The Sun.
London, England, 1850-10-16 00:00:00

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THE MURDER at DODDINGHTJRST
BRENTWOOD, TUESDAY NIGHT.— Since the ad-
journment of the inquest, yesterday afternoon some
remarkable facts have come to light in reference to
the murder of the unfortunate Jael Denny, the in-
tense sympathy which is felt for the parents of the
deceased being shared to the full by the parents of the
prisoner. Born and bred in the parish in which he
resides, Mr. Drory, sen., has for the last thirty years
been numbered amongst the most respected of its
yeomen. He cccupied, in addition to the farm of
Brickhouse, near Canterbury Tye, a large and sub-
stantial holding at Little Burstead ; together they
comprised 350 acres, at a rental of about 4001. The
family has for generations held a respectable position
in the district, and the prisoner himself was always
regarded by his neighbours as a young man of the
most steady and persevering business habits, though it is
alleged by some that he did not appear to possess that
amount of keenness and sagacity which young far-
mers now-a-days lay claim to.
At half-past six o'clock on Saturday evening it is
stated, though denied by the prisoner, that the
deceased was to meet him by appointment at a stile
about a quarter of a mile distant from the spot
where her body was discovered. If the murder had
been committed at this time, as is the general impres-
sion, Drory must have used the greatest expedition,
for shortly before eight o'clock we find him (as will
r be proved at the next inquiry) disposing of eggs to
Mr. James Millington, a carpenter in the town of
Brentwood; and these eggs he must have fetched
from his own farm after the perpetration of the hor-
rible deed. At eight o'clock, having disposed of his
eggs, he paid a visit to Mr. Parker, the landlord of
the King's Head Inn, Brentwood. He placed his basket,
in which the eggs had been contained, in the
and, having eaten sixpennyworth of oysters and some
bread and butter, he went with Mr. Parker, Mr.
Proud, a butcher, and other tradesmen of the town,
into the public room, and here he partook of two
pints of half-and-half and smoked a pipe of tobacco.
His manner at this time appeared to be perfectly
calm and consistent with his general character. Mr.
Proud and he conversed about farming matters in ge-
neral, and particularly about a farm which had re-
cently been let in Mr. Drory's neighbourhood.
After Mr. Proud and others had left, Mr. Parker, the
landlord, and the prisoner had a long conversation.
Mr. Parker stated that be had been at school with
Drory's father, and reverted to the many changes
that had taken place in that neighbourhood since his
childhood. In the course of the conversation Mr.
Parker referred to the very footpath near where the
body was found, and observed that he remembered it
well forty years ago. "In fact," sail Mr. Parker to
our informant, " had I known that Drory bad com-
mitted this murder I could scarcely have spoken upon
subjects more likely to call forth some emotion, but
during the whole of this interview the prisoner's de-
meanour was perfectly calm and self-possessed.
Drory left the King's Head shortly before 10 o'clock
that evening, but whether he then went home has
not at present been ascertained, as the servant in the
house says he took the keys of the house with him,
and he saw nothing more of him until 6 o'clock the
following (Sunday) morning, when they hinealsfasted
together as usual. In tracing the course of events a
very remarkable fact, which has not yet transpired,
should here be mentioned. Louisa Lust, the mother
of the deceased, declares that when the body of her
daughter was discovered, at S o'cicck on Sunday
morning, it was warm, but the extremities were cold.
This state of things could hardly be consistent with
(the murder having been committed between half-past
6 and 8 o'clock in the evening, for in such a case it
must have been exposed upwards of 12 hours to the
bleak winds blowing from the Dengy Hundred and
the Rochford marshes. It would seem, therefore,
that if Drory be the guilty person, the crime mint
have been committed between his quitting the King's
Head at 10 o'clock, and his breakfasting at the Brick-
house farm at 6 o'clock on Sunday morning. Imme-
diately after breakfast Drory proceeded with a basket
of apples to Mr. Moore's at the Glebe Land farm,
where, as has already been stated, he was apprehended
by Superintendent Coulson.
The circumstances which led to the apprehension
of Drory have not hitherto been correctly stated. It
appears, that Lust, the stepfather of the unfortunate
deceased, had longentertairied suspicions that Drory's
intentions towards his daughter were not of an ho-
nourable character, and these suspicions were
strengthened and confirmed by the fact that in August
last he had procured and administered a quantity of
poison to the deceased, with the supposed view of
causing abortion. Hence, upon this occasion, the
absence of the girl during the whole of the night
caused the father great uneasiness, and at daybreak
he went in search of his missing child. Ills first im-
pul!e was to search the riveS? and the ponds on the
several farms adjacent, at the same time stating his
belief to several persons whom he met that the girl
had been muidered by Drory.
About a quarter of a mile from the house in which
he resided is a large charcoal burner's, of the foreman
of which establishment he inquired, with tears in his
eyes, whether he had seen his daughter. The fore-
man unhesitatingly replied that he had not, but added
that a lady (describing her dress) had been walking
about that spot on the preceding evening, waiting, as
he presumed, for some one expected by the train. As
soon as the man described the dress Lust exclaimed,
" That was my daughter ; where did you spe her ?'
The foreman at once pointed out the spot, and the old
man proceeded towards it. In order to arrive at the
place, it was necessary for Lust to cross a hedge, in
order to get from one field into another. By some
strange fatality at the very spot he selected lay
the body of his murdered daughter, over wiTich he
stumbled.
After the first burst of feeling had subsided, Lust
proceeded to obtain the assistance of the neighbours
for the removal of the body to his house, whilst be re-
paired to the station-house at Brentwood, and in-
formed the police-officer that his daughter had been
murdered, adding that Drory was the murderer.
Superintendent Coulson at once proceeded to Mr.
Moore's, and apprehended the prisoner now in
custody.
In addition to the fact that a quantity of cord was
found corresponding with that round the neck of the
unfortunate young woman, a witness will be called
on the occasion of the adjourned inquiry, who will
speak to its having been purchased at his shop some
time since.
With respect to the mode in which the murder was
committed, there seems to be little doubt that Drory,
in the first place, threw the unfortunate woman on
the ground, and then knelt on her chest whilst he
placed the rope round her neck. This rope he must
have pulled tightly with both hands. While his
hands were thus employed the woman must have
raised hers to release herself from the rope, and, as
the murderer could not let go either end of the rope,
he bit the woman's hands to induce her to withdraw
• them. Hence the marks which have already been
described.
That the murder has been for some time past in
contemplation appears evident from a statement which
is made by one of the farm labourers of the district,
who states that about a week since he saw Drory sit-
ting on a stile in the seven-acre field, and that h
took from his pocket a piece of cord, the strength of
which ha appeared.to be trying. Upon the person in
question coming up, he hurriedly returned it to his
pocket.
There is no doubt that Drory was in company with
Jael Denny last Saturday evening, and the fact will
be proved by a witness named Harries, on the next
examination. He says be saw them together a little
before six o'clock, when they went together up to the
footpath in the middle of the Home Mead. They
were together about twenty minutes, and after they
separated he saw Denny go towards the wood. Drory
came back to the farmyard in which the witness was
working. After he left work, about six o'clock, he
met the deceased, and said, " Well, Jael, have you
been for a walk ?" She said, " Yes, I have been to
have a word or two with Mr. Drory, and now lem
going home, and to meet him again at half-past six,
at the stile at the bottom of the meadow."—(The
meadow is next to the house where she lived, and
about a quarter of a mile from the place where she was
found dead.)
The murdered woman is described as being a person
of commanding stature and ladylike demeanour.
She was 5 feet 9 inches high, and was generally con-
sidered the belle of the village. Sheiwas in her 21st
year. Drory had just completed It% 23d year. He
is described as being well-looking, about i feet 6
inches in height. He wore when he was apprehended
a fustian jacket, corduroy breeches, and leather
gaiters. He does not appear to have been addicted to
intemperate habits, nor, until the period of the murder,
to have been at all viciously disposed.
There are many rumours afloat which, in such a
case, it is impossible to trace with any degree of cer-
tainty. Amongst those which have been currently
circulated are :—That the prisoner has very frequently
stated that he felt certain Denny would never get
safely over her confinement, and that she would mall
away with herself, as she could not tell who was
the father of her child ; and that the prisoner
had placed behind his door a spade and pickaxe,for
evidently with the intention of digging
his victim. One fact in connexion with this
j3matterrent.
is, that Drory was courting a Frave
a Miss Giblino
of
Brent-
wood, and had given directions for the publication
the banns on Sunday next.
and appeared to
This'afternoon a report was curren
prisoner had made a confession.
. U
be pretty generally believed in this
_tpotonwizni,qtty the
t
pri
bluntfotrhmatedhetshtai still adhered to
the gaol our
had ;moor tpe
Ira
owe'a;s
thete statementk he made when he was apprehended, that
he had not seen the deceased for some time, and that
he knew nothing of the murder.

VALE or NEATEL AND SOUTH-VALES BREWERY:.
The liabilities of this undertaking are estimated by Mr.
Norris, the official manager, at 120,0001.