The Sun.
London, England, 1870-06-01 00:00:00

THE DENHAM TRAGEDY.

The adjourned magisterial inquiry, into the circum-
stances connected with the deaths of Emmanuel Marshall,
35, Charlotte, his wife, aged 32, Mary Ann Marshall, his
sister, 30, Mary Marshall, his mother, aged 77, and three
children, Mary, Theresa, and Gertrude, aged respectively
8,6, and 4, was held on Tuesday, within the walls of
the jail of the county town of Aylesbury. Up to Saturday
it had been supposed that the prisoner would be brought
from the jail to Slough. A report became current on
Saturday that in consequence of the great pressure upon
the police on Wednesday last in the endeavour of
the mob to get at and maltreat the accused,
it would not be deemed prudent to give them
an opportunity of taking summary vengeance upon him,
but the owners of the brickfields, whose men had turned
out on the last occasion, had tendered themselves to be
B,w, °lll in as special constables at once, and Captain Drake,
the chief constable, assisted by Superintendents
unham, Jervis, and Denson, had made every
arrangement to meet all contingencies. At the
eleventh hour, however, a far greater difficulty arose, the
governor of Aylesbury gaol refusing to part with his
Prisoner. On Friday it would appear that the coroner
sent his warrant down for the safe custody of Jenkins,
.and on Sunday the deputy constable reached Slough and
informed the magistrate that the Clerk of the Peace
for the county of Bucks had advised the governor
of the gaol not to give up two prisoner, and that acting
on that advice the governor uld not allow him to be
brought to Slough, considering that if the prisoner were
rescued or killed he would be held responsible. A council
was immediately held, and we understand Mr. Coleman,
°Dile of the magistrates, went to London and consulted Mr.
-truce upon the matter, but that gentleman de-
caned to interfere. Arrangements were then promptly
made for conveying the witnesses to Aylesbury, and at
eleven o'clock on Tuesday the accused was brought up
before the magistrates of the county. Matters had been
8° quietly conducted that not a person in Aylesbury
secined to know what was going on, and in perfect
quietude the chain of evidence was drawn so tightly
round the accused as to leave him, apparently, no chance
of rebutting it.
There were no less than sixteen witnesses to be
called on Tuesday, several of whom were new, and had
most important evidence to offer. The first of them was
genrY Salter, a carman. who met prisoner at Hanwell.
_
is
witness deposed as follows :—On Saturday, May 21,
was crmiin from Acton toTimbridgo along the turnpike
,r°ad, when t saw the prisoner at Hanwell Asylum close
I° the gates. I was driving my cart and and he overtook
me. He asked me to give him a ride on to Uxbridge, and
T
did so. He sat on a bundle of sacks, and I put him
down at the Green Man at Uxbridge between five and six
in the evening. He rode six miles. As we came along he
he had ga no money, but that he had a brother near
u•
xbridge, who he knew had some, and that he
„__ehould have some of it. I asked him his brother's
`"'''ne, and where he lived, and he said that
7. a question he could not answer. He told me all
without asking, and he further said he should not go
and see him till after dark. He did not say anything
more particular, but that he had been moving about the
country, and
up spent a of money in his time. Another
who got afterlot the prisoner had ridden two miles,
"n° Jenkins spoke to him.
At this point witness was asked to identify the man who
rode with him, and he pointed to a gentleman with sandy
Walskers, sitting at the reporters' table, wholly unlike the
Prisoner. After a long and searching glance round the
ria°lll, witness was stret cng out his finger, when
Prisoner exclaimed " Was it me "
Witness : Yes, itwas you. Beant it you?
The Bench : Is that the man or not ?
Salter : Was he fair or dark ?
Witness : Yes that's the man. I was dazed by the
fight at first and' did not see him. He was dark.
Charles Trevener, of the Bucks police, stationed at
Denham, repeated the evidence given before the coroner,
to meeting the man at three o'clock on Sunday morn-
1-,ng• coming. away- from Denham about half a mile from
Denham, -
Witness afterwards described the finding of the bodies
and of the murderous implements with which the tragedy
had been carried out, the appearance of which covered
With blood and brains, as found, created a thrill of horror
n 1 the court.
Elizabeth Simpson then repeated her account of having
met the prisoner when she was looking for a key on
Sunday morning, the 22nd instant.
John
Smith, coal dealer, Denham turnpike-gate : On
Sunday morning, the 22nd a little before eight, I saw the
passewho was speaking to a woman on tramp. He
d her, came up to me, and pulled a purse out of his
ocket. He said he had been to see his brother, and he
.1:1 set him up in business. He said he had given him £2O and
-7 Bider gave him a watch, and that he was to take care
eit it, and not sell it. He said he should raffle it, and
j'end the money as soon as he could. He shewed me a
watch and chain like this. It had a locket on it then,
,aud dat ten minutes to eight. He said he could not
tell the
stootime by it now he had got it, and he asked me
what time it was. He asked me to buy the watch and
for £2, and I told him I had got watches enough.
e wanted me to go down to Uxbridge to drink
with him, and I would not. He said he'd got plenty of
w°lleY, and pulled a purse out which seemed full. He
id it had £l9 19s. 9d. in it, and he also took silver out
his pocket, but I did not see the gold.
„tClerk (to witness) : Did you notice his clothes?
Witness • Yes The s were cracked across th
'Tren These are them.bootl cannot swear to the clothes.e
hat is the man (pointing to the prisoner).
Sarah Alderman, barmaid, repeated her evidence given
at the inquest.
The Clerk : Would you know the prisoner again ?
Witness : Yes ; that's the man. He gave me a shilling
'or the drink and I gave change to him.
, I
_Prisoner : didn't give you a shilling.
,nlargaret Syms, who keeps a second-hand clothes
„8"°13 in Union-street, Reading, said she had bought a dark
oat and waistcoat (produced) for 4s. 6d. The prisoner
,141„e to her on Tuesday wearing the coat. A man was
him with a waistcoat under his arm. He gave the
name of John Groves, Uxbridge.
J,ab "''ines Woollaison, a smith, deposed that he was lodging
e Oxford Arms, Silver-street, Reading, on Tuesday.
when he was there the prisoner came into the tramps'
kitchen, and asked where the girl was. He said he
Wanted to see a friend. He took a key out of his pocket
and offered it to the woman. She refused it, and said it
'night be thought she wanted to commit a robbery. There
herefour or five present ; nobody would have it. I took
'tom him and threw it into the corner where
rags and bones were. He also shewed us a ticket for a
watch pawned at Uxbridge. He remained four or five
Ours there, until the police came and arrested him. The
Y.,,was like this (key of Marshall's house produced.)
"larriet Wines, who had spoken to the last witness,
corroborated his evidence, she had found the key in the
011,13 board the next day.
rhe Clerk said : You will know that man again ?
ttWitness : Ay I shall know him fast enough, there he
ands. Witness boldly faced prisoner, who for the first
Qtlle dropped his head. Witness pointed out a reporter as
sad,Prisoner ; but subsequently identified Jenkins, who
" Was it me ?"
Elizabeth Simpson saw prisoner leave Marshall's house
thoughtorning of the murder dressed like Marshall. She
it was him. He had a carpetbag.
Prisoner cross-examined the witness, but elicited
nf °thing in his favour. She identified him by his side
aC,e, and thought the scar was bigger.
°lin Smith, coal dealer, of Denham, saw the prisoner a
little before eight on Sunday. He pulled out a purse,
which seemed full of money. He said he had seen his
liven who had set him up in business, and his sister had
'-'Bll nun a watch. He said she told him not to sell
its but he meant to do so as soon as he could.
said his brother had given him twenty pounds.
j`,..11e watch was like that produced. He wanted me to
-1113 r if but I refused. He said the watch was no good to
and wanted me to drink, and pulled out a purse. He
Said he had 19s. 9d. I noticed his clothes. The boots
were cracked across the front like these. I wont swear to
the clothes, but these are the boots.
I.rs. Sarah Alderman, wife of the keeper of the Dog
1170• '
"unek public-house murder,
on th Utat xbridge-road, half a mile
the scene of the , sed that prisoner called
at her house about eight o'clock on the Sunday morning,
• u, on his representing himself to be a traveller, was
fuerved with a pint of beer, for which he tendered a shilling
wittaZinent. Both she and her lodger declined to drink
b f "an- He said he had been drinking wine the night
e-,2re, and did not drink all his beer.
Prisoner : Did I not pay for two pints ?
tness explained that she rew one p
he int of common
phil't:ri and, as prisoner asked for the best, she drew another
li driiik teeootffheerreodnteo. pay for both, saying the lodger could
i;Lsoh ner : Did I pay you out of a shilling ?—Yes.
Prisoner : No, I did not. Did I not chuck two penny
FreB on the table 9—Witness : No, you did not.
ner : I did not. pay you out of a shilling.
Prisoner
: You said you had kept a public-house.
itypsoner : I have kept a public-house.
sho,rar,* Margaret Lyons, keeper of a second-band clothes
co -"eading, said that she bought the coat and waist-
4,aee t produced on Tuesday, the 24th, at three o'clock in
t':;"‘ _ afternoon. The prisoner came into the shop with a
on named Woodison. Prisoner was wearing the black
under his produced, and Woodison had the waistcoat
wannhis arm and under his coat. Prisoner said he
Wit7t7e" a 81°P. Being told they had not any, he asked
egg to buy the coat and waistcoat for eight shillings.
siXsaid she could not give that, but would give four
hi'erge. He said, " Another sixpence," and she gave it
-um; She, asked his name. He said " John Groves, from
b ridge." About an hour afterwards Superintendent
unhani
which
_ua.me, and she gave him the coat and waistcoat
james".W.lad purchased of the printer.
as lod • oodison : lam a smith living at Reading. I
day, thrg at the Oxford Arms, Silver-street, on Tues-
-12 for
_,?4th of May. When I went in about about hay-past
I her, gunner I saw the prisoner there., in the kitchen.
witb,..l never seen him before. He got into conversation
gaol ,r„ae• Re asked me if I would show him where the
would aS, as he wanted to see some one there, and he
from stand some beer. I said, " Yes." He took a key
wahi° Pocket and offered it to a woman in the house.
nt." I don't want your key ; people might think I
sait_ dto rob your house." No one would have the key.
" Put it in the cupboard along with the rags and
forneBd;tbit_nay g the old woman a penny goutnd I took
a w ',OW it in. He took a pawn-ticket lt was
it in hispockets uard in at Uxbridge for 15s. He put
we •Lisgain, and I went out with him. When
twogot to the end of the street I said, " Have you got
IzaiivyPfeortnchee?df .vou have let's have a pint before we go
lie said "'Yes ; and after that I will sell
I\fr:ott' and we will have some more." I took him to
then to:1°118:s' where he sold the coat and waistcoat. I
pawnbroker's, where he purchased
a 410I)* Weeturned to a public-Lowe, where we had got