The Sun.
London, England, 1859-10-13 00:00:00

THE 111URDEB IN •BTAFFORDSHIRE.

The inquest on the body of the unfortunate man
John Reynolds, who was murdered by a companion
named Wilkes, on Sunday morning, at Coseley, a
mining village in South Staffbrdshire, particulars of
which have already appeared in our columns, was
opened on Monday, before Mr. Phillips, district
coroner.

The police have found a knife in the prisoner's
house, with which it is supposed he committed the
fatal act. The prisoner stoutly denies, however,
that he used a knife; but the wound is such a one
as could only have been inflicted by a stab from
some sharp instrument. The prisoner was not pre-
sent during the inquiry ; he will, however, be
brought up at Bilston Police-court to-day. Several
witnesses were examined, who exhibited an amount
of stupidity and ignorance not often seen in South
Staffordshire. The following witnesses gave pretty
clear statements of the facts :
Thomas Harper (alias Cann), a miner, said—On
Saturday night last, about 9 o'clock, I was at this
house, in the tap room, thinking with the deceased
and about seven others. Deceased was then sober.
I afterwards went with the deceased to another
publichouse, and had some more ale there. We all
left at 12 o'clock, and went into the road. They
then subscribed sixpence each towards some beer.
The deceased and Wilkes, however, quarrelled about
paying the sixpence; and after a good deal of
" chaffing," Wilkes raised his hand and struck him
a violent blow upon the left side of his chest. The
deceaSed exclaimed, "What have you strack me
with P" and Wilkes, in reply, said, " Nothing." The
deceased then said, " Thee beest a liar ;" and whilst
attempting to go towards him, he rolled sideways,
and fell across two gas pipes that lay in the road.
Wilkes then raised his right arm, as I believe, to
strike again, just at the time that deceased fell. I
assisted to carry him home, but he was quite dead
when he got there.
The next witness was John Smart, a miner,
living at Coseley, who deposed to having been
drinking in the publiehouse kept by Rudge, in
which deceased and Wilkes were also drinking. He
stayed there drinking until they were all turned out,
and they then went into the road, with several
othere, and it was proposed to pay V. each towards
a quantity of ale. They all paid except the de-
ceased and Wilkes. I did not hear any quarrel-
ling, beyond Wilkes asking Reynolds (the deceased)
for his 6d towards the ale. Deceased refused to pay
and made use of some obscene language to Wilkes,
upon which Wilkes struck him and he fell. He
(witness) did not tee any knife in Wilkes' hand,
nor hear any threat used to stab him. Deceased
was dead directly after the blow was struck. When
Reynolds fell, Wilkes ran away down the lane.
James Naylor, a miner, deposed to seeing deceased
fall after Wilkes struck him. Just as he fell he
said "TV hat have you. struck •me with ? " and
Wilkes said " Nothing but my fist." Deceased then
said "You are a liar, you did." He then fell, and
when we culled him into the house he was dead.
He (witness) did not think that the wound in the
chest could be caused by a fall.
Thomas Hindlcy and Henry Young gave similar
evidence to the above witnesses.
The clothes worn by deceased were produced by
police-constable Mack. The waistcoat (a thick
moleskin) was cut straight through in the direction
of the wound.

James Fellows, a parish constable, deposed to
taking the prisoner into custody. Ile said "What
could you be thinking of to stab a man like that P" and prisoner answered "If Ihad had an axe I would
have cut his head off."
The inquest was here adjourned for the purpose
of a post mortem examination being made,
The inquiry was resumed on Tuesday, when
John Wick deposed—I am a policeman;stationed
at Cosely. About a quarter past three on Sunday
morning constable James Fellows brought the pri
soner, Thomas Wilkes, to the station, and charged
him with stabbing John Reynolds. lie denied
stabbing him, and said, " If I did do it, was with
a cinder I threw at him." I pen came up to where
the deceased lay, and stayed while the clothes were
taken off him. I observed the wound on the left
chest. I found a cut in his linen shirt, flannel
shirt, and waistcoast, about the part where the
wound was. The flannel and linen shirts were
stained with blood. I then left the deceased's
house for the purpose of finding the knife. I
searched in Mrs. llobdy's garden, but before that
went to the place where the deceased had been
stabbed. I did not find it, nor see any cinders
about the spot. I went back to the station, and
told him that a wound of that kind could never
have been inflicted by a cinder. I told him that
deceased was dead. He did not tell me anythirg
about the knife. In the course of ten minutes aft:r
he told me he had had a knife, but had " swopp2d"
it away to a person he called Peg Leg, on the pre-
vious night. He said the knife he had exchano•ed
was a little two-bladed one, and said that he had
thrown the one he received on the top of the
cupboard in his mother's house. I tLeii went
to Peg Leg, and he got up to the room win-
dow, and he said he knew Wilkes, and had
been in company with him on the Saturday night,
about ten o'clock, and had "swopped" a knife
with him. He threw the knife I now produce
through the window, lie said that he had given a

penknife for it. I went from there tothe prisoner's
mother's house, and searched on the cupboard, and
found, under some herbs on the top, the knife. On
opening the large blade, I found one speck of blood-
on the end, dry.
_ _

John MiNal; Ballender, surgeon, of Sedgley, de-
posed—l made a post-mortem examination on the
11th of October inst., by direction of the coroner.
The body externally was that of a strong and well-
developed man. On the left side of chest,
between the third and fourth ribs, there was 'a
clean cut of about an inch in width, penetrating
the walls of the chest cud through the pericardium
into the heart. The wound in the heart was seven-
eighths of an inchAn length.- The pericardium
was filled with black congelated blood. Every
other organ was perfectly sound. The wound of
the heart was the cause of death, which must have
been almost instantaneous. The wound could not
be made by a cinder, ,but by a sharp instru-
ment. I consider the knife produced would with
force cause that wound. •

The coroner briefly addressed the jury, showing
the distinction between murder and manslaughter.
The room having been cleared, the jury con-
ferred for a few minutes, and returned a verdict
of " Wilful murder" against Thomas Wilkes, the
prisoner.

Numerous were the cries that greeted the pri-
soner on his way back to the station, of "Good
bye, Tom," " Good night, Tom," " God bless you,
Tom," and several hundreds followed the convey-
ance containing him for a long distance.