed about 10. His Lordship dined at home
about 7, and went to bed about 1-2 or half past.
When I gut do vn stairs the man-servant was up and
dressed except his coat. I am generally up first. When
I went down I knocked at his door, and he answered.
It is his place to fasten the front door. The door is
usually bolted, chained, and double locked. There is
a latch. I believe the key is hanging in the pantry.
There is a door forced open, but I did not go further than
the dining-room. The strect•door was not fasteacd but
by only one lock. I had the care of the napkins an I
the linen. There was a dirty napkin, that his Lord-
ship used at dinner, which 11,2. s found in the pan-
try. I don't know what property is missing.
I have resided with his Lordship nearly three years.
The lock of the street-door is, I believe, a common
one—a common latch-key would open it. There was
nothing but the latch on in the morning. I did not
see his Lordship's watch when I went into the room ;
from what I hate heard since I understand it is gone.
When I went afterwards into the room, I saw that all
the rings his Lordship was in the habit of wearing on
his fingers were gone. They usually lay upon a little
table in the room. I believe a great deal of property
has been taken away. There was a miniature
on the bed. His Lordship used to keep that
miniature at the bottom of his dressing•caec.
I did not see his dressing-ease this morning. I
do not know whether his Lordship kept razors
in the dressing-ease. He had four razors in a
little mahogany box, which lay near the dressing-case.
He was in the habit of shaving himself. I do not
know whether the door was fastened that night or not.
I heard the cook say when she came in that the man
fastened the street door after her. The cook came in before
ten o'clock. I knew the valet was in the house after I
went to bed. His Lordship was in the back drawing-
room, and rung his bell ; and as I was going up stairs
to bed, I met the man upon the stairs. He was on
good terms with his master. He was only five weeks
in his service. He was not a man of a gloomy tem-
per. He did not speak English very well. never
heard that he and his master had any quarrel. I had
no reason to believe but that his Lordship was per-
fectly satisfied with him. The valet was not about to
leave. He seemed satisfied with his place. The
valet had a visitor last night—a man who
took tea with him. The visitor was an Englishman.
1 never saw him but once before, I don't know him—he
lef;, about halt-past five, or a quarter to six o'clock.
He had been at the house once before. When he left
about half-past five or quarter before six o'clock, the
valet went with him as for as his Lordship's stables. I
understood that he was a servant, but had been out of
place, as the valet told me, for twelve months. 1 think
he was at his Lordship's house about a fortnight
since along with the valet. No person but the
butler over the way was sent for, with the excep-
tion of the police, till Mr. William Russell sent for the
late valet. I have seen the place that was broken
open. Any person could easily get in through the
back area. Ido not know whether the deceased had
received any money lately from the Bank, or whether
he had much in the House. As I said before, his
Lordship was at home early to dinner, and did not go
out afterwards.

By a Juror.—When the man-servant went down
stairs he said, " We have been robbed," and when he
went up to his Lordship's bed-room he said, "Dear me,
his Lordship's murdered." They had taken the cook's
work-box out of a cupboard, and placed it on a table ;
she has not missed any thing but the thimble.
The CORONER here said that he was not aware that
any suspicion attached to any particular person, but, at
the same time, it might he as well to hear the evidence
of the police before the valet was examined.
John Tedman, Inspector of the D division was then
' sworn and examined. He said, about a quarter past
seven this morning, a gentleman's servant called at the
station-house, and I proceeded to Lord William Rus-
sell's residence. I first examined the bottom part of
the house. I found the valet sitting in a little room
adjoining the kitchen. The two women servants were
close by in the passage. I asked them which way it
was likely a person could get into the house. One of
the women, I think her name is Arnold, showed me the
door which leads to the area at the back of the house.
There were some bruises and marks on the door and
door-posts. It was difficult to say whether they were done
inside or out. The marks were at if an effort had
been made to open the door with some blunt
instrument. A part of the bolt was lying down inside
the door on the floor. 'rho bottom bolt was apparently
not fastened at all. It was a very temporary fastening,
and a good push would almost knock the bolt off. I
then looked round the walls of the area, but could not
see the slightest merles of any person having come in
that way. I examined the walls at the back of the
stables and the yard, and there was not the slightest
scratch upon either of them or marks of any kind. I
then requested the servants to accompany me up stairs
and show me where the body lay. We all went to the
room, where I found the bed curtains about
half drawn. One of the shutters of the
window was broken. I opened them, removed the
cloth from the head of the deceased. I pulled down
the clothes of the bed a short distance when I found a
great quantity of blood in the middle of the bed. The
blood was running from a large gash in the throat, which
was apparently from ear to ear. I asked the servants if
a medical man had been sent for, and when I was told
that there had not, I said they had better go for one.
The gentleman who usually attended the deceased soon
arrived. On the bed I found a miniature of a lady, a
small box, and a purse. There was no money in
the purse. Shortly afterwards Mr. Commissioner
Mayne came, and requested the doctor to exa-
mine the body more closely, and upon doing so
he saw that the thumb of the right hand was cut.
There was a great quantity of property in the room--
some disturbed and some not ; five gold rings in a box,
three gold-topped canes ; a quantity of silver ornaments.
All the articles in the dressing-case are silver, and arc
there now. I asked the man to assist me, and he fell
back in a chair, and said, " This is a shocking job ;
shall lose my place and character." I examined every
room in the house. In the bottom of the house I found
the drawers in every room partly open, and the papers
disturbed. In the front parlour there were some silver
and plated articles laid on the floor. In the entrance
hall, behind the door, there was a large new cloth
cloak nicely packed up, a small box lying on the top of it,
and in a bundle close by there was a silver dish cover,
an opera-glass, gold mounted, a gold pencil-case, a
toothpick, and a silver thimsle. I asked the man servant
how he found the door, and lie said he found the chain
down and bolt drawn. He said he bad fastened it by
the latch. The key was inside. The latch kept the
door to. I have since searched the whole of the ser-
vant's rooms, and found in the valet's box this purse,
containing a 51. note, marked, and six sovereigns. (The
purse, note, and sovereigns were then produced.) I
asked the valet where he got the note from ? He said
he gave five sovereigns to Lord W. Russell for it some
time ago. There is one thing I omitted : when I was
up stairs examining the body, I asked the valet if Lord
William Russell used to keep much money about him ?
He said he saw a 51. note and a 10/. note with him
yeeterday. He said they should be in their usual place,
in a small box at the head of the bed. The valet looked
in the box, and said " No, it's gone, and also
his gold watch." I also saw in the bed-room a dress-
ing-case, which had been broken open from behind,
and some of the rings taken out. The valet said some
had been taken. He appeared very much concerned
during the day, and has been frequently drinking
water. He is about twenty-five or twenty-six years old.
I saw no marks of blood on any of the servants, or on
any of the furniture or linen. I searched very care-
, fully to try and find any instrument with which the
wound might have been inflicted ; we had the water-
closets taken up by the direction of Mr. Commissioner
Mayne, but found nothing. My opinion is, that the
marks on the back door were done from the inside.
Anybody wanting to force it might have done it with a
good push, without violence. The marks appear
to have been rcetntly made. I examined all the
gutters in the back part of the premises, on to where a
new coach factory is building, but could see no marks
1 whatever.

By a Juror—The valet told me that some of the
rings were gone, but he did not tell me how many. I
believe Mr Beresford, the inspector, took a list from
the valet of the articles he thought were lost. The
street-door, was in that situation that any person could
let themselves in with a latch key.
By another Juror—ls it not your duty, when you re-
ceive information that a party is murdered, instantly,
upon entering the house, to go to the room where the
body is lying ?
Witne:fs—lt certainly is ; but as I saw some of the
servants below, I thought it better to make inquiry,
but that did not occupy me more than a minute or two.
Mr. Beresford, an inspector of the C division was
next calied in and eXamined. He said, from the in-
formation I received at the Vining-street station,
of there having been a murder in Norfolk-
street, I went this morning to the house of
Lord William Russell, where I found the last
witness. This was shortly after eight o'clock, I went
with the last witness up stairs into the room where the
body was lying. I have heard the evidence of the last
witness, and it is correct in all its parts. I went par.
titularly to the back of the house, but could net trace
the marks of any person having obtained an entrance
that way. I then went up stairs, and took a list from
the valet of the articles stolen. The dressing-case up
stairs was broken open, but nothing gone. The list of
articles is—two plain gold rings ; one ditto, set with
turquoise ; one gold repeating watch, with three gold
seals—one of stone, with the Russell arms on. After-
wards, he told me there were three pins, but he could
not give me any description of them ; but that they
were stones, and one was a blue stone.
This was all there was missing at that time.
Then from his own pantry the articles of plate used at
dinner the night before were gone—five table-spoon!,
three dessert ditto, four silver forks, and two tea-spoons.
I searched all the three servants boxes, and found in
the valet's box a middling-sized chisel. I fitted it to