The Sun.
London, England, 1857-11-17 00:00:00

THE STEVENAGE MURDER.

STEVENAGE, Nor. 16.
The inquiry into the death of John Stacking;
the police-constable, who was so brutally murdered
on the 30th ult., near this town, was renewed to-
day before Mr. 0. Tines, the coroner for the county
of Herts.

Capt. Robertson, the chief constable of the Herts
constabulary, was present during the proceedings.
During the interval that has elapsed since the ad-
journment, through the exertions of Mr. Barnes,
the superintendent, and Mr. Hawkes, the inspector
of the district, most important additional evidence
has been obtained, and the result has been that the
charge appears to be clearly established against
Jeremiah Carpenter, the man in custody.
Mr. Barnes was the first witness examined, and
he stated that he apprehended Carpenter on the 3d
Nov., at two o'clock in the afternoon, and his at-
tention was called to the shirt he had on, and he
asked him to account for some stains that appeared
en the left wristband, and which there seemed to
have been some attempts to remove. The wris -
band appeared to be stiffened by something that
had been placed upon it, and the prisoner said it
was caused by the lotion he had been using for his
leg. He afterwards found a wicker basket in the
prisoner's house, in which there were a few grains
of wheat and barley, and the prisoner's wife, in
his presence, said, " There's no wheat there; don't
you think if there had been any wheat there we
should have got rid of it 2" He afterwards observed
spots of blood on the basket, and he cut out that
part of the basket and handed it to Dr. Taylor.
When he first found the basket the wife of the pri-
soner said, " You can't make blood where there is
no blood, can you T' When the prisoner was exa-
mined before t he magistrates, and witness stated that
he had. found blood on his clothes, the prisoner inter-
{ osed, and said, "It wasuot the blood of that man."
The basket, when he first took possession of it, was
quite wet, and appeared as though it had just been
wasbe I. On Fridaylast witness recovered possession
of some pieces of smock-frock from Inspector
Hawkes. There were some marks of blood upon
them. He had searched the prisoner's cotttage be-
fore, and he could swear positively that there were
no pieces of smock-frock in the cottage upon the
occasion when he made the search. Upon the left
gaiter of the prisoner a button was missing which
appeared to have been dragged off, and a button
has since been found near the spot where the strug-
gle took place. Several buttons were off the other
gaiter, and all the buttons at present on the gaiters
were odd ones. The witness then stated the mea-
sured distance from the prisoner's cottage to the
place where the murder had been committed, and
also that he found five freshly pulled turnips from a
field leading from Mr. Home's (his master's) farm,
and in a pigsty at the prisoner's house he saw some
Swede turnip parings of a similar description to
those which had been pulled up. Upon searching
the prisoner's house he found about a bushel and a
half of barley in the bed room.
The portions of the frock that were found were
produced. The arms appeared to have been torn
from the body, and small blood spots were dis-
tinctly visible.
In answer to a question put by the jury, the
superintendent said that there were no turnips
growing in the prisoner's garden.
The clothes of the prisoner were then produced,
and the curs in them pointed out, and Mr. Smith,
the surgeon, stated his opinion that all these cuts
might have been produced by the knife found on
prisoner, and that they corresponded with the blade.
The surgeon also stated that he had no doubt that
the spots on the smock-fie:ok were blood.
David Carpenter, a toy about 17, the son of the,
prisoner, was then examined, and after some hesi-
tation he admitted that the knife that had been
produced by the poli e belonged to his father.
Inspector Hawkes said that on Friday last he
made a further search in the prisoner's house, and
in a cupboard he found two torn pieces of a smock-
frock with blood upon them. He bad searched that
particular cupboard once fully before, and he was
certain these piece of smock-frock had been placed
there since the former search.

William Isgate, police-constable, proved that-on
Saturday last he made a search near the spot where
the struggletook place, and upon sifting some mould
carefully he found a button of a gaiter, which he
produced.
Inspector Capron, of the Herts constabulary, de-
posed that on Nov. 3d he conveyed the prisoner
from Stevenage to Hitchin, and as they were going
along heObserved to the prisoner, " It is an awful
murder, and it is an awful thing for you to be
charged with it." The prisoner replied, " You did
not see me do it, nor nobody else—th-y have gotto
find that out ; and if they find out I done it, I must
bide the consequences, that's all." After the pri-
soner was at the station witness observed some blood
on a piece of stuff he had been using to bathe his
leg, and he asked him how it came there, and he said
it came from his nose, which always bled when he
ha,l a coil.
William Day, a labourer, proved that on the
morning of the day on which the prisoner was taken
into custody he called at his cottage and asked him
how his leg was, and he said it was a little better.
Witness then said it was a shocking thing about
the murder, and he supposed they would try to
bring him (Carpenter) in for it. The prisoner re-
plied, " I dare say they'll have me to-day, because
there's been two doctors looking at me ; but I am
innocent ; and ill am innocent they cannot hurt
me."
Wm. Shepherd, the lad who was examined on
the former occasion, was recalled, and he said that
on the Saturday after Carpenter hurt his leg Mrs.
Carpenter came to him in the morning, and said
that he must not say anything about Master Car-
penter hurting his foot in the school, because if he
did they'd pay ltim and his father too. On the even-
ing the accident took place his father also told him
if he said anything about Carpenter's accident he
would " pay him"—meaning he would thrash him.
There being no further evidence to lay before the
jury,
The Coroner proceeded to sum up the whole of
the evidence with • great coolness and preci-
sion, He said there could be no doubt, he appre-
hended, in their minds that the unfortunate de-
ceased had met his death by the violent act of some
person, and that act would amount to the crime
of wilful murder. The evidence seemed to point
against one person, and if they should be of opinion
that it was sufficient to show that he was the guilty
party, it would be their duty to say so by their
verdict ; but if they thought it was not conclusive,
they would be justified in returning an open ver-
dict, and saying that the deceased was wilfully mur-
dered by some person unknown.
I The jury, after deliberating for a short time, re-