The Sun.
London, England, 1861-04-01 00:00:00

THE MURDER AT KINGSTON.

This dreadful occurrence still continues to be the
general topic of conversation and interest in the
town and neighbourhood, and, notwithstanding
the strict inquiries that have been made by the
police, nb motive has been discovered to account
for the commission of the dreadful crime. So far
from the unhappy woman having been actuated by
a feeling of jealousy, it would appear, from all
that has transpired, that she was very much
attached to the deceased, and that, hearing she
was out of place, having been employed for about
eighteen months in a gentleman's family as nurse-
maid, and her services being no longer required.
the prisoner sent for her to come to Kingston, and
asked her to remain with her and her husband
until she could procure her another place. Shy
had only been in the barracks with the prisoner
about a fortnight when the dreadful occurrence
took place, and during that period not the slightest
familiarity was observed to have taken place be
tween the deceased and the prisoner's husband, but
on the contrary, the former was always considered
a remarkably modest, well-behaved young woman.
and the prisoner never seems to have uttered a
word that would create a belief that she was con
ducting herself improperly. The result of all the
inquiries that have been made up to the present
time is that the frightful deed was committed
under a sudden uncontrollable impulse of mania,
and that the wretched woman was at the time
quite unconscious of the nature of the act she was
committing. It would seem that for several weeks
the prisoner has suffered most agonising pains in
her head, but it was considered that this arose from
natural causes incidental to women at her period
of life, and no medical advice was sought for fur
ther than as she could not obtain any rest at night,
some medicine was obtained with the view of pro-
curing sleep. This, however, did not have the
desired effect, and it appears that the prisoner had
herself purchased small quantities of laudanum
which she took with the same object, but it was
of no avail, and there is no doubt that
the laudanum still further acted upon the brain
of the unhappy woman and aggravated her con-
dition. The result appears to have been that for a
short time before the dreadful occurrence she was in
such a condition that she was actually afraid to go
to bed, as she could not sleep, and if perchance shr
did so for a short time the sleep was accompanied
by such horrible dreams and visions, as she de-
scribed them, that it was equally dreadful to her.
For some time before her sister came to the bar
racks to live with hershe had been in the habit of
going to the quarters of the other sergeants, and
sitting up with the wives as late as she could at
night, and she repeatedly, in the course of conver-
sation with them, made reference to her condition,
and stated that she dreaded to go to bed, and
would rather sit up all night than do so.
On Monday, the day previous to the dreadful
occurrence, the prisoner and her sister were on the
most friendly terms, and they had gone out for a
walk in the afternoon, and the prisoner had placed
the name of the deceased in the book of a registrar
office for servants, and as they were going back the
prisoner ordered a small cask of ale for the family.
She and her husband and the deceased all had tea
together, and they sat up during the evening read-
ing, and the prisoner parted with her sister on the
most ,friendly terms, and nothing at all unusual was
observed in her appearance. The paroxysm that
seized her in the morning must have been almost
momentary, for immediately after commi.ting the
dreadful act, she appeared to be seized with the
most poignant remorse—and when she returned to
the room where the body of the deceased was
lying, still quivering in the agonies of death, the
mental anguish she exhibited is stated to have been
of the most appalling kind. The wretched woman
has become much more calm and composed since
she has been in Horsemonge-lane gaol ; but in order
to prevent the possibility of her doing any act of
violence to herself, a female warder is constantly
with her. As the town of Kingston, althoagh
within the distance over which the Central Cr-

minal Court has jurisdiction, is not one of the places
named in the Central Criminal Act, thn case can-

not be disposed of in that Court, and the prisoner,
therefore, cannot take her trial until the Summer
assizes, in August next.

CON.FEs,sIoN OF MURDER.

There is at present in custody on board H.M.S
Impregnable, Captain Lord F. Kerr, the flagship of
the Admiral, Sir H. Stewart, at. D-vonport, a man
named Charles D 41719, a native of Wales. This man,
who is about 28 years of age, was brought from Rio
Janeiro by H.M.S. Buzzard, where he had been Bevy.
ing as supernumerary on board H.M.S. Madagascar,
having entered on board that ship from a merchant
vessel whilst lying at Rio. He states that he could
not stayon board the merchant ship because,although
the captain and the mate were partial to him, the
crew hated him, and were continually plotting to
throw him overboard. He had not been long on
board the Madagascar before the same fancy seized
him, and as here was no proof of such a feeling
existing on the part of the crew, he was ques-
tioned, and the result was that he said some few
months before he had, in Wales, murdered a young
woman, and that the body would be found at a
place which he indicated. The man, who from his
hallucination was useless on board the ship, was
transferred to the Buzzard, and on the arrival of
that vessel in Devonport a week ago was handed
over to the Impregnable.
It is understood that during the week some per-
sons deputed to that duty have gone to Wales, and,
singularly enough, found the body of a woman
which has apparently lain there for the time men-
tioned by Davies (nine months) in the place indi-
cated by him. In consequence of this discovery he
will, no doubt, be forthwith handed over to the civil
authority to be tried for the murder, in which it is
pretty clear that he had some part. There can la,
no question but that his mind has been upset pro
bably by the horror and remorse consequent on his
crime. He is still in dread of the sailors throwing
him overboard.