The Sun.
London, England, 1860-08-21 00:00:00

THE STEPNEY MURDER.

Yesterday afternoon at one o'clock Mr. John
Humphreys, the coroner for the eastern division of
Middlesex, and a highly respectable jury, assembled
at the Railway Tavern, Grove-road, Mile-end, to
investigate the death of the deceased lady whose
name was given as Mary Emsley, aged 70 years,
of No. 9, Grove-road, Stepney. Mr. Rose, the
solicitor, was present.
The room was densely crowded long before the
inquiry commenced, and a number of the guardians,
trustees, and friends of the deceased were present
to hear the evidence, and the utmost interest was
manifested by all in attendance.
The jury, having been sworn, accompanied the
coroner to the house to view the body. They after-
wards went over the premises to examine them.
While the coroner and the jury were absent, it
was ascertained from Mr. Thornton and Mr. Tanner,
the two detective officers who have inquired tho-
roughly and with great intelligence into the case,
that they had found money to the extent of £4il in
the house, £32 in gold and £l6 2s. in silver. The
police expect a still larger amount of money has
been secreted.
Mr. John Faith, of Park-house, Bow-road, was
the first witness examined. He said the deceased
was his stepmother. The property left by her
husband would go to the daughters of the late Mr.
Emsley by his first wife. He did not know whe-
ther the deceased had any other relatives.
Catherine Wears, of 3, Jamaica-place, said she
knew the deceased. She saw her between half-past
4 and 5 o'clock last Monday evening. The deceased
called upon her for her weekly rent. She was then
in good health. When the deceased called she asked
in the usual course for her money. Her husband
was at home at the time. He worked for any one
who would employ him. He was a labourer.
Mr. Faith, in answer to the Coroner, said that
the deceased kept no servants, but a person who
had been connected with the family 20 years used
to go and see her. He did not know where she
was.

Mr. Walter Thomas Emm said he lived at Emsley
brickyard, and was a shoemaker. He collected
rents for Mrs. Emsley. The last time he saw her
alive was last Monday afternoon, at Barnsley-street,
Lamb's-fields, Bethnal-green. She had just collected
her last rents from Barnsley-street. The deceased
looked at some taps he put on, and had some conver-
sation with him about them. Witness told her that
he wanted more taps, and she directed him to send
to her house for them. He sent his son for them on
Tuesday, in the morning and at night. He went
himself on Wednesday, twice, his wife accompany-
ing him. He went again on Thursday, but still
finding that she was out, he sent his daughter at 6
o'clock on Friday morning to see whether anything
was the matter, but she returned without obtaining
admission to the house. He then told his wife to
go to the house, and not let anybody in, as he in-
tended to go to Mr. H. Rose, Mrs. Emsley's legal
adviser. Mr. Rose met him afterwards at Mrs.
Emsley's house, and an entry was made by a police.
constable who had been called.
By a Juryman—He did not call a policeman on
the previous night. He thought the deceased had
received £25 or £26 on that day. That was about
the average amount. She was never in the habit of
showing large sums of money, and he did not be-
lieve that she ever kept large sums of money in the
house.

Several questions were put to the witness as to his
motive for sending his daughter to Mrs. Emsley's at
six o'clock in the morning, in reply to which he
said he had a suspicion that she might be ill. The
questions generally were quite irrelevant, and the
coroner more than once checked the jurymen who
put them.
Edward Dillon, police-constable 19 K, deposed
that from instructions he had received he had in-
spected the premises, and opened the house so as to
make an entry. He went up stairs with Mr. Faith
and Mr. Rose, and after searching the rooms they
proceeded up stairs to the top floor, and in the front
room he saw the deceased lying on the floor with
her head to the partition. He found a mourning
ring and three halfpence, but no other money.
'!'here was a bed and bedstead in the room, but it
had no appearance of being slept on. On the bed
were a number of pieces of paper-hanging, and
under the arms of the deceased were two or three
pieces of the paper. He observed blood on the par-
tition and near to where the deceased lay. The
body was not touched, by the direction of Mr.
Rose, until the surgeon had seen her. She was
dressed at the time, except one slipper. He saw
also blood marks on the door-post. The whole of
the rooms were open, and neither the front nor
back doors were locked. In his opinion the de-
ceased's head struck the door-post, as the blood upon
the panels could not have been caused if the blow
had been given while she was on the floor. The
blow was, therefore, given while she was standing,
by her falling against the door-post.
Dr. Lawrence Gill, of Bow-road, was called on
Friday last between 1 and 2 o'clock. In the front
room on the top floor he found the deceased, and he
believed she had been dead some time. The de-
ceased was lying at full length on the floor; a por-
tion of her gown and petticoat was drawn up over
the head. A portion was screwed up as if blood had
been wiped upon it. On removing the gown and pet-
ticoat he found that she was Iping with two pieces
of paper at the back of her head—one was open,
and she was lying with her face downward. She
had all her clothes on except one slipper (the left
one), but her head was uncovered, having no cap
on. He found the hair of her head matted with
blood, and the back of her head hanging in shreds, the
bone protruding. He then turned her on her bac k
The face was green and swollen, showing decom-
position had set in. There was an entire loss of
countenance, her hand was clasping 'the leg of a
table. He found blood on the door posts and on
the panel, and also on the paper which laid over
her head. The blood on the wall was bright and
shiny, quite different to the blood decomposed on
the floor. The next day a cap was found with an
ornament torn off, and in the cap was a circular
hole. He had since made a post monein examina-
tion of the body, and in the head he found a lacerated
wound one and a half inch long on the left side, and
a contused wound, half an inch long, on. the right
side; also a wound, an inch. and a hall long, over
the left eyebrow. The head was full of extrava: at
blood ; the vessels on the left side were much con-
gested; the extravasation of blood extended ever
the temporal bone, which was fractured, as also the
occipital bone, which was broken through and
forced into the brain. In removing the skull cap
it you almost bloodless. The chest, the abdomen,

and the body generally was healthy. The wound
on the back of the head he believed to have been
caused by a heavy circular blunt instrument, and
could not have resulted from a fall against the
door-post. The cause of death was the laceration
of the brain.
Inspector Kerrison said, from information he re-
ceived, he went to the house of the deceased, and
was admitted by Sergeant Dillon. He went hp-
stairs/and saw the deceased lying on the floor ; he
examined the house and found the shutters closed
but unfastened ; the window was up a few inches.
He searched the garden, and also the gardens of
the adjoining premises, but could find no footmarks
whatever. He searched the deceased, and only
found a knife, but no money. On his going down
stairs, on the first floor, he found a piece of paper
with marks of blood upon it, and also marks of
blood on the lower stairs, as of a foot mark, which
he had carefully covered over with oil skin. He
had caused the very privy to be emptied, but could
find no instrument which would have caused the
wounds. He had taken great care of the piece of
paper he found with blood on it down stairs.
A juror asked how he supposed the parties had
entered?

The witness declined to answer.
The Coroner said it was better not to ask any
questions at present. They had quite enough be-
fore them to show that the deceased had died from.
violence to justify their adjourning the inquiry.
The jury acquiesced, and the inquiry was ad-
journed to Monday next.
Mr. Sergeant Thornton and Mr. Tanner 'have
the Government charge of the case as detectives,
and the house is still being searched.
The police are most active in their research; the
coroner himself had a private interview with Mr.
Thornton and Mr. Tanner after the inquest ad-
journed.