The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-19 00:00:00

THE MURDER AT BRITS.

Yesterday evening C. J. Carttar, Esq., coroner for
West Kent, held an adjourned inquiry into the circum-
stances attending the death of a young man named Geo.
Carter, who resided at York-road, Battersea, and was
found on the Bth instant lying on the grounds of Capt.
Wheatley, at Erith, covered with wounds, and presented
appearances which clearly proved that a shocking mur-
der had been committed.

At 5 o'clock the jury assembled at the Crown Hotel,
Erith, when the following witnesses were examined
:
Mr. E. Carter deposed—He is an auctioneer, and re-
sides at Battersea-rise. On Wednesday last he saw the
body of the deceased, and identified it as that of his cousin
George Carter, the son of a market gardener, now de-
ceased, but who formerly resided at Battersea. Witness
last saw the deceased on the 4th inst., at Union-road,
Battersea, but on that occasion no conversation took
place. The deceased resided with his sister, at the resi-
dence of their late father, in York-road, Battersea. The
deceased intended to proceed to Australia, and on Oct.
11 be executed a power of attorney, appointing witness
to attend to his property, and also with the object of ob•
tuning 100/. in ready cash, to enable him to proceed on
.his voyage. Witness afterwards saw the deceased with
a bundle, which he stated contained his outfit.
By the Coroner—l always considered the deceased to
be in a sane state of mind. I am not aware of the object
of deceased going abroad. He said that he could do no
good in England, and should try what he could do at
,the diggings.
• Mr. P. Oates, a surgeon residing at Erith, deposed
that he made a post mortem examination of the body of
deceased, in conjunction pith Mr. Spurling, a surgeon of
Bexley-heath. The appearances presented were as fol•
lows:—en the left side of the chest from the breast-bone
to the fold of the armpit were 16 punctured wounds—
some being superficial and others perforated. Eight
of these wounds had entered the heart, and either was
sufficient to have caused death. On examining the
heart one of the wounds was found to be much larger
than the rest, and appeared to have been made by two
thrusts with the same instrument. The external wounds
and the wounds in the heart corresponded exactly
with the shape, size, and form of the carpenter's gouge
produced, which was found in the hand of deceased after
death. The contents of the stomach presented appear-
ances of spirituous liquors having been taken immedi-
ately before death. Two severe fractures were found
on the skull ; one was three inches long, and extended
from the centre of the top of the head to the left temple ;
the other was on the right side of the head.
By the Coroner—lt is absolutely impossible that the
deceased could have inflicted these wounds himself. The
gouge found in the hand of the deceased had the point
outwards, and had the deceased inflicted the wounds the
point of the tool would have been turned towards his
body. Independently of this, it would have been im-
possible for the deceased to have inflicted several punc-
tures in his heart, as one such wound would have ren•
dered him totally prostrate. The immediate cause of
death was the wounds in the heart.

Mr. Lawrence, surgeon, of Wa,u- dsworth, deposed he
had examined the body, and fully concurred in the
opinion of the last witness.

Mr. Harwood, of Battersea, deposed that he was left
as a joint executor to the estate of the father of the de-
ceased. The evidence of this witness proved that the
deceased had received a sum of 1001. a few days previous
to his death, and also the important fact that the de-
ceased invariably used his left hand for all purposes.
At this stage of the proceedings the room was cleared
and on re-admission the Coroner stated that the jury
considered that the best course to adopt would be to ad-
journ the inquiry for the attendance of the sister of the
deceased, and other witnesses not in attendance.
At the close of the proceedings we were informed from
undoubted authority that police-constable Crouch, an
active and intelligent officer of the R division, had ob•
tained important information which, if divulged at pre-
sent, might defeat the ends of justice, but which will
probably lead to the apprehension of the murderer.