The Sun.
London, England, 1850-03-28 00:00:00

A WIFE KILLED by her HUSBAND.

Yesterday vt 2 o'clock, Mr. Bedford, the coronor
fur Westminster, and a jury of 15 highly respectable
inhabitants of the pariah of S'. Paul, Covent• garden
(of whom Mr. ex• Churchwarden Ashcroft acted as
foreman), assembled at the Old Drury Tavern, oppo-
site the pit entrance of Drury-lane Theatre, for the
purpose of inquiring into the circumstances attending
the death of Mrs. Susan Moir, aged 39 years, wife
of Mr. Alexander Moir, carrying on business as a
baker at 24, Brydges-street, Covent-garden. The
proceedings excited unusual interest in consequence
of a very generally circulated rumour to the effect
that the deceased had for some time pest suffered ex-
cessive ill-treatment from her husband, and that her
death had arise❑ from blows inflicted by the latter in
the course of Friday and Saturday last. The appre-
hension of Mr. Moir, arid his subsequent examina-
tion at Bow-street police-court on Monday last,
tended to increase the excitement referred to, and
before the inquiry commenced the room where the
jury assembled was inconveniently crowded with per-
sons anxious to hear the evidence.
Mr. Mosely, the vestry-clerk of St. Paul's, Covent-
garden, with Mr. Churchwarden Wilkinson, and Mr.
Israel, one of the overseers, attended to watch the
case on behalf of the parish.
After swearing the jury the coroner complained of
the smallness of the room in which they were assem-
bled, and directed the summoning officer to obtain a
more suitable apartment, to which the jury might re-
turn after viewing the body. This painful duty was
then performed, the coroner and jury for that pur-
pose proceeding to the late residence of the deceased,
where the body was found lying on a table in the
back kitchen. When the sheet with which the re-
mains were covered was thrown aside, an expression
of horror escaped from all present, the body, from
head to foot, being literally covered with bruises and
wounds of old and recent date. The inspection com-
pleted, the jury re-assembled at the Two Spies Ta-
vern, Brydges-street, where a room of somewhat
larger dimensions had been obtained.
The first witness called was Mary Anne Bryant,
wife of Charles Bryant, of No. 7, Middlesex-street,
Somers-town, who said she was second cousin of the
deceased woman, and had been frequently in the
habit of visiting her. She called upon her on Satur-
day last, about half-past one o'clock, when deceased
complained of having been very much illused by her
husband. While his back was turned, deceased beg-
ged witness to ask him to allow her to go to bed, as
she had been up all the previous night. She said to
witness, " You might say to him Let Susan go and
lie down.' " Witness asked her husband, as requested,
and he refused to allow her to go to bed, and said she
must mind the shop. Witness remained with
deceased until half. past three o'clock, and during that
interval her husband frequently boxed her ears as
hard as he could with his open band ; and once, when
she got up to serve a customer in the shop, he kicked
her behind with great force, because, as he Said, the
did not move quick enough. The deceased and her
husband frequently quarrelled, and he very often
struck her. She never struck him again, but used to
remonstrate with him and say, " Man alive, don't
touch me." Witness mentioned the deceased's com-
plaint of ill 'usage to her husband, and he requested
witness to examine her head, remarking that he knew
he had hurt her. Witness did so, and found her left
ear and all that part of the head dreadfully bruised.
There were also cuts upon the bead, and the hair was
matted with congealed blood 'that had issued from
them. Witness told deceased's husband how much
she was injured, but he did not appear to take any
notice of it. Witness left the house about half-past

three o'clock, having first given deceased some warm
water to bathe her head. 'Witness returned about six and
found deceased apparently tipsy. Her husband had
just returned home from delivering some bread, and
he asked her whether she had supplied certain cus-
tomers. She replied that she had not ; upon
which he swore at her and boxed her ears us
hard as he could. He then directed her to put
some bread in the shop window, and while she was
in the act of doing so she fell insensible on the shop-
floor. Witness ran towards her and saw that the
blood was spurting out from a wound on her temple.
Witness then called out, " Oh, good God I uncle, cousin
is in a fit ; pick her up." He replied that he would
not. Deceased presently revived a little and walked
with witness into the back parlour. While doing so
she said, "lam in a fit, and a very bad fit. Don't
leave me ; for God's sake don't leave me, Mary Anne."
These were the last words she ever uttered. 'Witness
wished to put her to bed, but her husbapd said she
should never go into a bed of his again. Deceased
was then standing over a sink, and presently her
strength appeared to fail, and she sank down upon
the floor, with her head resting on the kitchen steps.
She lay there insensible for more than two hours, at
which time witness's husband came, end he succeeded
in persuading Mr. Moir to allow deceased to lie on
the children's bed. She remained perfectly insensible
up to midnight, when witness and her husband left
horn,. At eight o'clock on the following
deceased in

morn

the same state. At her earnest instigation a medical
man was then sent for, but deceased never rallied, and
died at five minutes after eleven o'clock on the fol-
lowing Monday morning.
Joh■ Johnson, a journeyman baker, in the employ
of Mr. Moir, said that on the night of Friday last
his master called him as usual, at 11 o'clock, shortly
after which he heard a great noise over head, as of
two persona quarrelling, and a cry of distress from
the deceased woman. The noise was similar to that
of one perso❑ dragging another across the room, and
it continued up to three o'clock, to such an extent
that witness could not get any sleep. Witness did
not hear any words distinctly, but he could tell that
his master was speaking in a very "ferocious" man-
ner. On the Saturday afternoon witness saw his
master knock deceased about, and shortly afterwards
she fell down insensible. Deceased's cousin asked wit-
ness to assist in raising her, but his master would not
allow him. lie said " her, let her get up her-
self." Witness had seen deceased intoxicated once
during the f)rtnight he had lived with her husband.
Amelia Meredes proved having lodged in Moir's
house during the last two months. She had fre-
quently seen deceased with black eyes in that time,
and on Saturday, about five, hearing a dreadful noise
of quarrelling, she came down stairs into the passage,
and while there heard deceased scream out, and cry
" Oh, oh ! you'll kill Inv—you'll kill me I"
husband replied, " Yes, I will kill you ; I will murder
you before I have done with you." Witness also heard
deceased's little boy call out at the same time, " You'll
kill my mother, father.'

Mr. Joshua Watkins, surgeon, of 11, Chandos-
street, proved having been called in to see deceased
on Sunday morning. She was then perfectly insen-
sible—her head, face, and neck enormously swollen,
and her features greatly distorted. He saw at•once
it was a case that would terminate fatally, but en-
deavoured to avert the mischief as long as possible.
The deceased continued in a state of complete insensi-
bility until Monday morning, at eleven o'clock, when
she died. Witness had since made a post mortem ex-
amination. On stripping the body, he found it co-
vered with bruises and contused wounds, from the
crown of her heft(' to the lowest part of the back. On
opening the head and removing the skull cap, witness
found considerable extravasation of blood on the outer
covering of the brain, and upon the right hemisphere
of the brain there were five or six ounces of c•agu-
lated blood. The brain itself
was perfectly healthy
and unusually firm,
and there was not the slightest
effusion in any of the cavities. On opening the chest
the lungs were found highly congested, but otherwise
free from disease, and the heart and great bloodvessels
were in a-state of perfect integrity. The stomach,
altogether, was healthy, and, did not emit the slightest
smell of spirituous liquid.
Cortosten—What do
you consider to have been the
immediate cause of death ? Witness—Compression
on the brain, arising from an effusion of blood on its
right hemisphere.
CORONER—How was the effusion produced ?
Witness—Without doubt by the external injuries de-
ceased had received. The integuments and muscles
of the bead were contused in a manner I never saw
before. In fact they were a perfect jelly.—(Sensation.)
CORONER—By wbat means could these contusions
have been caused ?
Witness—By blows or falls.
Centinual blows, even with the open hand, would be
n
sufficient to cause them.
Other evidence of an unimportant character having
been adduced,
The CORONER
charged the jury, remarking that
the points for them to decide were, first, how the de-
ceased came by her death ; secondly, if by any in-
juries, how they were caused ; and, lastly, what
degree of responsibily attached to any individual so
causing them. The lesarned Gentleman read over
the depositions at length,
and, after pointing out the
legal difference between murder and manslaughter,
left the case in the bands of the jury.
The court was then cleared, and the jury, after re-
tnaining in deliberation about half an hour, agreed to
a verdict of " Manslaughter against Alexander Moir."
The Coroner made out his warrant for the com-
mittal of the accused, and the various witnesses were
bound over in the usual manner.
The accused formerly occupied a very large house
in the Strand, now the Lancet-office, and be is at
present one of the leet jury of the district in which
he resides.

THE ROYAL VISIT TO ITOLYRoOD.--We learn, from
a source on which the utmost reliance may be placed, that,
according to present arrangements, her Majesty and Prince
Albert will, in visiting Scotland in August next, reside at
Holyrood Palace for either two or three nights; but whether
this will take place in going to, or returning from, Balmoral,
is not yet decided upon. We understand that extensive re-
pairs are in course of being made upon Holyrood Palace; and
we may mention, as one of the chief causes why larger water
pipes are being laid along the High-street and Canongate,
that it is the intention to introduce, for the use of the Royal
Family, a much greater supply of water than at present ex-
ist: in the Palace.—Scotmax.