The Sun.
London, England, 1848-05-18 00:00:00

CRIMINAL COURT.-(THIS

OLD COURT.
(Before Mr. Baron A LDERSON and Mr. Justice Ces.Tsesse)
Muupea.— William Tomkins, 25, a labourer, N't as in'
dieted for the wilierl murder of Maria Eddon, on the 15th
of April last.
To prisoner, who is a mild, inoffensive-looking mane
pleaded " Not guilty" to the indictment yesterday.
Mr. Bodkin and Mr. Ballantine conducted t- he case
for the prosecution; and Mr. Sergeant Wilkins and gr.
Ryland were counsel for the prisoner.
Mr. BODKIN addressed the jury for the prosecute of
and called the following witnesses for the purpo
proving the awful charge against the prisoner.
Arthur Keene said he resided in Westminster, and •
was employed in the Royal Engineering Department.
On Sunday, the 16th of April, about one in
the,
morning, was in Regent-street, Westminster, ana
when he reached the corner of Vincent-streetr
he heard a slight cry as from a leati.e"
ef;
he then went down Vincent-street, and wu
about the centre of the street he saw a figure lying °II
the ground, at the end of it, which he found to mead,
woman. She was lying Oh the kerb, on the horse•ro
with her face turned to the ground. He saw a Ear
standing about three yards from her—that man was 1
prisoner at the bar. Witness asked the prisoner rvhs
he had been dping to her, to which he made no reP,lt
lie then asked the prisoner if the woman was
his vine'
and why he did not go over and assist her. The prisoner
then went a little forward, towards the woman, and the!!
turned round and said to witness 4,1 have stab
beu
her, I have killed her with this knife," sn°7
ing one to witness. As the prisoner went town%
the woman, he said " Maria." She then Ws
herself a few inches, and dropped down agars,
into her former position. itness afterwaijed
went for the police, but betore doing so he spin n'-
the prisoner what he had done it tor, and he repotal
e e
the same answer. After giving information to the pnlir
witness returned, and found the female still lying there,
but the prisoner had gone.
Al4_ xander Hobson, a policemam of the E
stated that he was on duty in Regent-street on the ,t.
of April. Hard a cry of 'Police," and saw the lOt
di
ness there. Saw the body of a female on the groun,
J"er
she was then not quite dead, but had a wound on
°,,
breast, undor the collar-bone. Carried her to a surge
but before he got there she was de ad. arts oe
Wm. S. Kate, another policeman, saw the P lye
and a woman in Regent-street between tirwneoe
and one o'clock of the 16th of April. „"e-ss
the prisoner, and wished him good night. I"—ai-
said are you going towards home? to which the Poo
soner replied that he was. Witness then went 00 on
his beat. At about twenty minutes to one, in
c°l3tifr•
quence of information he received, he went todostle
Pearce's, the surgeon, and there saw the wonnsli„„ctor
lying on her back. Witness then went with lesr 'a
Cummings to the prisoner's residence, and found
him
custody of another officer. gad
Cross-examined by Mr. Sergeant WILKINs--hr 01,1
the deceased in custody for drunkenness. Wile° "d in
the prisoner and the deceased together they seeose
very od humour one with the other. „Asa°
e-egoxamined by Mr. BALLANTINE—Both the „keor
and the female were charged together with art'''.
ness.
Abraham Wright, another
death of the woman ; saw her body taken to ,ari.
district surgeon's and the dead-house. %Vent tO tbe rto
nseecoansdke:Feof
toner's house in Vincent-row, NPl:eljecetmmiraesn'terh, eaarbao 110: lthbo:
o'clock, and took hire in bed, where witness found
asleep. The prisoner asked what he wanted with 1440
pilreisowiaiesr toldsaid thathe hadhe hadh,a; been ill-wring Maria. _
that he had,
she was dead? a n and n hdewmittnisetssgestallioedliwt thataos tt
sobli ieded wiles. get the
asked, where was she? and witness said she was ea, off
dead-house, St. Margaret's workhouse. He thee Sod!
his hand to his head, and exclaimed "0, raY cil°
have dune for her." Witness then fetched the prisiveo
clothes, and in the right hand pocket of his coat W ova
found the knife now produced. Prisoner was the
rep tbe
to the station-house; on going by the place vq.l3
crime was committed the prisoner said, '`Oh, aids
by, it, lor she is there looking at me." Afterie
bs
said he would go anywhere, and added, "tae lf°
done it for her ; and the rope will do it for me. fed
tb
Henry Wright, also a policeman, corroWejoene:
testimony of the last witness. The prisoner etliti so
going along, " Oh, that soldier, perhaps he will"pd
for it now.' IA fitness had known the decease,' and
,
prisoner for some time, but never knew them die
hibefore.lnspectorin, o
hsir,Cumming,lh a ve ofd done
ee
it
division,u
ear
prisoner,
1111 sir:ch:f:letivhir,e,ge octnhshueaarriving
f,a)rt thsoemstea,tion-house, excied. oe-
iswonaesrbreviintgn witness discovered enteredme
bv jo:1:13$1);111115
shooko, op
hand. ti6erci
•
Harriet Dowling knew the deceased, en„d ,Tel3l.oBli't-
her body at the dead-house, St. NI ar aret's,
The deceased lodged at her house,g and cohnuk;er Mu",
the prisoner there. The prisoner only came W.O oi.:
in the evenings. The deceased was a very sober haplilvd
and the prisoner and ti; ceased seemed to live verYtbey the
together. On the Friday preceding the murder
a slight quarrel. Witness heard something saidlaug'iedo.
prisoner about Newgate, at which the &noised the 'a
Martha Edwards also knew the prisoner Ir/0,10'4i/14
ceased. Knew the Star and Crown pub • efA
Westminster. Witness was there on the Fri"3l tbe
previous to the murder. The prisoner 21: 00000
ceased were there, and a soldier of th ‘, he ear de'
Brown. Witness had heard the prisoner sae, ,be
marry Maria if she would give the soldier elNuoiess
ceased said she would not give the soldier uPbt the 'll4,
prisoner married her. On the Friday Dig Tile Poci
ceased lett the public-house with the soldietri; done; is
sorter asked her where she was going, ancl, ret.en oea
replied, only to the bar. The deceased riover
about three-quarters of an hour, and the
flare ab
the deceased went home together, on al)s.t then, 005
terms. Saw the deceased and the prisoner DIV
house on the Saturday night; they left abou
to twelve. The soldier was not there that rill;"
Dotb • g
left together apparently friends. els On" aria
fremely;,,
vbeuatrweee,reanseuetrgderou
Cross-examined by Mr. Sergeant I" art
have been ter
prisoner and deceased appeared to
nk.
obnreathste Iw6ht
which
ho f
h,akcip riclau dead.sed Westriihons6
street,
to his her
—The body of the deceased was brought oiled °Lib.
Regent-
The wound was about four ailnlinic°ehsetsf°ditinensedtpilenstati:l3cle°l4ll64aulelir .6ea
'clen" e
trated the pulmonary artery. ed, eif
her body. lie had lost her for up
Richard Eddon, the father of the deceits f 0, t°
wards °
va
month before she was murdered.
This closed the case for the proseentien. „el ;ale to
Mr. Sergeant WILKINS then addressed barnio ab•orla
behalf of the prisoner—He said he shollhueo n: 005
show them that the prisoner bad alwaP. en",„acn
able for his amiable and peaceable dispostt'eure' so roars
few men among their fellow-workmen were 0.0
beloved as he vi as in consequence ef olitte'aoss'
good nature. That the deed he cocein ar,ioo
premeditated it was idle for any one o%clofTitb°s
and if they had any doubt' about it, the „la se,rcife"
which he made when taken into custody's his e;sor/
doubt at rest. When he came to his sensTi, pea bipi'
ment was so great that the officer deeraeuds 01 hos
to search him, lest he might lay violent he
God, beep
self; and he exclaimed to the officer, it had
os°
done it!" They could easily imagine, 11 t ouch!: ecP
possible to rekindle the flame of life,
cos of his `
t 9
would have done to avert the consequence wiglot„ or
Instead of being act of preeeeditatioa!no c.taoo:
not rather suppose that the prisoner, fro w fora fed tOe'i
other which could not be explained, was_ ova vice 08
ments deprived of his reason—that Ps infiae_ tooj
control of his judgment, and under the. noari,'
that passion he had done the deed ? hp; 4,4
probably was aroused by a quarrel bet'', it ere!, ts,,
the deceased respecting the soldier, anuoi etb'opor,
known that the unhappy
deceased was one, were rather violent in
.0 ov A:,
They were all creatures of circurnstancentloot
tues and vices were more the result of iseet"bose tnitoti°„o
class of persona their tn,it
generally believed, and, on that ground, Lopoiselli tP4,
nate females were entitled to great ciiict
From morning to night they were in COlt, eferlteaiii
world, despised by everybody, ill-treated .1001e,0‘ ,
persecuted by everybody, and was it to be 13011, aelr:p
that they became violent when abused bY fip? afb. oir-e
likely was the case in the present instaec- lace 'clot) f•
fore, they thought that violence had taken Ptheir alie,l
the deceased sed
guilty, thhoe,
o f prisoner,murd eirt,svnitlelotro:oogsitioetiicsoosiofi"
The Learned Counsel concluded WDgter °l3O
feeling address on behalf of the prison :00 eh if
upon the jury to allow the prisoner t°hrt, thotiVr,
earth to make his peace with lied, and „t',"cl
might henceforth be despised and sbnp"„ of its tlis
he aright be able to obtain the forgivie',s-ci
The following witnesses were then es"e_..trhtwe
Stephen Bell, in the employ of Messrs, in th
tipo
brewers, said the prisoner was five years $e ye
ploy, and constantly under his observatio mans
~,befol,
found him a euiet and
John Cubley, also in the employ of "."-o, 013 0011.00 i
said he had known the prisoner five.yefooa peloy,
ways found him a kiud-hearted and nn'tbreeYeerso%
Walter Scott had known the prisoner
00,1 poce ,„
peacably disposelaittearts„S
considered him a peaceable and he
el
The Learned JUDGE summed up
ot,"_,hich
most feeling address, in the course tic", otueTert
jury the distinction between murder o,d "00c10,ts
All intention to kill he said murder, raurneliee, L'oite,
shown by the circumstances of L.
if mu 110$
.Ocy
to something less; for instance,P_.,o tO
ling was presumed to be
~..atsl:thttii(t,:cacitie'rii
shown on the part of the person w_ut oeouNcree„eee
Provocation by words, however, sva.n,i,i_h° 00 011;1;44
must be blows or some illeeal act_wn'tubo pr.ithe
justify the sudden vengeance which. pearY„rae.eiog
guilty of. His Lordship went tn ur, 0 he "eaelt!tite,'
of the evidence, corumenting uP°n a and tn,,,ir 41"
commended the jury to the mere, Y'so eonciu'l° 0113
and explaining the law more dettraod fe.°l,3, 901°
rations to anive at a true and justoo 40,e0ce
The jury then retired, and after
I.'•
quarter of an hour, reParned ate r