The Sun.
London, England, 1860-10-02 00:00:00

THE STEPNEY MURDER,

EXAMINATION OF MULLINS AT THE THAMES
POLICE COURT.-(THIS DAY.)

James Mullins, aged 50, who stands charged with the
wilful murder of Mrs. Mary Emsley, a widow lady at No.
9, Grove-road, Mile-end-road, was brought before Mr.
Selfe, at the Thames Police Court, this afternoon, at one
o'clock, upon remand.
The prisoner arrived soon after 11 o'clock from the House
of Detention in the police van. A great number of per-
sons had then assembled in the street near the Court, and
the mob continued to increase until the prisoner was ar-
raigned in the dock, at which time the Court was crowded

to excess.
Mr. Wontner, solicitor, conducted the prosecution for
the relatives of the deceased ; Mr. T. W. Ralcliff, solicitor,
of Dean Co let House ; and Mr. Rose, solicitor, were also
in attendance.
Since the last inquiry Inspector Thornton and Police
Sergeants Tanner and Thomas of the detective police, A
division, have been pursuing their inquiries and endeavour-
ing to strengthen the chain of circumstantial evidence al-
ready brought against the prisoner.
It may be necessary to state that the barbarous murder
of Mrs. Emsley was committed on or about Monday, the
13th day of August last. She was last seen alive on that
day, collecting rents of the tenants of sundry small houses,
and she is supposed to have received about £4O on that day,
and it is believed that this money was the object of the
murderer's cupidity. The prisoner was formerly attached
to the Irish constabulary, and acted on many occasions
as a spy and informer in the prosecution of Ribbonrn en
and others in Ireland. He was afterwards a sergeant in the
K division of Metropolitan police, and was superannuated
on a pension of £35 per annum. He subsequently obtained
employment on the South-Eastern Railway, and com-
mitted a serious robbery, for which he was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to six years' penal servitude. After the ex-
piration of his sentence he sought employment of Mrs.
Emsley, to whose late husband he was known, and she not
knowing his antecedents employed him occasionally in the
repairs of the numerous tenements belonging to her. He
became well acquainted with her heats, and although she
was very cautious with strangers, and would not admit
anyone without first looking through the window, or going
into the area and inquiring their business, Mullins
would have no difficulty in procuring admittance,
as he was well known to her, and in the practice
of calling at her dwelling on business, and to receive pay-
ment for his services.
The attempt of the prisoner Mullins to implicate an
innocent man named Emms, who was also in the employ of
the deceased, by depositing a parcel, containing a cheque
given to the deceased on the 13th of August by one of her
tenants, and some other property belonging to her, and
then giving information to the police, must ever stamp him
as a villain of the deepest dye. The object of Mullins was
to obtain the reward of £3OO offered for the apprehension
and conviction of the murderer or murderers of the unfor-
tunate Mrs. Emsley. The circumstantial evidence already
given leads to the strong conclusion that Mullins was the
murderer of the old lady, and that he would have
been guilty of another murder by the conviction
of an innocent man, but for the tact exhibited by Thornton
and Tanner, the detectives, who saw thrcugh the plot, and
after the prisoner had pointed out the parcel in the shed
belonging to Emms, took Mullins into custody. It may
be said that Mullins "was hoist with his own petard,"
while the chain of circumstantial evidence produced verifies
the truth of the beautiful passage of Shakespeare, " Murder,
though a hath no tongue, speaks with most miraculous

rgans."

Mr. Herbert Wood, solicitor, again attended for the pri-
soner, who, on being arraigned, appeared very collected,
and in better health and spirits than he was on Wednesday
last, upon his third examination at this court.
Mr. Wontner said he had several additional witnesses to
call, and proceeded with the case.
Mr. Wontner, for the prosecution, said the course he in
tended to pursue was to complete the evidence against the
prisoner on the charge of murdering Mrs. Emsley. The
witnesses to be called to-day speak to the prisoner being in
the neighbourhood of the Grove-road on the night of the
murder, and the only g 113 in evidence was the time at
which the murder was committed, which could not be ac-
counted for, and that the prisoner would have satisfactorily
to account for. In addition to that there would be one or
two pieces of evidence of a miscellaneous description, such
as the finding of the boot which had some human hair
upon it, but he did not attach any very great importance
to that circumstance, as the prisoner was a plasterer, and
that being so the hair would easily be accounted for. In
his opinion it would be too violent a thing to assume that
the hair so found was that of the deceased Mrs. Emsley.
He should also call witnesses to prove that Emma
could not have been in the house when the murder was
committed. In the evidence ho should offer to-day he
should ask for the committal of the prisoner for murder.
The following witnesses were then examined :
James Clark—l am 15 years of age. I live with my
father at 10, Temple-terrace, Bethnal-green. I know the
prisoner by sight. I last saw him on Monday, the 13th of
August, at my father's house. He was at work there. He
began at two and left off at four. Tho job was finished
then.

Cross •exarained—l am a cooper. I work at home. I
was not at work all that day—not in the afternoon. I was
at home the whole of the time from two to four o'clock.

Isaac Tyrrell—l live at 1, Temple-terrace, and am a
shoemaker. The prisoner Mullins worked at my house on
Monday, the 13th (the day of the murder.) He left at
about six o'clock. Ho was engaged in knocking down a
portion of the ceiling. Ho used a chisel-pointed hammer,
such as plasterers used. Exactly like the one now pro-
duced. It seemed sharper on the edge then than it is now.
He was using mortar. Ho went out to get some hair to
mix with it. He did not finish the job that night. He
came again on Wednesday. I expected him to finish on
the Tuesday, the next day, but he did not come.
Mr. Wood declined to ask the witness any questions.
James Raymond—l live at 12, Heston-square. lam a
tailor by trade. I know Grove-road, Stepney, and was
there on Monday, the 13th of August. I was at a public-
house at the top of the road at ten minutes to eight in the
evening.

[Tho case was proceeding when we went to press.]

211 BL AN O.HOLY SUICIDE OF A

CLEBGEILLY.

Yesterday afternoon an inquest was held by Mr.
F. Langharn, deputy coroner for Westminster, in
the vestry-room of St. George's, Mount-street,
Grosvenor-square, on the body of the Rev. Edward
Cobbold, aged 62, a clergyman of the Church of
England, and brother to the rector of Wortham,
Suffolk, who committed suicide at Thomas's Hotel,
Dover-street, Piccadilly, by nearly severing his
head from his body with a razor.
John Chevalier Cobbold, banker and merchant,
of Ipswich, stated that deceased was his nephew,
and for some time past had occupied apartments at
No. 7, Earl's court, Kensington. On Thursday
morning last deceased came down to Ipswich by
train, when he observed that he was materially
altered in appearance, very desponding and low-
spirited, and, in answer to witness, he said he had
suffered from repeated attacks of giddiness and
paralysis. He was a married man, but his domes-
tic and pecuniary affairs were such as to cause him
great uneasiness of mind, more especially as he was
of a very excitable and sensitive disposition. He
returned to town the same day. Witness never
heard him threaten to destroy himself.
Betsy Thatcher, housemaid at the hotel, deposed
that deceased came there about half-past four
o'clock on Thursday afternoon, and entering the
coffee. room ordered dinner. In the evening, between
seven and eight o'clock, he retired to the bedroom
he was to occupy, going up stairs in a very hurried
and excited manner. On the following day, at
12 o'clock, she noticed drops of blood falling from
the ceiling of the room under deceased's, and he
not having been seen, the head waiter called in a
policeman, when, on the door being forced open, de-
ceased was found dead.
Thomas Mackney, head waiter and manager
the hotel, stated that, on entering that room, e-
of d
ceased was discovered on his stomach on the floor,
in a pool of blood, which had flowed from a fright-
ful wound in his throat. He was quite dead and
cold, and had an open razor firmly clenched in his
right hand.
Police-constable 324 A produced property found
in deceased's possession, consisting of £BO in bank
notes,orand moneys,soammea,sialvsefroallnodwsco:_pp,e,rAakAlfred
for Miet's and two me- 1
ra
dividends for distribution, and the £2,000, &c.,
&c." " Should Ibe found dead of apoplexy or pa-
ralysis send to my brother, the Rev. Richard Cob-
bold, Wortham, Suffolk."
The first witness identified the writing as that of
deceased, whose life was insured for £2,000, as well
as for £6,000.
Mr. Bloxam, jun., surgeon, having
wound must have caused almost said that the
instant death from
loss of blood, a verdict was returned of temporary
insanity.