The Sun.
London, England, 1858-03-22 00:00:00

ASSIZE IN PELL IGEN (7E.

OXFORD CIRCUIT.—SHREWSBURY, March 20.
CRIMINAL COURT.
(Before Mr. Baron Watson.)
MURDER..
William Davies, aged 35, labonrer, was charged
with the wilful murder of Ann Evans, at Muoh
Wenlock, on the 12th of September, 1857.
Mr. Scotland and Mr. Benson appeared for the
prosecution. Mr. Powell, at the request of the
learned judge, undertook the prisoner's defence,
and was assisted by Mr. G. Brown.
It appeared that the deceased was an old woman,
between 60 and 70 years of age, a reputed witch,
who lived in a cottage on a common at Westbrook,
in the parish of Much Wenlock. She letd passed by
several names, and for some years lived with a
man named Evans, who died in the year 1806. The
prisoner, a labouring
man, of about 3o years of
age, soon afterwards came to live with her. He
dug a bit of land which the old woneFi possessed,
&c., and being gen!rall y
and planted her potatoes,
a quiet and rather weak-minded man, he was in the
habit of going to market for her, and, as the re-
port ran, the old woman had promised to marry
him, and about nine months before her death had
got the banns published in Madeley Church. In
the meantime they lived together as man and wife,
and, according to the evidence, the prisoner was
" bewitched" by the old woman. According to his
own statement to several witnesses the old woman
had great power over him, and had the p iwer as
often as he left her, which he did more than once,
to draw him back. There wen no doule upon the
evidence that the old woman was a fortune-teller
and practisedwitchcraft, and that by means of her
supposed
in the
with spirits she was generally
believed the country round to have the power
over people's fortunes, and particularly over poor
men's sheep and pigs. Under these circumstances,
notwithstanding the disparity of their ages, the
prisoner went to live with her. The old woman,
it appeared, was very violent in her temper, and
in the habit of using very foul language ; and on
several occasions words took place between the
parties which induced the prisoner to leave her,
which he did more than once, but was " drawn
back" by her It appeared that he continued to live
with her till the 12th Sept., 1857, when her death
took place. Two days previously he had purchased
a new pocketknife at Wenlock, but not under cir-
cumstances to excite any suspicion. On the day in
question the deceased sent him to Wenlock on some
errands, when he stayed longer than he ought to
have done, drinking at Mrs. Aston's publichouse.
On his way home, in conversation with a waggoner,
he said he was living with an old woman on the
hill, and was very comfortalile, and that he should
have a lot of money when the old woman died. The
deceased met him on the road at 3 o'cl .ck, p.m.,
and was very angry and abusive, and, taking the
basket from him, told him that he might ge back to
Wenlock, orb—, if he liked. The prisoner was very
quiet and civil, and followed her to the cottage ;
and it appeared that they had tea together, for the
remains of tea were afterwards found in two cups
on the table. Shortly after they had gone into the
cottage the old woman came out. At that time a
meu was sitting on a wall near the cottage, and
called out " Bid." The prisoner came out, and
the man asked him what was the matter. The pri-
soner looked down and said, "There is n ;thing
the matter with me." The old woman ten said
she had sent him to Wenlock on an errand, and he
had spent part of the money ; he was an eternal
villain, and had thrown part of the sugar into the
fire and part into the ashes. She also said, "He
is a ce ernal rogue ; he has robbed me, and nut
only that, he'll murder ire." She then returned
into the cottage, and a few minutes afterwards a
little boy was on the common near the cottage, and
heard the parties quarrelling inside. The door was
open, and be heard the old woman say that if the
prisoner did not go out she would make him turn
out. The deceased was a very powerful woman fie-
her age, and very violent in her manner ; and, ac-
cording to the boy's evidence, she was using a great
deal of foul and abusive language. The prisoner
then said be wanted his smock, and the woman
said he should not have it. The prisoner then went
upstairs to fetch it. It appeared the woman also
went upstairs, and the boy heard a fall on the floor
and the woman's voice saying, "Bill, let me alone."
He also heard the woman scream out three times,
and presently the prisoner came running down
stairs, and shut the outer door and locked it.
Hay.ng turned the key, he left it in the door and
walked away. The little boy went home to h's
mother and told her what he had seen and heard,
and in a few minutes his mother came to tie spot,
but, seeing blood upon the door-latch, she was afraid
to enter. In a few minutes some more neighbours
came to the trot, oltet•ecl the door, and e-ttle 1 out
the old woman's name, but receiving no aiswer,
they entered and went upstairs, and there found
the old woman lying dead upon the floor. On ex-
amination several slight wounds were discovered
on the old woman's face, and four stabs in the neck,
one of which bad penetrated the carotid artery, and
another completely severed it, and so caused imme-
diate death. It appeared the old wicenan had
bought the prisoner a silver watch and chain, and
the watch was found in her left hand, with the
chain passed between her fingers ; and the sugges-
tion on the part of the prosecution was that there
had been a struggle for the watcb. The prisoner's
pocketknife was found lying open on the dresser in
the kitchen, covered with fresh blood. He was taken
into custody at two o'clock next morning, in a barn
at Leebotwood, about 20 miles off. The policeman
charged him with the murder of Nancy Morgan,
and the prisoner asked, "Is she dead ?" and, on
being answered in the affirmative, he said, "Oh
Lord, I did not think it was quite sa bad as that."
He was then brought to Wenlock in a cart, and, on
the way, he slid he had spent 2s. of the old woman's
money, and had had two pints of old beer, and
that when he came back the old woman abused
him for being so long away, and that they cursed
each other. He said he told her he would have her,
and would not stop, and went upstairs to fetch his
clothes. The old woman followed him, and he asked
her for the watch she had bought for him, and also
that he several times asked her to kiss him. He
said that if he did it it was not for money, for he
knew where it was, and there was but 6d. in the
h-use, and he knew where the bank books were.
He added, " I did love the old woman." Another
witness confirmed this evidence, and also stated
that the prisoner sail, "We had a scuffle." He
allowed himself to be searched without opposition,
but nothing was found upon him beyond a few
shillings. To ano -tier witnes, a farmer, he repeated
the same account, with the addition that he wanted
to hare his clothes and the wetch, and told the cld
woman he would leave her, and she might have
" Todd, or Wood," but she would not let him have
them. He also said jealousy had done it. It ap-
peared, from the cross-examination of the wit-
nesses, that there was a general belief among
the ignorant people about Westbury that the old
woman possessed what they called " the evil
eye," and that, by the aid of some old books on
magic, and the unknown language in which she
sometimes spoke, she p assessed supernatural
powers. The counsel for the pris,4ll,4r wished to
cross-examine the mother of the little boy who
proved the chief portion of the case ag Oust the
prisoner, to show that she believed the old woman
still had rower civer her, but the learned judge
would not allow that to be done. It was, however,
evident that the woman was labouring from soeie
mental anxiety, and nothing would induce i.er to
leave the witness-box while her 1 til- boy was being
examined. It appeared that a few mouths before
her death the old woman bad sold a bit of land for
651., and that the money had been lodged in a
bank.

Mr. Powell, for the prisoner, said one thing was
quite clear in this case—viz., that the old woman
had a very s'rong body and a very abusive tongue.
Whatever might have been her powers of witch-
craft it was clear she had great power over the pri-
soner, and had induced him, though a young man,
to go and live with her. That fact was more strange
than witchcraft, and such was her power over his
weak mind that when he left her, as he did several
times, he always felt that she drew him back. He
could not suggest that the prisoner did n ,t know
right from wrong, but he showed weakness of mind,
and up to the day in question he appeared always
to have borne her abuse and violence with patience
and quie`ness. It seemed, however, that he had at
last resolved that he would liberate himself from
her power, and determined to leave her. He de-
manded his clothes and his watch, which she re
fused, for it could not be doubted that the old
woman bad a strange and unnatural fondness for
him, and did not wish him to leave. The prisoner,
however, insisted upon doing so, and went upstairs
to get his clothes. The old woman followed him,
and it would seem that a scuffle ensued. What el,.e
had. taken place no one could exactly tell; but the
liirtialeuauctle,rircutocienkunnaitastyetel.„,,,d.
theso gwg ested that blows must have
the opmriasonnienrhteor violence, and that
none,
z,a
i. eva,),,zt.ii_duringcolti:s
eithe szhue
titatd,arduapsawinhobwewualolentimurnsitsioeiksagraht:iiheiltfneeeedinifialapaitia:rgtteci,
oe_ll_
tired those inzaalte }',,Pernatural
be noth;ng but in
soner would appear to Z'teerg"ll'
and in that moment, without. ivo7,, we'd
might have struck her the fatal hicivr4"l,""Acin, he'
bad no ino ive to destroy the old ~,,,;„—are.rcsoner
cet ;he co; trary he had everymotive to pre: 1e '
in order that 1i might be married to her, an,it \
become wa.ver of htr little property. The learned
called upon the jury as an act, not
counscl eariaetly