The Sun.
London, England, 1867-08-12 00:00:00

THE WOOLVER2ON MURDER.

the trial of Georgelikoyo
Wellßrittens,
eseutmost
prisoner
rnei
sf,
000snfrotocenrri
‘wttt
eihharee_s.
On Saturday
he
r6stlwilfulth.Justiceot
rmf übvureidl
ay:
eorlslaw. osntf
The
oiAse
kt
cwtapei
sflacea cebeax:ccail
e:
et
t
aclt,
ath,ceebodu
asked at tu tol
t) the "r. r.
maliceple nd ha
faepoapEoeedur aGnght." Tud
ilhcteoyl counsel
eocf t
thee
d.
h e
lf t h
Ee
diiprosecutionand f
omr
rre
the were Mr .
defence,
fTe
B. cW. Sun
eV,
isira.rdrei
Prideaux'
s a e
aund
x,
andQ.C.,
Saunders AI r. d
. Fsotlaktaerd
.the case, observing that it
had no doubt acquired great notoriety.thad
prisoner formerly occupiedlatterlyThe
a farm, b
lived retired in a cottage at Woolverton. He
was married, and bad one child. Their means were
but limited ; no servant was kept ; and Mrs. Britten
did the domestic work,arwesothicoma. Close to
o with the
them
occupied by the prisoner was a building used by a
Mr. Moger exclusively as a malt-house, to which the
prisoner had no occasion to have access. On Satur-
day morning, June 20, a young man proceeding to
his work at a very early hour was attracted by see-
ing smoke issuing from this malt-house, and judging
that the building was on fire, he raised an alarm,
and proceeded to the cottage of the prisoner to
awaken him. lie knocked, but received no answer ;
but on throwing some pebbles at the • window
the prisoner appeared. He was informed of the
fire ; and assistance having been procured, the
malt-house was entered. Something attracted
the notice of the people who were • endeavour-
ing to extinguish the fire. At first it was thought
to be the body of some farm animal ; but it sub-
sequently proved to be that of a human being ; and
ultimately it was discovered to be the body of
Mrs. Britten. Later in the day further investiga-
tion was made, and the body, although greatly
burnt, was identified, and the nature of the wounds
which bad caused death was ascertain by Mr.
Parsons, a surgeon. It then appeared clear that the
unfortunate woman had no doubt been foully mur-
dered, and that an effort had been made to destroy
all identity by burning. The question then arose,
" Who did it ?" An officer of police interrogated
the prisoner and said, " Where is your wife?" The
answer was " She is not here ; she has gone to
Frome, and from there to West Pennard to see her
friends." Mr. Deggan asked if she had taken any-
thing with her, and was told she had taken a bundle
of clothes. lie took the prisoner to the malt-house,
and pointing io the body which bad been found,
inquired if it was not that of his wife ; and upon
receiving an answer- in the affirmative, he con-
sidered he was justified in taking him in custody
to Frome. -The next day the prisonean r's Grather-
in-law called .to see him. Mr. Degg no
interfere with the conversation ; but noticing a
piece ofl)lper pas, be tett possession of it as in
duty bound, and found that it was a confession.
(This has already appeared in our e)lumns.) Later
in the day the prisoner asked for writing materials,
which were supplied, and the narrative was then
continued. This confession was a voluntary act of
the prisoner ; no inducement or threat was used to
make him do it ; and later on in the day he made a
further statement, verbally, to Mr. Deggan, in con-
sequence of which a search was made, and a large
piece of lead was found. It was a formidable weapon,-
weighing six or Eeven pounds. A coroner's in-
quest was held ou the Monday, and, after ad-
journment till Tuesday, a verdict of " Wilful
murder" was returned. Later on the prisoner made
a further statement, accounting for the position of
the body between the time of the murder and its
discovery. He did not know what defence would
be made by his learned friends. It might be alleged
that the deed was committed under great excite-
ment, but that could not be held as any palliation
of the c.ime, although the law does not esually
exact the full penalty if the anger has been justly
excited. The prisoner says it was done in a fit of
jealousy. If
comethe jury could, under these circam-
, stances, to the conclusion that a verdict of
manslaughter met the justice of the case he.should
rejoice as much as any one ; but if they thought
otherwise they must not shrink from their duty.
In support of the foregoing statement several
witnesses were called and examined, after which
Mr. Saunders briefly summed up. Mr. Prideaux
then addressed the Court for the prisoner, sub-
mitting that he had in the heat of the moment,
I under some sudden impulse, committed an act which,
unhappily for his wife and himself, it was impossible
to deny led to her death. Counsel concluded au
able speech by begging the jury to believe the state-
ment made by the prisoner that day that he was
guilty, but not of malice aforethought, and to give
credit to the statement which lie had previously
made. The prisoner had already received the
highest character from the witnesses for the prose-
cution,
boneo leave no room for doubt that he had
always
r an irreproachable character he would
call before the jury several witnesses.
Four gentlemen then severally stated that during
a long number of years they had known the prisoner
as a highly respectable and very humane person.
Ills Lordship summed up, and the jury, after con-
sultinghhiacvg
hin he
a few minutes in their box, returned a ver-
dict of wilful murder against the prisoner. The
clerk of assizes then asked him why sentence of
sh,o,ulldhanveotnboothpianrdtousiasoyi.s,,himsi,ietnoc7
deathreplie replied,
been proclaimeo., the judge, who was deeply affected,
assumed the black cap, and passed sentence of
death in the usual form, and observed that be could
hold out no hope that the extreme
law would not be carried out..
Thu prisoner, who accused to have fully antici-
pated his doom, then walked steadily out of the
dock ; ar.d at six o'clock was conveyed in the prison
van to the railway station, and thence to Taunton
(;aol.

AFFAIRS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA.—British Colum-
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