The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-08 00:00:00

THIS DAY'S NEWS.

CHANCERY.-(THIS DAY).
This was the last day of Easter Term, and the Court took
appeal motions, none of which possessed the slightest interest.

VICE-CHANCERY.-(THIS DAY).
Motions of no interest, this being the last day of Easter
Term, occupied the Court the whole day.

CRIMINAL COURT.-(THIS DAY.)
OLD COURT.

(Before Mr. Baron ALDERSON.)
THE MURDER AT MARYLEBONE.
At ten o'clock this morning the prisoner, William Crouch,
who was described in the calendar as " a groom, aged 28, re-
manded from last session, standing indicted for the wilful
murder of Frances Elizabeth Crouch," was placed at the bar.
The prisoner is rather boyish in his appearance, with a
somewhat pleasing expression of countenance.
Mr. Parry prosecuted, and Mr. Clarkson defended the
prisoner.
Mr. Parry having stated the case, called
Mrs. Elizabeth Haynes, who said, I am the wife of Samuel
Ha) nes, who resides at Chesterfield-street, Marylebone. I
have known the prisoner since September last, at which time
he resided in the same house that I did. His wife was re-
siding with him. I remember the morning of Saturday, the
30th of March last, and saw the prisoner on that morning
between seven and eight o'clock. He went out that morn-
ing about half-past ten. I saw him again about four o'clock
the same afternoon, when he came home with a man. I went
outside the door to him. I asked the prisoner If he had seen
my husband, and he said he had not. He then left the
house again and retuwed in about an hour afterwards. He
was alone then, and I told him he had been drrnking, but he
denied it. His appearance was that of a drunken man. He
sat down in the room and said, "It must be done—it must
be done—l can't wait." I said, " What is that, Mr. Crouch,
are you in a hurry?" and he repeated the words three or four
times. He then fell asleep, and I said nothing further to him. He
was asleep for some time. When he woke up, I told him that
Mrs. Lynes had sent his clean clothes ; and he said, " I shall
never want them ;" and he got up and opened the bundle of
clothes, and, pulling out a shirt which was torn, said, " There
is a pretty thing for a fellow to put on his back." He said it
had been lying in the box for six weeks, and " she " was too
lazy to mend it, or sew any buttons on it. I told him I could
sew buttons on it before the morning, and he said he should
never wear it any more He sat down for a few moments,
and then get up and looked for a pair of stockings, and, not
finding them, he said, " I have not had a pair of stockings
for these six weeks." He said, " Why the b— h— could
she not mend my stockings ?" He remained for a few mo-
ments, and then left the room, and went into my bed-room,
where his own box was placed. He unlocked the box, and
locked it again, and then came into my room, and put the
box key into his waistcoat pocket. He sat down for about
five minutes, and then left the house. I did not see him
again until seven o'clock, when an alarm was given, and on
looking out of the window I saw him running. The prisoner's
wife had left him about a fortnight before. Until that time
she had lived with him, and after that time she used to
come backwards and forwards. The night the prisoner's
wife left he said, "I will lie wait for her, and give her a good
hiding ; and if I had her here I would cut her throat with
a razor."
Cross-examined by Mr. CLARKsosr—The prisoner's wife
lived about forty yards off. The night this happened the
prisoner was tipsy.
By the CouRT—I heard the alarm given about five minutes
after he left the house.
By Mr. CLARKSON—The conversation about the razor oc-
curred about a fortnight before. His wife was very kind to
him. He had a little girl about nine months old. He was
proud of the child. Mrs. Lynes used to take the child while
the mother went to work. When the prisoner's wife came
to see him, she brought the child with her.
Mary Lynes examined—l am the wife of Charles Lynes. I
knew the prisoner and his late wife. They had been married
a year and eleven months. She had a child about nine
months old, and I used to take care of it. I have done so
since the child was a fortnight old. I remember Saturday,
30th March, when I saw the prisoner at about eleven o'clock
in the morning. He was going down Marylebone-street.
He said, "I think she has cut me, for she has not been to see
me this morning." I said she is at work, and he then passed
on, and I did not see him again until twenty minutes to seven
o'clock, when I saw him at my own house, No. 4, Little
Marylebone-street. The prisoner's wife was in my room, she
had come up to suckle the baby. There was a little girl
named Sarah Simpson in the room with her. The prisoner
was about to pass me on the stairs, and I desired him to stop
until I had dried the stairs, for I was then cleaning them.
He said, " Is my missis up stairs." I said, " Yes, she is." I did
not notice anything particular in his manner. When I had
finished the stairs he passed up into the room. His wife was
singing, " Fare thee well, love, I am going," and as soon as
he put his foot into the room the song ceased. I heard the
little girl Simpson cry out "mother, mother !" and I instantly
went into the room. The prisoner was standing with the
razor in his hand by the side of my chest of drawers. He was
wiping a razor. His wife was lying against the wainscoting.
She was bleeding from the neck, and was quite dead. I took
the prisoner by the shoulders and asked him how he dared
to treat his wife in that manner, but he made
me no answer. The child was under the deceased.
The prisoner said, if one man was not enough, twenty were
not too many. I thought he addressed this to the corpse.
He then went hastily down stairs. I ran after him, and
called out " Stop him !" I overtook him in the street and
stopped him, and said, " Mr. Crouch, how could you do so ?"
but he did not answer. I left him with Robert Davies, my
landlord. When he was brought back he asked if his wife
was dead, and I said " Yes, she is, you villain." He said
" Well, well, I did it, and I could not help it." He was asked
what he had done with the razor? and he said " I threw it
away," but I said " No, no, it is in his pocket," and there I
believe it was found.
Cross-examined—The deceased bore a most excellent cha-
racter. She was a very moral, well-conducted woman. When
the prisoner came to my house on the Saturday he seemed to
me to be in a good temper. The door of the room in which
Mrs. Crouch was sitting was open. I could hear everything
that passed. Nothing was said but what I have stated. I
did not see the infant taken out of the room.
Sarah Simpson, a little girl apparently about five years of
age, dressed in deep mourning, was then placed on the bench,
and questioned by the Learned Judge, who informed the jury
that from her answers she was evidently unacquainted with
the name of her Creator, and was therefore incapable of cal-
ling upon him to attest her truth. She was consequently not
examined.
Charles Bennett was then called, and said I am a police-
man, D 18. I was on duty on the evening of 30th March,
and was called to take the prisoner into custody. I took him
by the collar, and he said, " You need not collar me, I will
go quietly." As we were going along he said, "Ah, well, it
served her right; why did she leave me ?" I then took him
to the room in which the body of the deceased was lying.
The room was full of blood. I asked Mrs. Lynes what he had
done with the instrument, and she said he had got it about
him. I asked him first, and he said he had thrown it away.
I searched him, and found the razor in his coat pocket. On
the road to the station-house he said, "I don't care anything
about it; you may hang me and be d—d." Further on he
said, "Ah, that cursed drink, it is the devil." I then took
him to the station-house, and on taking off his neckerchief I
discovered a cut in his throat. It was a small cut; it had
bled but very little. A surgeon saw him afterwards.
Cross-examined—He repeatedly said, " Oh, my dear wife ;
I love her." He was taken over to Dr. Clarke's, and his
neck was stitched up, and he was afterwards taken to the
workhouse. He there said, " Oh, that cursed handkerchief,
if it had not been for that I should have finished myself; for
if I was dead I should be as happy as she is."
Mary Anne Smith—l am the sister of the deceased, Frances
Elizabeth Crouch. Her maiden name was Frances Elizabeth
Downing.
Mr. Joseph was then called, and said—l am a surgeon re-
siding in Great Marylebone. On the evening of the 30th of
March I was called to No. 4, Little Marylebone-street, where
I saw the body of the deceased lying on the floor. I found a
wound in her neck which had divided the windpipe, the left
jugular vein and right jugular vein, ar d part of the spine.
That which kept the head on was the spine. I was also called
to examine a wound in the prisoner's neck. It was not at all
a serious wound ; it was quite superficial. It had been sewn
up when I saw it. The prisoner, when I saw him, was in a
state of stupor, but he rapidly got out of that state ; that was
about a quarter of an hour after the murder was committed.
I saw the prisoner afterwards several times. I asked him if
he had any pain in the head, and he replied, " No." His
head was lying on his breast. I saw him the next day, and
on asking him how he was, he said he wished that he was
dead, and was crying very much. He asked to see his child.
I saw him again on the Monday, in order to ascertain whe-
ther he was fit to go before the Coroner, and I found that
he was.
Cross-examined—l have never found that concussion of
the brain has resulted in madness. I have never known
concussion happening to a madman produce sanity ; nor
have I ever known concussion of the brain to a sane man
produce madness.
Re-examined—The usual effect of concussion of the brain
is insensibility. Concussion is a curable disease generally.
There were other witnesses, but Mr. Clarkson thought it
was not necessary to call them, and they were. therefore not
examined.
This was the case for the prosecution, and
Mr. CLARKSON rose to address the jury for the prisoner.
He said that in fact the only question they would have to
consider was, whether the prisoner, when he committed the
crime with which he stood charged, was or was not disor-
dered in his mind, insomuch as to preclude the posssibility of
his being responsible fur his own act. The Learned
Counsel then adverted to the evidence which had been
adduced, from which he said it would appear that the
prisoner was devotedly fond of his wife, and proud of his in-
fant child. He would ask the jury whether such a man,
being so proud of his child, would, while in a sound state of
mind, seek to smother that child in the blood of its mother?
He (Mr. Clarkson) was in a position to show that the priso-
ner had, for a very considerable time prior to the com-
mission of this act, as far back as 1838, been looked upon by
his relatives and friends with doubt respecting his sanity.
This was the ground upon which he stood up in defence of
the unfortunate man at the bar. (Here the prisoner apppeared
to be overwhelmed by an agony of grief, and for a consider-
able time kept his face buried in his handkerchief. The
Learned Judge directed that he should he accommodated with
a chair.)
Mr. £homas Jolliffe Tuffnell was then called by Mr.
CLARKSON, and said—l am assistant-surgeon to the 3d
Dragoon Guards. In 1838 I was in Devonshire. On the 17th
December in that year the prisoner was brought to the Devon
and Exeter Hospital. He was at that time in the service of
Sir Lawrence Palk. He was perfectly insensible. The
symptoms were those of concussion of the brain. I was told
that it had resulted from a blow on the temple. I treated
him for concussion of the brain. He was perfectly insensible
for three days. He did not answer any question until three
days after that. He underwent the discipline of a person
who had received severe concussion of the brain. He was
under my care for at least a month. I saw Sir Lawrence
Palk, and told him that after the accident rdid not think the
prisoner would be a capable servant. He was a.qoom in the
service of Sir Lawrence Palk. I thought the injury which
he had received was likely, if he took the smallest Anantity of
liquor, to prevent his being able to take care of a j3air Of horses.
I have had experience in these sort of cases. I had to treat
a soldier in India for concussion of the brain, and the result
was, that I was obliged to invalid him and send him home,
for he was entirely unfit for subsequent service. After con-
cussion of the brain a person is very liable to excitement.
They are easily excited. A person, after having received
such an injury, might become disordered in his mind. That
is my opinion, from works which I have read on the subject.
The prisoner, after the accident to which I have referred, was
taken, by the direction of Sir Lawrence Palk, to a place
called Kenton. It was my opinion when he left the hospital
that he would ultimately become unsound in his mind.
Cross-examined by Mr. PARRY—The soldier to which I
hay.; referred was quite unfit for the duty of a soldier, as he
would frequently lay down his musket when on Itspertant
duty, and walk quietly away. I would not have trusted the
prisoner with a valuable horse of mine. I think the effect of
his taking ardent spirits would be to cause him to "run a
muck." A person having received concussion of the brain
would, in taking alcoholic liquors. exhibit great excitement.
Re-examined—l have seen such, after taking liquor, sullen
and morose.