The Sun.
London, England, 1832-04-03 00:00:00

WISBECH, ISLE OF ELY, MARCH 31.

Levi Lodds and Robert Folkes were indicted for
ravishing Etiza, the wife of Mr. William Heythorne.
The facts of the case as proved on the trial, which
lasted twelve hours, were as follow :—On Saturday
the 1 Ith of February, the prosecutrix, her husband,
antftwo men of the names of Knights and Double-
day, came from Norfolk to Tyd, in this Isle, to seek
for employment. The woman is in her 19th year;
and bad at that time been married only six weeks.
On their arrival at Tyd, they stopped at the White
Lion, and having little or no money, they all four
slept in one and the same hay-loft of that pub-
lic-house on Saturday night. On Sunday even-
ing they were all four at the Goat, at Tyd,
where they swore they met the prison erg, and
several other men, with whom they drank a little
beer. The prisoners are two of the " bankers"
employed in excavating, and other works, on the
great rivers in that part of the country. Having no
money to pay for a lodging, the prosecutrix, her
husband, and Knights, were obliged to leave the
Goat, about ten at night, to seek for one. When
they had got about ten yards from the public-house,
the woman having hold of her husband's arm, the
prisoners and two other men overtook them. Two
of them seized the woman, and dragged her to a
barn, not more than ten yards off, where they threw
her with violence on the straw; in the mean time
the other too had beaten the husband and Knights.
They all four then went into the barn, put a hand-
kerchief in the woman's mouth, and whilst two held
her down by the feet and one by the head, the fourth
viola•ed her person, which was repeated by all four
in succession, the others holding her in like manner.
We draw a veil over the disgusting evidence which
followed. The woman swore that she was naked
to her stays and under-petticoat, and that the men
beat her and drew a knife, with which they
threatened to kill her. The husband said that he
fetched the constable, who, on looking into the
barn, said the woman was not willing to leave, and
went away, upon which he (the husband) ran off, lay
all night by the side of the river, and was not seen
until eleven o'clock on the following day. In the mean
time Knights had taken refuge in the privy of the pub-
lic-house, where he remained until the morning, not of-
fering to get any assistance. The transaction lasted
three hours, after which the woman hid herself in a
pigsty, and did not stir till seven the next morning.
I his story, sufficiently incredible in itself, was ren-
dered still mere so by the circumstance of its being
said to have taken place in the very heart of the
village, with thirty or forty houses within the dis-
tance of ono hundred yards, on a bright moon-light
night, and at a time when the neighbours were
nearly all of them up, or at all events not asleep;
and neither the husband or Kuigh a ever interfered
in any way or went to ger any assistance (save to the
constable as already mentioned) although the affair
lasted three hours. This extraordinary story re-
ceived several important though minute contradic-
tions; and there were many minor variances in the
evidence which the principal witnesses gave.
For the prisoner Lodds, the defence of an alibi was
set up. It was proved most satisfactorily by four
farmers, his landlady, and the man with whom he
slept, that on the evening in question he was at the
New Inn, at Tyd, from six o'clock till nine ; at the
latter hour he left that house, and forthwith pro-
ceeded home, where he slept. till five o'clock in the
morning. Folkes received an irreproachable au-
rae er from a multitude of farmers and neighbours,
who had been acquainted with him from his child•
hood.

The Jury found Folkes Guilty, and acquitted
Lodds.

His LORDSHIP immediately proceeded to pass the
sentence of death on Folkes in a very touching and
feeling manner. His Lordship and the whole au-
dience were very much affected, and the prisoner
left the bar in the deepest distress.

• : Sunday Morning:
Other very important contrauictions to the evi-
dence of the prosecutrix are said to have been dis-
covered since the trial, which will be immediately
embodied in affidavits, and submitted to the consi-
deration of the CniefJustice.

H S.
On the 31st ult. the lady of E BIRT
G. Crowle Esq., of the Hon.
East India Company's Civil Service, of a
noyn, and heir.
On the 2d inst. Mrs. Coles, of Ilarpur-greet, Bloomsbury, of a
daughter.

On the 31st ult. at BampMARRIED
ton, Oxon, Mr. John Vickers, jun., of
Tooley-street, London, to Anna, ehiest daughter of Mr. Robert
Builen, surgeon, of the former place.
On the 29th ult. at Tottenham t hurch, Ernst Wolff, Esq., of
Leeds, to Bethiah, eldest daughter of the~Rev. Rev. Dr. Schwabe,
.of
Stamtbrd-hill.

DIED.
On the 29th ult. the infant son of J. D. Thomson Esq., Guild-
ad-street. ,
On the 30th ult. the infant son of Mr. Robert S. Sims, Upper
ramford-street.
On the Ist inst. Mrs. Moser, of Brixton, in the 80th year of her

. •
-On the 31st ult. of consumption, Dennis Hebert, eldest son of
Mr. Daniel Hawkins, 88, Bishopsgate.street, in the !nth year of
his age.
On the '29th ult. at his lodgings, in Mount-street, Grosvenor.
Moseley, Esq., of Glenham-house, in
Suffolk.
square, John Gallwey Moseley, Esq
aged 33, only son of John
On the 31st ult. at her son's residence, Tottenham, in the 70th
year of her age, Ann Lloyd, relict of James Thompson, Esq..
1 ate of Nottinghill-terrace, Kensington.
•

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YRI Ii
AND PUBLISHED BY MURDO YOUNG, ATTns
SUN OFFICE, 112, STRAND, LONDON,