The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-06 00:00:00

THE MURDER IN BIRMINGHAM,

The mystery which for a fortnight 119.9 surrounded the
death of Miss Mary Milboume, in Heneage-street, Bir-
mingham, seems at length to be in a fair way tobe cleared
np. As frequently happens where such a crime is com-
mitted by a number of persons acting in concert, one of
die parties, either from remorse or hope of reward, has
Droved a traitor to his companions, and thus placed the
police in possession of information which has led to the
apprehension of five people. The first arrest which was made
vas that of Thomas Beasley, who is a costermonger, and
rormerly lodged in Park-street, Birmingham. He was
srrested in Bristol by Detective Mountford, of the
Birmingham force. As soon as he was safely lodged
M prison, information was sent to Birmingham, and
Detectives Manton, Flavell, Clarke, Jenus, and Cooper,
with Police-constable Roscoe, went shortly before two
o'clock on Tuesday morning- to 4 court, 11 house, Lawley-
street, where they apprehended a brother of the other
prisoner, named Joseph Beasley, who is 21 years of age,
a cripple, and by trade a shoemaker. After this arrest
the party of officers separated, and a portion of them
went to Allison-street, and in the house 79 they arrested
a hawker named Charles Grayson, 35 years of age, and
his wife, Elizabeth Grayson, 28 years of age. The other
officers went to 17, Park-street, where they apprehended
William Beasley, 27 years of age, costermonger, who is
a brother of the other prisoners bearing that name. The
prisoners who were apprehended in Birmingham were
taken to the lock-up in Moor-street. At the time of their
arrest they were all in bed.
Joseph and William Beasley and the two Graysons were
orought before Mr. T. C. S. Kynnersley, at the Public
Office.
Mr. Glossop said the prisoners were charged with being
in company with others, and murdering Miss Milbourne,
inher own house, in H eneage-street, on the 21st of January.
He applied for a remand for a week.
The prisoners were then remanded until next Tuesday.
The cause of these arrests is the statement of an in-
former in the confidence of the prisoners. This statement
has been tested, and collateral circumstances substantiate
important parts of it, so that the arrests have not been
made on frivolous grounds. The statement referred to is
somewhat to the following effect. It will be remembered
that a short time before her death deceased broke her leg.
Whilst the deceased was thus partly incapacitated from
helping herself, Mrs. Beasley, a cousin of the deceased.
and stepmother of the three men in custody ; was
accustomed to go herself or send one of her children
daily to do " odd jobs " for deceased. During these
visits Mrs. Beasley heard the story from dec eased of her
having several hundred pounds in the house at the
time of her brother's death. The story was related by
Mrs. Beasley at her own house, and thus came to the
knowledge of her stepsons—the three prisoners. The
cupidity of:the cripple, Joseph Beasley, was first excited,
and it is said that be formed the plan—in which the other
prisoners afterwards joined—of breaking into deceased's
house during her absence, and possessing themselves of the
large sum of money which they fondly believed to be still
in the house. On the 21st of last month the project was
put into execution. The thieves visited deceased's house
when she was away from home, and had partly accom-
plished their work of searching the house when they were
interrupted by deceased's return. She came into the
house, and was about to raise an alarm, when Thomas
Beasley—the man who was captured at Bristol—seized her
by the throat to prevent her. The result we know. In
the words of the informer, " she went off in a minute,"
which is accounted for in the evidence of Mr. Oliver
Pemberton at the inquest, where he says that the ring-
shaped or cricoid cartilage of a person of the age of deceased
would be very brittle. This cartilage broke under the first
pressure applied, and suffocation then was a very easy
matter. The informer states that there was no intention
of murdering deceased ; the plan was simply to possess
.hemselves of the money.

THE JITTE3IPTED MURDER IN
CLERKENWELL.

At the Clerkenwell Police-curt, on Wednesday after-
noon, James Needell, aged 34, described as a solicitor's
clerk, and residing at 13, New-street-square, was charged
before Mr. Cooke, by Thomas Ambrose Potter, inspector
of the C Division, with discharging a loaded revolver at
Thomas Chatterton, with intent to kill him, at Compton-
street, Clerkenwell. The prisoner is a well-dressed,
quiet-looking man, and the man whom he shot is a
philosophical instrument maker, working for Mr. James
Joseph Hicks, of Hatton-garden.
Mr. Ricketts, solicitor, of Frederick-street, Gray's-inn-
road, defended the prisoner.
Inspector Potter said : The wounded man is unable to
attend, but there is a surgeon in attendance from St. Bar-
tholomew's Hospital, who will state the nature of the

injuries.
Henry Barker said : I reside at 72, Lever-street, St.
Luke's, and am a journeyman bookbinder. Ido not know
the prisoner. At five minutes after nine o'clock this
morning I was in Compton-street, and saw the prisoner
fire a pistol and shoot a man who was just in front of him
and near a confectioner's shop. I saw the young man
place his hand to the right side of his neck and attempt to
run away. The prisoner followed him and fired again,
and when the young man ran up Northampton-street he
was followed by the prisoner, who continued shooting at
him. The injured man appeared to have been hit by the
first shot, but not by. the others. About four shots were
fired at him. A young man then ran across the road and
captured the prisoner, threw him down, and, with assist-
ance, a revolver was taken from him, and he was
conveyed to the police-station. The man who was shot
ran to the top of the street, and there a gentleman put
him into a cab.
Cross-examined by Mr. Ricketts : I cannot say whether
he fired four or five times. At the time he fired he was
not two yards from him—that was when he hit him ; he
also fired the other shots towards the man, but without
any particular aim. He appeared wild and excited at the
time in his manner, but said nothing.
Alfred Whitcomb, a milkman, living at 47, Ludgate-
hill, corroborated the evidence of the previous witness, as
did also Robert Banks, a gas-meter prover, both of whom
assisted in arresting the prisoner, and taking the revolver
from him. James Raby, a boy 14 years or age, said the
man was lighting his pipe when shot by the prisoner.
Mr. James Horsfall said: I am a surgeon at St. T 1 ar-
tholomew's Hospital. The man was brought to the hos-
pital about a quarter-past nine this morning. I examined
him, and he stated that he had been fired at while he was
looking into a shop window. I found a wound on the neck
on the right side ; it was a small wound, but the bullet has
not yet been discovered, and it is supposed to be still in
the neck. He had no other wounds. He is in a critical
state. There appeared to be some slight haemorrhage
before he entered the hospital, but not after he was ad-
mitted. He said he had never seen the man who shot him
before.
William Knight, 214 G, said he met the prisoner in
Skinner-street, when he was being conveyed to the station
by the witnesses. He took charge of him, and when he
was searched at the station thirty-seven bullets were found
upon him, and numerous other things, including a watch
and gold chain, some money and letters, and two pocket.
books. (The letters were not read, neither were the pocket-
books looked into.)
Mr. Cooke : What is the prisoner ?
Mr. Ricketts : He is an attorney's clerks, and is knowr
in the profession as " Mad Needles."
Inspector Potter said : I went to the prisoner when he
was in the cell at Clerkenwell Police-station. He
recognised me, and said " Good morning, sir." I knew
him at once, and said, " How are you ?" To which he
replied, " I am much better now, sir ; have you seen the
revolver ?" On my saying, "Do you mean the one in the
station ?" he said " Yes." He further said, in answer to
me, that he bought the pistol in London-wall, at the first
shop on the right side, about last December, and gave £2
for it. He said, " This is one of the men who has been
hunting me so long." I said, "Very well ; perhaps you bad
better not say any more to me. I will make inquiries." I
then went to 51, London-wall, and found his statement
correct. I remember the prisoner calling upon me last
summer at the Clerkenwell Police-station. I was in
uniform at the time, amid be said, "Mr. Inspector, do you
know that there are eight men following me ?" I said,
"Where do they follow you from ?" and he replied, "From
the City." I then asked him what he was, and he told
me that he was a solicitor's clerk, and that he did not
think it was all right there for the men to follow him. On
asking him where the men were, be replied, " At the corner
of Ampton-plaee." T then told him I would go and see,
and went out with him. I saw that there were no men
and told him so, when he observed. " But there must be
..msething wrong about this, or eight men would not follow
me abolt so." I told him I thought not, and they were
not to be seen, upon which he said, " Oh, it is the sight
et von that has done it all and settled the question."
asked him for his address, and he gave it me. I also asked
for a description of the men, and he said one was 0 feet
high, and all the others were small men. I told him to go
home, and if be saw any more of them to come to me
again. He came the next morning end thanked me, and
said they had not thought proper to follow him after his
coming to me.
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drinking ; but when he came the next morning I did not
think so, as his manner was then quite as unsettled es it
was the night before.
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and excited. I have heard
tThomas Hawke, ,n as " Mad Nalle,epdlreosv:e'd
that the pistol was sold to the* prisoneri in November
last for 22. There appeared nothing strange in his
manner at that time, and he had seen him concerning
the purchase of a revolver on two or three previous
occasions.
Mr. Ricketts urged the magistrate to order an examina-
tion into the prisoner's state of mind by some medical
man, when he had no doubt that in five minutes he would
be of the same opinion as he (Mr. Ricketts) was.
Mr. Cooke : I shall remand the prisoner for a week to
the House of Detention, and he had better be taken
there at once, and not placed in a cell.
The prisoner was then removed.
In reply to later inquiries made at St. Bartholomew's
Hospital, it was stated that the wounded man Chatterton
was progressing most favourably, and that no doubts were
entertained as to his recovery.