The Sun.
London, England, 1858-03-06 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

HOME Cl RCUIT.
HERTFORD, MARCH 5.
Crown Side.—(Before Mr. Justice Williams.)
THE NITTRDHR AT STEVENAGE.
Jeremiah Carpenter, 38, described as a labourer,
was charged. upon an indictment, and also upon the
coroner's inquisition, with the wilful murder of
John Starkins.
The prisoner, who is a powerful determined look-
ing man, pleaded not guilty.
Mr. Sergeant Parry and Mr. Watkin Williams
defended the prisoner.
The learned counsel for the prosecution opened
the case to the jury in a very clear anl able manner,
and having called their attention to the very solemn
and important duty they had to discharge upon the
occasion he proceeded to give a narrative of the
circumstances under which the charge was preferred
against the prisoner. The deceased, he said, was a
young man about 22 years of age, and at the time
he met his death he was a constable
beog to
the Herts constabulary, and statione at Steven-
age, in this county. The prisoner was a labouring
man, residing in a cottage about half a mile from
Stevenage, and at the time of the transaction be
was in the service of Mr. Horne, a farmer, who
occupied a farm called Norton Green Farm, about
a mile from the town. It appeared that Mr. Horne
had a suspicion that he was being robbed by some
of the persons in his service, and that he had made
a communication to that effect to Mr. Hawkes, the
inspector of the constabulary at Stevenage, and on
Friday, the 30th of October, the day of the murder,
the latter had given the unfortunate deceased mere
instructions to watch the prisoner as he came from
his work, and ascertain if he haTanything about
him that did not belong to him. deceased ap-
peared to have left Stevenage about five in the
evening with this object. He was dressed in his
ttniforin, but with a plain great coat over it, and it
appeared that he took with him a pair of handcuffs
and a stick. The usual route taken by the prisoner
int his way home from his work would appear to
e been kn3wn to him, for he was seen by several
persons going straight in the direction where he
would have expected to meet the prisoner, and
he wAs p trticularry o'rervel ,:t; a Tilace called
Woolmer Common, looking in the direction of a
field called Cooper's }leeches field, and appar ntly
observing some one he was looking for, he imme-
diately made ff towards that field. This was about
half-past five o'clock in the evening, and the unfor-
tunate man was never again seen alive. He did
not report himself to his superior officers, and no
information was obtained respecting him, and as
he was a very well-conducted man, and always per-
formed his duties in a regular and proper manner,
his disappearance under such circumstances excited
alarm and suspicion, and the officers of the district
immediately in.tituted an active search to ascertain
what had become of him. No information what-
ever could be obtained cn the Saturday •or the
Sunday ; but on the following Monday morning a
constable named Isgate, who was crossing the
Cooper's Breeches field, had his attention attracted
to a deep pond in that field, and upon going to it
he saw a foot and hand of a man projecting from
the water ; and upon the body being taken out of
the pond it proved to be that of the unfortunate
deceased. There were several severe cuts on tie
throat, which had the effect of nearly severing the
head from the body ; and there were other marks of
violence on the face of the deceased, which left no
doubt that a most foul and brutal murder had been
committed.
The learned counselconcluded.by stating that since
the assizes had commenced a fresh piece of evidence
had been obtained in a statement made by the pri-
soner himself, and he said that if he should succeed
in establishing it to the satisfaction of the jury, it
would leave them no alternative but to convict the
prisoner of the awful crime imputed to him, as it
seemed to him that it amounted to an admission of
his guilt.
There were 30 witnesses to be examined for the
prosecution, and at a late hour the trial was
adjourned

MIDLAND CIRCUIT. —LEICESTER, MARcs 4
CROWN COURT.
(Before Mr. Justice Coleridge.)
John Payne and James Hickling were indicted
for the manslaughter of Elizabeth Barker Dain.
Mr. Merewether conducted the prosectrion ;
the prisoner Payne was defended by Mr. O'Brien,
and Hickling by Mr. Mundell.
The prisoners were employed in making an ex-
cavation for a drain in a part of the main street
leading to the Midland Railway station, and the
work having been begun late in the day, had
thrown the earth into a heap, extending from the
kerbstone about a yard's length into the public
highway. They were observed. by a policeman,
who told Hickling, on hearing that the earth was
to be left all night, that ne should shovel it up as
much as possible from the middle of the road, put
a light upon it and leave it secure. The foreman
of the Board of Health of the town saw them also
and told Payne, who was a well-sinker, that he
was wrong to make that hole at that time of night,
• about 6.10 p. fn. Payne said that as soon as the
stones were broken through he would fill i', ap
again and make it safe • the foreman told him that
if he w,ould send to the storeyard he could have
guards • the width of the road was about 3.7 feet.
No light was placed above the heap, but there was
a gaslight on the opposite side of the street. At
about a quarter to 8 that evening a cart driven by a
man named Stavely, and containing a party, among
whom were the deceased and her husband and. little
boy, returning from a fair, was driven towatde
Leicester along the London road past Campbell-
street a pi. int at which there is a bye-road leading to
the Midland Station, towards which the Bell-mu
. omnibus was proceeding in an opposite direction to
the cart. Stavely, seeing the omnibus come, as it
seemed, sudde. uponhim, turned aside to allow it to
pass, and, not having observed the heap, the cart
was turned upon it and overs,t, by venion the de-
- ceased. was killed. The prisoners had, it appeared,
believed that the heap was sufficiently made up to
be safe; both bore -good characters. It was con-
tended for the one that, being a bricklayer, and
only engaged in the excavation in assistance of the
• other, whose business it was to excavate, he was
• not the responsible person, and for the e,cavator
that he had not only thoughl., all safe when he left
it, but that the master who employed him, and not
he, should be held responsible. The Court, however,
• told the jury to inquire, first, was there any negli-
gence 7 If there was, and the jury thought the acci-
dent resulted from the insufficiency of the light,
then he must tell them that it was the duty of the
prisoners to place sufficient light and take such care
as would make the highway safe for all to pass, as
' they had no right to encroach one yard upon it.
The person who did. the act must be held respon-
sible ; he did not say but the master was so also.
Verdict of guilty against both. Fine of 11., both
prisoners having already suffered one week's im-
prisonment.
(Before Lord Chief Justice Campbell.)
The criminal business was brought to a conclu-
sion
this evening. The cases of most public intereEt
were " Regina v. William Carter, Thomas Sten-
son, Thos. Ward, and Sarah Ann Towers," for a
• garotte robbery, committed in a part of the Hum-
berstone-road, one of the most frequented streets
• in this tows. Mr. Simpson prosecuted and Mr.
O'Brien defended the prisoners. The female pri-,
Boner, S. A. Towers, had been treated by R. Thomas
at the Barrel publichouse, Humberstone-gate ; she
accompanied him from that house to a piece of
unpaved ground lying a little off the highway, and
• was followed by the three male prisoners, who had
been drinking in the same house, and with one of
• whom she had been living. The assault by the
• three
men was very violent, and was per-
slated in, although one of the witnesses called
was looking on while
Thomas, who they were suffocating Mr.
great wasexhausti. °ll afterwards found in a state of
to the evidence spitting blood. In addition
encef Sarah Nicholl, who saw distinctly
all the three male
and the woman Towers, folluwiug Mr. Thomas
b.ancl. saw them afterwards
in the act of throttling evidence of others who
had seen them about theßarrel
• near the spot where and "at the timef wine-vaults, and
sanit took place, the shoes of two when the as-
otliemeen wered
found to correspond with footmarks on th
where Thomas had been seen Struggling andgrryoninn
"Murder." All the prisoners were convicted, and
, each sentenced to seven years penal servitude.
Two., cases of night poaching, the one including
mtv aefenda t d the other, five, were tried to
an
the In both cases there was some violence used b
hticks, lu the former case with atones andy
31neenlattee with stones.
former and
_r. Al&e. Mundell prosecuted in the
sentenced. t
prisonerfasm.svetehl.azewsther in the latter.
terms of imprisonment va‘reiltneki'geroataudi to 6 months.

WESTERN CIRCIIIT.—w
CROWN COIZT. a 7231, March 5
(Before Mr. Justice Willes.)
Benjamin Spring was indicted for the
d:ittghtor of Anron Nwp-bnis-.
ol do
.Mr. Poulden prosecuted, and Mr. Caidge
fended the prisoner.
From the statement of the learned counsel it ap-
peared the deceased and many other persons were
workmen on the Dorchester and South
eman amoverpton
Railway, and the prix
,ner was the f.r
them. In Dec. these men were in a truck proceed
f
ing on the line to their work. It was the duty o
the men not to get out of the train while it was in
motion, and the driver of the train was to obey the
signal of the prisoner, and stop the train by his
&notion. Just as the train waicoming to the place