The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-22 00:00:00

THE MURDER OF THE GAMEKEEPER
AT OTLEY

At Bingley, on Wednesday, James Waller, of
Sconce, near Baildon, was charged with having, on
the morning of November 5, wilfully murdered
Wm. Smith, alias Davey, late gamekeeper to Mr.
Timothy Horsfall, of Hawksworth Hall. Mr.
Marsden, of Wakefield, appeared for the prosecu•
tion, and Mr. J. G. Hutchinson, of Bradford, for
the prisoner. The depositions of 12 or 13 witnesses
were taken, as at the inquest. On the morning of
the sth of November, the deceased and another
gamekeeper, named John Fawcett, were out watch-
ing at Hawksworth, a short distance from each
other. They had heard shots fired on several
occasions on previous mornings; they suspected
Waller was poaching, and they had arranged to
be on the look-out, one at Springs Wood, and
the other at Birks End, at five o'clock in the
morning. Fawcett remained at Birks End till
half-past six o'clock, and then heard a shot in the
direction of Springs Wood. About 20 minutes
afterwards, he heard two shots in the same direc-

tion, one following the other in quick succession.
A hill intervening prevented his obtaining a clear
sight of the place whence the sound proceeded, but
he observed the head of a man who was going along
the road, under the fence, in the direction of Wal-
ler's house. On hastening to the place, he found

that the deceased had been shot, and removed to the
house of Mr. Jos. Batley, sen., farmer, at Low
Springs. Mr. Batley, jun., and Mr. Batley, sen.,
had been first attracted to the spot by hearing the
report of a gun, and found the deceased lying in the
road. They were unable for a short time, in con-
sequence of the violence of the dog belonging to the
deceased, to approach him. Immediately the shots
were fired Waller ran into the house of a person
named Ann Wilkinson, near his own house. He
had a double-barreled gun in his hand, was dread-
fully pale, and his eyes (to use Mrs. Wilkinson's
language) " seemed to be coming out of his head."
He asked if she had a window or:door commanding
a view of the place whence he had just come, and
wished to seek refuge in her parlour. The alarm
raised in the neighbourhood by the Battleys and
other persons filled her with fear and apprehension,
and she ordered Waller to leave the house. He did
so, and in a few minutes having been at his own
house and disposed of his gun and taken off his
coat, he returned towards the place where a group
of persons were standing round the deceased, but
stopped at a distance of 20 m 30 yards therefrom.
While there the elder Batley asked the deceased,
" Who has done it ?" and he replied," Jim Waller
has shot me." Batley called out to 'Waller,
" Hast thou done this deed ?" He replied, "No ;
this is the first time I have come out of doors this
morning." Batley then said to the deceased,
" Has not Waller done it ?" and the deceased
replied, "He has." Batley then called out
to Waller, " Come up, and hear what he has to say,
face to face." He did not come, and Batley said to
him, " Thou art a villain, and will have to answer
for it." Mr. J. Steel, surgeon, of Baildon, and
several other medical men soon visited the deceased.
Ho was riddled with shot in the chest and abdomen,
and died at about one o'clock the same day from
gunshot wounds and the shock caused to the ner-
hveaull, e
as
jyus
st
te
ime
eof . 11,tihr.
e.
peaceT . ll
foorrs ftahl le
, of
Wrest H
Riding,a k
s worth-
his
asked keeper,the d
the deceased,
asedl,7habaotuthaed o'clock.hightappened, saw
we
took down his reply, though he did not swear
him. The man's statement was as follows—" I
was out watching this morning. About seven
o'clock I heard a gun fired. I then saw James
Waller. I ran after him. When I got within about
15 yards of him, James Waller turned round and
fired at me, I then turned back, when Waller
fired again, and hit my right hand. The first time
he fired I was hit in the body. I have no doubt
whatever about the matter. It was James Waller
who shot me. I did not take the muzzle off the dog
till he had shot me." Shot similar to those ex-
tracted from the body of the deceased were found
in Waller's house, and also wads, similar to wads
found in the road where the deceased was lying,
and with which the gun fired had been charged.
Waller, in several conversations with Sergeant
Inman and others, had declared, that in conse-
quence of the deceased having been the means ofe
convicting him before the magistrates at Otley, h
would shoot him rather than allow him to take
him again. The magistrates committed the pri-
soner for trial at the asmixeo.