The Sun.
London, England, 1846-10-16 00:00:00

A WOMAN KILLED BY HER

HUSBAND.

BIRNINGHAN, THURSDAY EVENING.—An inquest was
held this afternoon at the Minerva Tavern, Queen-street,
on the body of a wcman, named Keefe, who died from
injuries she received from her husband.
At four o'clock the jury assembled, and, having viewed
the body, they returned to the jury-room, where the
husband of the deceased was brought up in custody
before them.
The CORONER, before going into the investigation,
addressed the prisoner, and told him he was not bound
to say anything whatever calculated to criminate him-
self, but if he wished to make any statement it would
be reduced to writing.
The prisoner then said ho wished to state bow the
unfortunate affair happened. He then proceeded with
the following detail of wretchedness and impropriety of
conduct which too frequently characterises many of our
working population :
" My name is Dennis Keefe, and I live at No. 9, Court,
Colmore-street, and cm a button-turner by trade. The
deceased was my wife, about thirty-seven years of age,
and the mother of six children, and I have been married
to her sixteen years. On Saturday night I and my wife
went to market, and we had two glasses of gin. We
came home and had two pints of ale and our supper, and
went to bed. On Sunday morning deceased commenced
drinking. I think it was gin she had, but I noticed
her drunk at dinner-time. After dinner I went to lie
on the bed, and left her drinking. At tea-time, I, my
sister, and the deceased, had a quartern of rum be-
tween us. On the same evening I took my sister home,
and on my return I found (het ased much more drunk.
I remonstrated with her, and asked her if she did not
know when she had enough? to-which deceased only
gave me a coarse answer. She went out, and came home
in about an hour alter. On Monday I went to my work.
and when I came to my dinner I saw her intoxicated. I
took no dinner, but returned to my work till four
o'clock, and then went and had some ale till about seven
o'clock, and then I went to my club, discharged my
business there, and I arrived home about eleven o'clock,
but she was not at home. I called my little lad, and
told him to put his things on and go and see where his
mother was, and deceased came in directly after, bring-
ing with her half a pint of ale. She was then drunk.
She tumbled into bed just as she was, leaving the
candle lighted and the beer on the table. On Tuesday
morning she got up, and I saw her take a black
waistcoat and her old shawl. What in the name
of God, she wanted with them I did not know. (The
prisoner here became much affected.) She speedily
returned with a qua/ tern of gin and placed it on the
table. I asked her if she was going to begin drinking
again. I knew if I lett the gin with her she would
get drunk, so I took about half of it, and went to
work, leaving her in the house. On my return I found
her sluing at the fire, drunk, and no dinner for either
me or my children. I recollected there was a basin of
broth lying on the hcb, which had been left from the
preceding day, which I divided with the children and
took a mouthful myself. I went to work, and returned
about a quarter-past seven o'clock, and I found her
drunk with a child in her lap. I saw the child likely to
fall, so I told my little niece, Ann Clark, to take the
child from the mother and put him to bed, but the de-
ceased would not give the child to the girl, so I took him
from her and sent him ta bed. I then laid hold of my
wife by the wrists and waist, and pushed her towards the
stairs, and succeeded in getting her up; at the same time
she blackguarded me very much, and called me every
bad name she could think cf. I told her to go to bed,
but in a short time she came down stairs again and
began to abuse me. I then took her in my arms, and
tried to get her up stairs again. I got her a few steps
up, when she became very violent; but I got her up,
and she again came down. When I saw her coming
down the third time, I was having my supper, and ran
up. She either fell suddenly, or pitched herself to-
wards the bed, when my foot came in contact with her. '
Whether I kicked lux or not, I do not know, God only
knows. I felt my foot hit against some part of her; but
it was dark, and I came down stairs again. I must have
stumbled against her in my hurry. I sent Ann Clark
up stairs with the child, and she ran down and said her
aunt was a bleeding. I immediately thought she had
run her head against the bed-post. I ran and fetched a
neighbour, who advised me to send for some medical
gentleman; which I did. Two doctors came, and did
what expired,( t lie
about nine o'clock. could
I for her;thaenn wealdlstopapnedd tillga vseheyou
coroner) notice of the affair; came back and surrenderd
they
myself to the police. I have suffered much this last six
years. I never intended to hurt my wife in the least.
It would be the very remotest thing I should think of.
I did not know that I kicked her."

Alice Gibbs deposed that she;e sided in the next house
to that where deceased lived. I could not hear what
passed in their house. I know deceased was tipsy on
Sunday and Monday, and very drunk on Tuesday. I
was called into the deceased's house by her husband,
about half-past seven o'clock, Who said, " Come in, Mrs.
Gibbs, to my wife, for I think I have killed her. I gave
her a kick with my foot." I then went into his house,
when I found the deceased standing up in the bed-room.
I saw a quantity of blood on the floor. Her husband
was present. She said her husband kicked her as she
was getting under the bed; and directly after she said,
" Mrs. Gibbs, he has killed me. What will my little
James do?" She (the deceased) then showed me where
her husband had kicked her in the abdomen. I placed
deceased in a chair, and her husband asked me who he
should fetch. He seemed grieved, and most anxious to do all
hecould for her. I recommended him to send for the wo-
man who attended his wife ut her lust confinement, and he
did so, and he went away for that purpose, but on his
return she was dead. Three medical gentlemen came,
but she died trn minutes after their arrival.

Cross-examiued—When he called me to go to his
wife, I thought from his appearance and his conduct
that he did not intend to kick her, and if be did kick
her it was by accident. _

Ann Clerk examined I live in Weaman-street,
and Dennis Keefe is my uncle. On Tuesday night last
I was at his house. The deceased was very drunk. He
got her up stairs twice, but she came down half way a
third time, and commenced abusing him, when he ran up
after her, and I heard her cry. He came down stairs
and took a chair to have his supper, and I went up stairs
to put the child to bed, when I saw the room covered
with blood, and I ran down and told my uncle, who im•
mediately went up stairs again.
The jury left sitting.

THE MURDER in SPITALFIELDS.
Yesterday W. Baker, Esq., resumed and concluded an
adjourned inquiry on the body of Daniel Crawley, who
was stabbed by Ann Sinner, alias Ruffy, in a cook-shop,
kept by her in Flower and Dean-street.

George King, 27 11, stated that on the night in ques-
tion, Oct. 3, the woman Sinner and her landlady had a
violent quarrel, and about ten minutes afterwards the
deceased went into the shop, and in a few minutes came
out, crying " I'm stabbed to the heart." He had his
hands over the wound, and the blood was oozing from
between his fingers, and on being taken into the shop
said Huffy had done it. When the woman was charged
at the station-house, she said her landlady had the man
to break open her place; and when before the magistrate
said he had taken indecent liberties with her.
Mr. Wordsworth, house surgeon, lit the London Hos-
pital, deposed to having seen the deceased while alive,
and that a postmortem examination proved that the blow
must have been given with great force; two of the car-

tilages of the rigs were divided, and the pericardium, or
heart-bag, was penetrated, from inflammation of which
the deceased died a week after his admission.
Mr. Holman, dresser of the above hospital, corrobo-
rated the evidence of the former witness.

Mr. BARER then summed up the evidence, and pointed
out the difference between murder and manslaughter ;
after which the jury returned a verdict of " Wilful
Murder against Anne Sinner alias Ruffy," and the wit-
nesses were bound over to appear at the next sessions to
prosecute.

A special naval court-martial, held at Brest on the
Bth instant, under the presidency of Admiral Leblanc,
the Maritime Prefect, condemned to death a convict
named Yoret, for the murder of another convict, and
attempts to murder two others. He confessed his crimes
to the court, and declared that he committed them in
revenge for the three men having given information
against him to the chief officers of the hulks on various
occcasions, and particularly on two escapes he had made
—one in 1842, and the other in 1843

MURDER IN CORN WA LL.—A brutal murder has
been committed on a man named Samuel Hockin, a
cooper, at St. Mabyn, in Cornwall. He was found on
Saturday morning last, lying in the road near St. Mabyn,
and on being lifted up, breathed once, and immediately
expired. Upon being examined, it was discovered that
he had been struck on the back part of the head by a
heavy instrument, which had broken the skull, so that
the brain protruded. Suspicion fell upon a woman
named Ann Treverton, with whom the deceased had co-
habited; and she has been taken into custody. A large
stone has been discovered near where the deceased was

found. An inquest was held on the body, before Joseph
Ilambly, li,:sq., coroner, on Saturday last, which was
adjourned till Tuesday.
THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH AG AIN.—BIRMING -
HAM, THURSDAY EVENING.—At six o'clock this
evening, owing to a communication received at the office
of the Birmingham and Derby Railway Company, by
means of the electric telegraph, that it was supposed a
~that
young woman, named Mary AnsnumTiopfimngo,nhea,, had
andleft her
home, taking with her a large
it was expected that she had come to Birmingham, in
company
namedl\r i lilit
m station,l)avenP.;.,rt, a mes-
senger was ith
a dispatchedlvan
n tonature of the information received, and Inspector Glos-
sop,. of the detective police force, proceeded to the
with the police
station, and succeeded in apprehending the fugitive, to-
gether with her companion, a man named William
Davenport, who, it stated, has been engaged latterly
as a police officer at Tutbury, in Staffordshire, near to
the spot where Mrs. Tipping resided. When appre-
hended Davenport had in his possession the sum of 1651.,
which he stated, on being taken into custody, were the
savings of some years, but from the fact of the turn cor-
responding with the amount lost, both parties were locked
op, and will be brought up for exam.ma it. on to-morrow
morning.
..._.. .

SALE— OF A RENTER'S SHARE IN DRURY-LAND
TllEATRE.—Yesterday a 5001. renter's share in the
Theatre Royal Drury-lane was sold by public auction
at the Mart, by Mr. E. Robins. The share originally
entitled the holder to 2s. 6d. per night, but which has
since been reduced to is. 3d. per night and a free ad-
mision admitting on all occasions. A gentleman made
an offer of 40 guineas. '1 he auctioneer said that for-
merly the same shares never fetched less than from
230 to 300 guineas. After some competition the share
was knocked down for 61 guineas to a gentleman named
Burgess.
General Nectudorff and suite arrived in London
on Wednesday evening, by the General Steam Naviga-
pany's steam-ship Soho, from Oztend. tion Com