The Sun.
London, England, 1857-04-27 00:00:00

CONFESSION OF A WIFE MURDERER

Through the politeness of our worthy sheriff, Mr.
S. J. Springer, we, last evening, paid a visit to R.
J. M. Ward, who gave us the following confession
in relation to the murder of his wife. Ward seemed
to be deeply affected, frequently interrupting his
disclosure by exclamations of deep sorrow and re-
gret for the crime he had committed, and giving us
a full and complete'dieclosure of the same. After
taking down his confeasiou we read the same to him,
when he pronounced it correct. We give it to our
readers as we had it from his own lips, in the pre-
sence of the sheriff and others :—" On Tuesday
evening, Feb. 3, Mrs. Ward and myself had some
words, ing which Mr s.Ward s ruck me on the head
with a fluid lamp, also on the right side of the nose
causing the same to bleed freely. I begged her
not to strike me, took the lamp away from her,
and went to bed. We arose between 6 and 7 o'clock
on Wedne-day morning. I spoke to her about the
b'ow she had given me, showing her where she had
struck me on tee evening previous, also the blood
ou tits bo!ster and tick. She said she wished I had
bled to death, and, picking up a stick of hickory
wood, she attempted to strike me. I warded off the
blow, which fell upon my right thumb, laming it
severely. The stick fell from her hand, and as
she stooped to pick it up I seized a flatiron, and in
the beat of passion struck her with it on the right
side of the head, upon and under the ear, driving
the earring into the flesh. She fell to the floor, ex-
cl riming, "Oh ! Ward, you have killed me !' I
dropped the flatiron, and went to her ; she was
lying on her side. I turned her over on her back,
and placed a petticoat under her bead, supposing
she was only stunned. I use t all means in my power
to restore her, but in half an hour she died, having
only spoken once, Oh, my Nellie,' meaning, as I
suppose, her little girl. I wrapped her head in a
petticoat and drew the body under the bed, to con-
ceal it in case any one should come iu. About half-
past 8 Wm. H. Nathan, a mulatto boy, came to
the door with some milk. I went into the shop,
took the milk from him and he left. I then went
to Liba Allen's grocery, bought a pound of sugar,
and told•him I was going away. I then returned to
the house, and after a short time commenced cut-
ting up the body. I tore the clothes open from the
throat down. I then took a small pocket-knife and
opened the body ; took out the bowels first, and
then put them in the stove, upon the wood ; they
being filled with air would make a noise in explod
ing, so I took my knife, and pricked holes through
; flea took out the
liverthem,
antdo preventheait,
an
dt hpeu nt oi se
them in the stove ; found
them; hail to take the
burl them;
them before they could
it very
anrydcr
feruleciuettuotibliusrt.i
f.ound the lungs very much de-
cbaeydeles.trozetod ; I
o
t out the blood remaining in the ca-
vity of tie body by placing a copper kettle
close to the same, and scooping it out with my
hand a I then dipped portions of her clothing in
the same, and burnt it together, fearing, if I put
the blood in the store alone, that it might be dis-
covered. !II then made an incision through the
flesh, along down each side, broke uff the ribs and
took out the breast bone, and throwing it into a
large boiler, unjointed the arms at the shoulders,
doubled them up and placed them in the bAler ;
then severed the remaining portions of the body by,
placing a stick of wood under the back and break-
ing the backbone over the same, cutting away the
flesh and ligament with a knife ; then tried to sever
the head from the body ; it proving ineffectual, I
put the whole upper portion of the body in the
boiler ; then took a large carving knife and severed
the lower portions of. the body, unjointed the legs
at the knee, and again at the hip-joint ; cut the
thighs open, and took out the bones and burnt
them up; they burnt very rapidly. On Thursday
night I commenced burning the body, by placing
the upper and back portions of the same, together
with the head, in the stove. On Friday morning,
finding it hid not been consumed, I built a large
fire by placing wood around and under it, and in a
short time it was wholly consumed, exc lit some
small portions of the larger bones of the skull. The
remaining portions of the body were kept in the
boiler and in tubs under the bed, covered up with
a corded petticoat, and were there at the time the
first search was made on Saturday by constable
Curtis. Hearing on Saturday evening that the
citizens were not satisfied with the search made
by Mr. Curtis, I proceeded on Sunday morn-
iug to destroy the remainder of the body,
by burning the same in the stove, cutting the
fleshy parts of the thighs in small strips, the
more readily to dispose of them. On Monday
morning I took up the ashes in a small keg, sifting
out the larger pieces of bone with my hands,
placing the same in my overcoat pockets, which I
scattered in various places in the fields at different
times. Also took the major portion of the trunk
nails., together with the hinges, and scattered them
in diferent places. I then burnt her trunk and
every vestige of her clothing, disposing of small
portions at a time, to prevent their creating too
much smoke." On the 6th inst., R. J. M. Ward,
the murderer, was brought in, dressed as usual in
a full suit of black, appearing much downcast, and
as the Court commanded him to stand up, he arose,
breathing heavily, his eyes fixed upon the floor,
and only momentarily seeking the face of the
judge. With ono hand be leaned heavily on the
chair, while the other hung trembling at his side.
After the judge had pronounced sentence of death
Ward knelt down, and, leaning on the chair,
buried his face in his hands, weeping and groan-
ing. He was suffered to remain thus for a few
moments, as the forms of adjourning the court till
the afternoon were gone through with, when Sheriff
Springer touched him on the shoulder and he
arose, apparently au"..,in more composed, and was
taken to the gaol.--2'oledo Commercial, April 6.

Tr
• -"C LATEST NEW Tursia.—A spider-tank is the last
novelty, and likely
to be the most popular ono intro-
duced. It sho7.ld be furnished with a perforated glazed
top, and be not less than ten or twelve inches high,
formed upon a square base of some six or more inches.
The one we have contains throe dozen spiders, acting,
like a body of ants or like a hive of bees, under a
chosen ruler, and the arrangem nt of the nest and
the formation of the web have been the work of the
most perfect subdivision of labour, each individual spider
performing its & llott ed task, without interfering with
that of its neighb Air. Tne .Argyroneta Aquatica,
the diving water spider, when isolated from its
companions, builds a cup lake nest close to the t,,p of
the water, and the metx.brane which surrounds the body
being transparent, when inflated with air, assnmes the
appearance of a glittering metallic substance. So
charged, the spider descends to the bottom in search of
prey, but frequently is itself devoured by fish before it
reaches its de-tination. To guard against this, nature has
taught it that unity is strength, and when acting together
in a body, the web is so strong and of such dimensions,
th et fish themselves are entrapped and become food for the
colony. The immense activity of the spider, continually
ascending and descending, glittering and bright in its
airy dress, makes it one of the most amusing additions to
the vivarium, and the spider tank guards it from the
danger to which it is subject if placed within the general
v.varinin.