The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-23 00:00:00

TILE BRUTAL 111URDed? 1N NOATH

DEVON.

COMMUTAL OF THE MURDERER.
The brutal murder of a young
woman, named
Maria Blackmore, on Wednesday night, at the
fashionable watering-place of Lynton, in North
Devon, has already been recorded. On Saturday'
last an inquest was held on the body at the Castle
Inn, Lynton, before R. Brernrid4e, Esq., coroner
of the district, when a young woman named Han-
nah Mogridge, an acquaintance of the deceased,
said that on the evening of Wednesday she met
deceased near the Valley of Rocks Hotel. The
latter said, she heard there had been fine work at
the Globe Inn, and that Barwick (the man in cus-
tody charged with the murder) and a man, named
Lethaby, had been fighting. Deceased said she
should like to see Barwick (with whom she kept
company), and, on her suggestion, the witness
Mogridge went over to his residence, and told him
that he must go over to deceased as she wanted to
see him. This was a little after nine o'clock, and
on Barwick joining the deceased the witness heardo
her say to him, 4, You have been drinking to-day?
Barwick replied that he had not. Deceased said,
" Yes, you have, for I have been told so." She
also said, 4, I heard you had been fighting," and he
replied that he had. Witness then went for some
milk, and on returning to where the deceased and
Barwick were standing, she said to the former,
" Are you coming ?" Deceased replied, "Not for
a few minutes," and witness passed on ; but in a
few minutes deceased ran into herlodgings,
bleed-
ing at the neck, and was place.' in a chair, but in
hss than five minutes fell on the floor a corpse.
Before she expired the deceased said that Barwick
had inflicted on her the fatal wound.
Mr. John Clark, surgeon, who was called in to
the deceased, said he found her quite dead. On
examination witness discovered a wound in the
throat, about an inch and a-half in length and the
same in depth, in the direction of the internal jugu-
lar vein and common carotid artery. The wound
appeared to have been made by a knife. Death
was caused by the division of the arteries.
Police-constable Woodrow, who apprehended
Barwick at Lynton on the night of the murder, said
he asked prisoner what he had been doing. Se
replied, " If you had not come when you did, yon
would not have found me alive." Whilst witness
was there, James Ridge and Richard Norman came
in, and the latter said, "She is dead." Witness
said to Norman, " Who is dead ?" and he replied
" Maria Blackmon." Witness then told Barwick
that he should take him in charge for the murder
of Maria Blackmore. On searching Barwick he
found in his pocket two knives and a razor,
he produced. The large knife had a quantity of
blood upon it, which was apparently fresh. There
were spots of blood on Bar wick's baud when be took
him into custody. After cautioning Barwick, he
said to witness, "She told me that she should breakff o all correspondence with me that night; and that
caused it." which
The jury found a verdict of wilful murder against
_
John Barwick, who was then conveyed by the
North Devon Railway to the Devon county gaelat
at Exeter, and will be tried for the capital °llene
at the Devon March assizes.