The Sun.
London, England, 1845-01-08 00:00:00

MURDER NEAR LIVERPOOL.

LIVERPOOL, SATURDAY.—Scarce have the two mur-
derers condemned at our last assizes expiated by their
deaths the dreadful crimes they committed, than we are
again horrified by the details of another and equally
barbarous murder, committed in the vicinity of Rock-
ferry, Cheshire.

If appears that the unfortunate victim of this atrocity,
a Mr. Thomas Peacop, of the firm of T. and H. Golding
and Co., Rockferry, left his place of business at nine
o'clock on Tuesday night last, rather later than usual,
for his lodgings, which are situated at Belsington Fu-
ture, a small village, distant nearly half a mile, with the
sum of BL, consisting of two sovereigns, 161 in silver,
wrapped up in paper, and about 215., tied up in a small
bag, on his person. The whole of the money he placed
in the same pocket. Mr. Peacop was known to be in the
habit of taking with him every night the proceeds of the
business of the day, and on the night in question, on
leaving his shop, he observed a tall man, dressed in dark
clothes, standing at the corner of the street. He was
proceeding along a lonesome road, in the direction of
his lodgings, when the same man joined him, and
they walked side by side, for some little distance, toge-
ther. When they had gone about 250 yards from
Derby-house, and were within 200 yards of Mr. Scott's
cottage, which leads into the Rock-park, two men sud-
denly jumped from a plantation and made their appear-
ance on the footpath. The fellow who was accompany-
ing Mr. Peacop gave a whistle, and instantly the two
others sprang upon Mr. Peacop, and felled him to the
ground with a violent blow on the side of the head from
a heavy stick or club. While down they struck him
several other blows, and rifled his pocket of the 21s. in
silver which the little bag contained, but, in their hufry
and confusion, left the remaining 71 behind them. At
the time a gentleman, named Keyzier, who lives at the
Pasture, was going home from the Rockferry, and, hear-
ing the noise, he ran to the spot and found Mr. Peacop
weltering in his blood on the ground, and two fellows
over him, one in the act of rifling his pockets, and the
other attempting, as he thought, to strangle him. Mr.
Keyzier immediately cried out "Halloa I what are you
up to ?" and attempted to drag one of the fellows off,
but he had scarcely uttered the exclamation and made
the attempt when he received, from the hand of a third
party, who had hitherto remained concealed in the
hedge of the plantation, but who was, in all pro-
bability, the same fellow who had accompanied Mr.
Peacop np the road, a violent blow on the right temple,
which caused a deep wound and profuse flow of blood
Mr. Key zier, notwithstanding the nature of the injury,
struggled resolutely with the fellow who struck him the
blow ; but, fearing that Mr. Peacop was by this time
strangled, and that, single-handed, he would have no
chance in the hands of three such daring ruffians, he
made the best of his way to Butler's public-house, called
the Farmer's Inn, at the Pasture, where he informed the
inmates of what was occurring. Instantly Mr. Butler,
together with his hostler, George Deane, and a man
named John Unsworth, armed with pokers and other
weapons, sallied down the road, but, in the interim, the
fellows had made their escape. Mr. Peacop had re-
ceived several fractures and injuries on the head, and
breathed his last at half-past seven o'clock this morning.
Mr. Keyzier is rapidly recovering. A man of the name
of Jones was arrested on suspicion of having been con
cerned in the murder, but we believe the evidence against
him is very trifling, and that the murderers have, hither-
to, succeeded in eluding the vigilance of the police.