The Sun.
London, England, 1860-03-30 00:00:00

THE BURGLARY AND MURDER AT

STAMEO.RD.

Henry Corby was yesterday charged before the
borough magistrates with the murder of Elizabeth
Pulley, by suffocating, choking, strangling, and
burning her; and also with breaking into the
dwelling-house of the deceased and stealing there-
from 100 sovereigns, a £lO note, six gold rings, a
quantity of silver plate, and a writing-desk, her
property. The prisoner is about 50 years of age
and a earpenter.

Sergeant Harrison, of the Stamford borough
police, examined—On Monday, March 19, I was
directed to enter the premises of Elizabeth Pulley,
who livedin the High-street, St. Martin's. I went
in company with Mr. George and constable Dal-
rymple, and with a ladder sealed the south wall of
Miss Pulley's back premises. I got over into the
garden, and then, by opening the garden door, let
in Mr. George and the Rev. J. Place. We went
down towards the house, and found the passage
door wide open. We looked into the side of the
back entrance, and saw nothing there. We then
looked into the room on the opposite side, the door
of which was partly open, and there, on the hearth,
I saw the body of the deceased, Miss Pulley. The
body lay within about three or four inches of the
fire-grate, on the east side of the room. Deceased
lay on her back, with her head on the hearthstone,
and the body in a slanting direction, in front of the
grate ; from the shoulders downwards the body
was on the boarded floor. It was an oak floor. The
head was turned a little over, the left shoulder to-
wards the grate, and the legs were crossed. Parts
of the clothing, and also of the body, had been de-
stroyed by fire. The remains of the clothing showed
deceased to have been fully dressed. A brass can-
dlestick (produced) was lying between
the left arm
and the body, the top of the candlestick inclining
a little towards the body. The clothes were wholly
burnt off both arms, and partly off the upper portion
of the body. The legs werenot all burnt. There ap-
peared to be the ashes of some covering, as a vest,
lying over the fore part of the face, so that the up-
per part only could be distinctly seen. A bonnet
which the deceased had on was partly burnt away.
The right arm was elevated by the side of the
body, with the elbow restin gon the floor. The fingers
were partly burnt off, and the remainder of the
hand was charred. The left hand, which lay out
from the body, was also a good deal burnt, but not
so much as the right. Some ashes from the cloth-
ing lay between the left arm and the body. The
body did not appear to be at all elevated from the
floor. I did not perceive any rings or jewelry any-
where about. The fire was out, but there was a
strong smell of burning still in the room. In the
grate I saw some peat and some paper, apparently
la id ready for lighting, but which had not been
lighted. There was no carpet on the floor ; a table
stood in the centre of the room ; the fender and
fire-irons stood on the south side of the room, away
from the fireplace ; there was no coal in the grate.
I locked up the room, until it was visited by the
coroner's jury, between 6 and 7 o'clock the same
evening. I accompanied the jury to the house, and
unlocked the door for them. The body was then
in the same state as when I left it in the morning.
I saw the body moved by one of the jurymen, Mr,
Hibbins. He took hold of it with the tongs, and
raised it partly upon the left side, to search for the
pocket. I then saw that the floor was burnt and
covered with ashes. Mr. Holkings, another jury-
man, took hold of the fingers of the right hand, in

PRICE 4D. STAMPED. si)

search of a ring, and the ends crumbled off. From
this examination by the jury the burnt clothes were
a good deal disturbed and swept off. They swept
off that which lay across the face. The face ap-
peared to be swollen, and very brown, as if it had
been a good deal smoked.
Mr. Mark Johnson, surgeon, of Stamford, said,—
I knew the late Miss Pulley. On Monday, the
2Gth of March, I made a post mortem examination
of her body, assisted by Mr. Reward. Previous
to doing so I inspected the room where she was
found dead. Sergeant Harrison pointed out the
position in which the deceased was found. I saw
a bole in the ilaor,about six inches in circumference.
The floor was of oak. The hole was produced by
the board having -been burnt through. The burn-
ing had extended to and charred the beam on which
the board lay.
Mr. Pollard proved that the hole was in the floor
when the body was removed. The body lay partly
over the hole. On the day after the funeral
witness cut the burnt board out, and found
underneath some charred ash of the clothing of the
deceased.
Mr. Jackson then resumed his evidence as fol-
lows :—I was informed that the body had lain
upon the burnt hole in the floor. The post-mor-
tem examination took place at the Ball and Swan
Inn, in a coach house, to which the body as as re-
moved previous to being opened. The body was
taken out of the coffin in my presence, and placed
upon a table. I recognised the body as that of
Elizabeth Pulley, whom I knew very well. The
body appeared as if parts of it had been burnt to a
cinder. I removedthe burnt clothes. Both sides of
the chest, particularly the left; and the arms were
completely burnt to a cinder. The right hand
was similarly burnt, no vestige of muscle being left.
Part of the metacarpal bones of the hand were burnt
and broken off. The left arm below the elbow was
not so much burnt ; above ,the—eilaow, -it --wee
charred much the same as the right. The left
hand was very firmly clinched. There was blood
on the back of the head and shoulders, and it had
spread round the back. I thought the blood bad
proceeded from the left ear and from the nose and
mouth. I did not find any wound on the bead.
The linen was stained with blood, which I thought
came from the mouth and ear. The face was singed
over and scorched, but not so much as the other
parts named. The eyes were suffused with blood,
and.were also burnt; the eyebrows were burnt,
and the tongue was swollen as if about to protrude
from the mouth, and there was a good deal of
bloody saliva. There was an opening on the ex-
ternal surface of the body, between the ribs on the
left side, which communicated with the chest.
The hole seemed to have been caused by burn-
ing. I could probe the chest through this opening.
The lungs were very much go ..ged with blood, and
in a highly congested state. The heart was some-
what small and somewhat fat, and its cavities
were empty. The lungs cut fleshy, and full
of blood. ?They were by no mucus in a natural
state. I have no doubt the deceased was
knocked down, strangled, and then burnt
to a cinder. I think there might be some little
life remaining when the body was burnt, but of
this I cannot be sure. There was a blister on the
top of the chest, which would rather lead to the
supposition that vitality remained in some degree
after the strangulation. Blood never flows from
a burn only.
Mr. Heward, a surgeon, minutely described the
appearances which the body presented, and gave
his opinion that the fire had acted on it before
death. The prisoner was then remanded till Wed-
nesday week.