The Sun.
London, England, 1861-03-13 00:00:00

WESTERN CIRCUIT.-EXETER, MARCH 12.

MURDER BY, A SOLDIER.
Robert Hacked, :aged 29, a private in the 61st
regiment of Foot, was indicted for the wilful mur-
der of Henry Jones, a sergeant in the same regi-
ment, at Plymouth, on the sth of January last.
Mr. Cox and Mr. Lopes prosecuted ; and Mr. H.
T. Cole defended the prisoner.
The facts of the case were of a simple character.
The prisoner is a private in the 61st Regiment, and
the deceased was a lance sergeant in the same corps.
They had served together through the Indian
campaign, and the prisoner had earned a medal for
his good conduct in the field. On the sth of January
Jones, the prisoner, and others were in the mess-
room of the barracks at Millbay, Plymouth'
Hacked had brought a pensioner with him, ;who
had also been in India, to whom he gave his dinner.
Whilst at dinner the conversation turned on the
Delhi prize money, and in the course of the con-
versation Jones, who was a jocular man, said that
the pensioner would spin a similar yarn the next
day for another such dinner. The prisoner said
nothing at that time, but left in a few minutes, and
did not return again for several hours. At about
half-past five he came to the barrack room, and,
according to the evidence of several witnesses, he
was drunk. He said, "I am much obliged to No.
3 and No. 4 mess for insulting my friend" (the pen-
sioner). Upon this Jones made an observation, to
which the prisoner rejoined, " It was all your fault,
Harry." Jones, who was lying down on his bed,
made use of some coarse expressions, whereupon
the prisoner said that if he was not a sergeant, and
if it were not for his getting 50 lashes, he would
smash him where he lay in his cot. The prisoner
then left, and in a few minutes returned again
with his rifle and pouch. Jones went in an inner
room, and whilst standing about 30 paces fro h
prisoner, the latter put his rifle, not to shoulder,u
h th
m e
but to his hip, and shot the sergeanth through gassin
back, crushing t the backbone, the
1. bullet passing
few g
ignetroe
custody
astody
out of the bowels. The poor man
minutes and expired. Intaankenin
the prisoner said he did not intend to shoot Sergeant
Jones, but to another witness he said that he did,
and intended to have shot several others. It was
proved that the prisoner and deceased had been on
the best of terms previous to this unhappy event.
Mr. Cole, for the defence, made an able, speech.
He contended that the prisoner, whilst in a morbid
state of drunkenness, had brought his rifle into the
barrack-room, and had accidentally discharged it
without any deliberate intention to kill the de-
ceased.

His lordship having summed up,
Thejury, after deliberating three-quarters of an
hour, found the prisoner guilty, and he was sen-
tenced to death.
The case lasted till ilve o'clock p.m.

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