The Sun.
London, England, 1858-01-16 00:00:00

Sometime on Weduesday afternoon a murder of
the most shocking description was perpetrated at
the large manufacturing village of Over Darwen,
near Blackburn. The victim was an elderly man,
named Robert Kershaw, and there is but too much
reason to suppose that he met his death at the
hands of his eldest son, with the knowledge and
complicity, perhaps at the instigation—of his own
wife. On Wednesday evening the body of deceased
was found by the police, buried under a heap of coals
in the cellar of his own house,_ his forehead gashed
with repeated wounds, and still covered with blood.
The scene of this dreadful occurrence is a cottage in
Wood-s'reet, where the decersed lived with his
wife, two grown-up sons, and four daughters nots°
old. He had been a small farmer at a place called
Tockholes, and having met with misfortunes, came
some years ago to live at Over Darwen, where all
the children found employment in the factories.
The old man, who was in his 60th year, is known
to have remained at home for some time past, and
perhaps has done so ever since his removal, it being
considered necessary that some one should always
be in the house with Mrs. Kershaw. For some
years she has been "flighty," if n it insane, in her
talk, though usually a+ile to attend to her house-
hold duties. On Wednesday morning all the
children went to their work as usual, but Thomas,
the eldest, left Mr. Grimes's factory, where he was
employed, at nine o'clock, saying he was going to
Blackburn, and did not return during the day.
All the family, except Thomas, were at home to
dinner at noon, and when they returned to work
their father and mother appeared well and com-
fortable. About 3 o'clock in the afternoon Thomas
was seen to enter his father's house. One of the
girls, a child about 12 years of age, was the first
home from work in the evening, and came in be-
tween six and seven o'clock. She found her mother
alone, and, on asking about her father, was told he
had gone out. Soon afterwards Thomas came in,
and (as the child says) at once went down to the
cellar and "began to shovel the coals." The other
eon, whose name isißobert, came home about seven
o'clock, and not seeing his father made some in-
quiries, but says neither his mother nor Thomas
would say anything about him at first. Afterwards
when he again asked, because his father's absence
was something so unusual as to give him great sur-
prise, Thomas replied that he knew nothing about
his father except that "he went out long since."
Robert's further statement is, that Thomas after-
wards pressed him very much to go to bed with
him, and when he had slept a short time Thomas
wakened him and said, " I've something horrible
to tell thee ; but thee mustn't tell nobody about
it." Robert asked what it was, and Thomas said,
" When I came home I found father dead in the
house. Mother did it ; but we'll all get taken up
for it." Afterwards he added, "I took the body
down stairs and buried it in the coals." Then he
asked Robert, "Don't you think about four or five
o'clock in the morning we could bury him in some
place where he won't be discovered ? Then our
best plan would be to make for Liverpool, and
there we can find a ship to go to America." Robert
jumped out of bed, saying, " Stop where you are a
bit," and ran down to the coal cellar, where he
"found that the story was true." Instead of re-
turning to his brother, however, 'he says he slipped
out at the back door, and ran to his uncle's, not
far off, and knocked him up, asking him to send
some one for the police. His uncle, whose name is
Kearaley, sent his son to the police-office, where
Mr. Inspector McDonald, in charge of the police at
Over Darwen, was alone. He states that it was about
half-past ten o clock on Wednesday night when, hear-
ing a noise at the outside, he went to the door,
He there found the youth Kearsley, who ex-
claimed, "My uncle is dead ; and his son, Thomas,
has killed him." After answering a few questions,
the lad, who was much excited, ran away : and Mr.
M'Douald went to Kershaw's house. He found
the sons and some other persons there. Thomas
was leaning against the fire-place, with nothing on
him except his shirt and trousers. Looking round,
Mr. M'Donald suspected he saw marks of blood on
the floor, but, being alone, he sent a man to collect
four or five constables, and then locked al/ the
doors. His assistants having arrived, he took a
candle and went to the coal cellar, calling to Robert
to come and show him the place. The young man
followed with Sergeant Atkinson. The officer see-
ing something which appeared like the elbow of a
man protruding from the heap of coals, Mr.
M'Donald assisted him in an attempt to pull the
body out. They were obliged, however, to shovel
away about 2 cwts. of coal before the body could
be removed. The old man's head presented a hor-
rible sight, for it was apparently one mass of blood
and wounds, each of them deep enough to be fatal,
and of course it was frightfully blackened with the
coals. The body was taken upstairs and washed as
soon as possible, Mr. S. H. Wraith, surgeon, being
sent for to superintend and make an examination.
In the meantime Mr. M'Donald observed that
Thomas Kershaw appeared much agitated, and
seemed watching for an opportunity to make his
escape from the house. Mr. M'Donald told him
he should take him into custody on suspicion of
being the murderer, on which the prisoner ex-
claimed, " Before I'll be charged with that,
hang myself." Having secured him, Mr. M'Donald
went upstairs, where he found rs. Kershaw in
bed. On his asking her whether she knew anything
of the death of her husband, she replied, I've
nothing to do with it." Being reminded that there
could have been no one else in the house but her-
self and Thomas, she said her husband and son
had commenced " a scuffling ;" that she went out,
was away for about twenty minutes, and when
she came back saw no one, but heard a noise in
the cellar, as of the moving ofcoals. She called out
but could get no answer. To furtheriquestio as she
gave excited and incoherent replies, and mentioned
that she had "seen some blood in the place." Mr.
M'Donald ordered her also into custody, and both
the prisoners were taken to the police-station.
The struggle would appear to have taken place
near the fire-place, which is the gable wall, the
house being the end one of the row, and this may
account for there being no noise heard by theneigh-
bours. The traces of blood are near the fire-place
of the " house-part." The deceased was a stout
heavy man, but the body appears nevertheless to
have been carried across the floor, down a flight of
10 or 11 steps, and into the dark, small cellar, where
it must have been almost doubled up to allow of its
being cov.zed with coals. A large heavy spade,
found in the cellar, is the weapon presumed to have
been used in the infliction. of several of the wounds
on the head. By one of them the skull is shat-
tered for. several inches completely across the line
of the right eyebrow, and that wound must have
been instantly fatal. On the left part of the fore-
head there are three great wounds extending from
the hair to the eyebrow, the skull appearing to be
fractured iu each instance. Under the right eye,
and across the cheek bone, another deep gash was
inflicted, and the eye was almost forced out and
destroyed. No trace of blood has been found on
the spade, which had, however, been used in
shovelling the coals. Another heavy blow under
the left side of the jawbone is supposed to have
been dealt with a poker from the grate in the
" house-part." The collar-bone is also broken on
the right side ; there are contused wounds in the
neck, and there are five or six other wounds on the
face, sharply incised. It is possible that these were
inflicted with a razor belengiug to the old man,
which was missing from its case on Thursday, and
' has not yet been found. The poker is stained with
blood.
Although the crime appears to have been com-
mitted in the " house-part," the floor had been
washed before any of the family returned ; but near
the fire-place there are traces of large patches of
blood. Several shirts and other wearing apparel
were found on a clothes-horse by the police ; they
were still wet, but not properly washed, and 'one
of the shirts belonging to Thomas Kershaw, has
great stains of blood on the sleeves. These circum-
stances lead to the supposition that Mrs. Kershaw
must at least have been engaged in removing the
traces of the murder.
No adequate motive for the crime has been sug-
gested. Mrs. Kershaw is regarded as partially in-
sane, and the sons have also been considered sin-
gular in their habits and their talk. They were,
however, as well as the old man, sober, and quiet
in their conduct. Mrs. Kershaw is said to have
alleged that her husband ill-used her when they
were alone, but the neighbours believed him to be
a good, kind, husband. She hasbeen complaining
that her husband taunted her with not being pro-
perly married to him, but it is not known that there
is any foundation for this, evenissullpnpdoerssintoog
understood
statement to be true. Thomas
have always taken the mother's part against
of
fll
the
other children, in believing her
accounts
that
deceased's ill-usage ; but it is not supposed
yre.
he was on bad terms with his father,.
were any serious disagreements in.erththeaftamthiel
Thomas Kershaw whohimself,goeurt.
He 22
years of age, has borne a really.
He has been
od cleharaahcte
was neither turbulent nor dissipated.
a member of the Over Dame
for a long tim©, and was coma e.red studious, hay-
dlechanics' Institute
h "on he
ino books of his own. After his appre ensi
was, or pretended be,
and
asked for pen, ink,
to demented. He talked
much rambling nonsense,
might write to the Emperor
, he asked for "Robinson
and paper, that
Ci
. Kershaw
Napoleon. On Thheursd
He kept
:2, Mrs
ollf the. rooms
nsoe," from amongsd watched. amongst hiesd binoooknse.
locked up in a cell, an
isThere ae
is a strange look in her
is also watched, but
of the police-office. ce.
she is sometimes much excited. On
eye, and
Thursday she was asked by one of the officers, when
she was seated by the fire, &A, alto bolt pretty comrn