The Sun.
London, England, 1845-02-28 00:00:00

HOCKER.

The following full particulars of the circumstance, which led
to the apprehension of Thomas Henry Hocker, have been obtained
from a source upon which every reliance can be placed :
Mr. William Watson, the landlord of the house, No. 17,
Charles-street, Portland.town, at which the father and mother of

Hocker reside, is a baker, and has been for some time past conduct-
ing the business of a Mr. Drew, a baker, at Turnham.green, Mr.
Drew having another shop in town, which he attends to. On the
evening of Saturday last, Mr. Watson, as was his usual custom,
returned home to his wife and family in Charles-street, when, in the
course of conversation, his wife said to him, " Is not Tom Hocker
coming out"—Mrs. Watson alluding to the prisoner's having on
that day given his mother a sovereign to pay some arrears of rent
that was due to Mr. Watson. The latter said to his wife, " Well,
Mary, how has he come by that ?" Mrs. Watson said the pri.
boner's mother had told her that he said he had had some private
teaching for sometime past, but he had not let his father know of it
until he took the money which had been paid him on the previous
(Friday) night, and Mrs. Hocker said he had likewise given her
a sovereign to buy a new gown, his father a sovereign to get him-
st if a new coat, and her brother a present of 10s. At a later hour
on the same evening, Mr. Watson was asked up into the elder
Mocker's room to have something to drink, when he found in the
room Mr. and Mrs. }locker, the prisoners Thomas H. Mocker, and
James Hocker, his brother. They asked Mr. Watson to have a
cup of coffee, and while drinking it adverted to the murder in the
course of conversation. Mr. }locker, senior, asked what murder,
as he had not heard of any ; when Mr. Watson said, a gentleman
whose name was not then known, had been found murdered, on
the previous evening, near Hampstead-road. Mr. Hocker then
asked how the murder had been perpetrated ? when Mr. Watson
told him. Mr. Hocker observed, that the murderers must be
cold-blooded rascals. whoever they were. The prisoner, however,
changed the conversation, by saying to his father, " Oh, don't let
us talk about that—let us talk about something else ;" and then,
turning to Mr. Watson, said—" We don't always do it in this
way," alluding to some rum and gin which he (prisoner) had sent
for ; and begun to sing a song. After that was finished the pri-
soner and his brother sang another song together, the prisoner
(Thomas) saying he could not sing it in " the Spindlerian style,"
meaning in the style in which he had sung it at the Star Tavern,
kept by Mr. Spindler, St. John's Wood, where he occasionally
sang. While Mr. Watson was in the room, Thomas Honker
showed him the right arm sleeve of 'the shirt he had on, the wrist-
band of which was torn off, and the other part also from nearly
half-way up, and on his holding his arm up, Mr. Watson saw
that the prisoner's coat was torn out under the arm. Mr. Wat-
son said to him, " You have been in some rough usage." Mr.
Hocker, sen., observed, " I don't know what he has been at, but it
looks very curious." "Oh (the prisoner Thomas said), I've only
been romping with some girls." In the course of the visit the
prisoner showed Mr. Watson a pair of new boots, which he said he
had given a guinea for, and showed Mr. Watson how well they
fitted him and also a new hat. It then struck twelve o'clock, and
Mr. Watson went down to his own apartments to bed. On Sunday
morning Mr. Watson left his house on his way to his business at
l urnham-green, and, buying a Sunday paper on his way, read
an account of the murder in it, having only known it before by
report. Nothing, however, occurred at that time to strike
his mind that Thomas Henry Hocker was the murderer.
On Monday evening about seven o'clock, Mr. Watson's wife
sister, a Mrs. Liddeard, a laundress, living next door to the Duke
of Sussex public-house, Acton-green, who had been to town for
dirty linen and had met Mrs. Watson, called on Mr. Watson with
a message from his wife, to say that he would be very much sur.
prised to hear that it was Mr. Delarue that was murdered. Mr.
Watson knowing that the prisoner Thomas and Mr. Delarue were
intimate acquaintances, instantly said, "So help me God, then it's
Tom Hocker who has murdered him." Mr. Watson, on seeing his
master the same evening, told him what he suspected, and he ad.
vised him to be quiet, saying, " Take care, it's a dangerous thing
to say anything about such matters." During Tuesday Mr. Wat-
son
had no rest in his mind on account of the suspicions he enter.
tained, and in the early part of the evening he went to the Prince
of Wales public-house, on the high road, Turnham.green, and
began speaking with Mr. Battersby, the landlord, about the murder,
to whom he said, " I am afraid that I know the party that has done
it ; I should like to tell that sergeant of police about it "—mean-
ing Sergeant Scotney, T 21, who had a few minutes before passed
the door. Mr. Battersby sent for Sergeant Scotney, and Mr. Wet.
sou was called into the bar, and he told Scotney what had taken
place on Saturday evening, and also that he had been told that the
prisoner had bought some new clothes on that day, and that while
in the room he heard him rattling a quantity of money in his
pocket. Mr. Watson then gave Scotney advice how to act should
his wife be gone to bed before he got there, and they parted.
Sergeant Scotney, having 'put on a private great coat, intima
diarely proceeded to the station.house at Brook-green, Hammer.
smith, and saw Inspector Morgan, to whom he communicated the
information he had received. Inspector Morgan directed him to
go immediately to Gardiner's-lane, Westmineter-station, and ask
for Inspector Shackell or Inspector Haynes of the detective police,
and if they were not to be found, then to state his business to the
inspector on duty. Scotney accordingly proceeded instantly to
Own, and went to Scotland-yard, but could not find either Shackell
or Haynes. He saw Inspector Patridge, of the A division, to
whom he stated the nature of his business. Inspe:tor Partridge
then said he would go and see Mr. Superintendent May, whom he
had no doubt would direct him (Partridge) to go with Scotney.
On his return Inspector Partridge sent for Sergeant Bickerson,
A division, and they all three got into a cab and drove to Portland
Town. After alighting Inspector Partridge told Scotney to stay
with Sergeant Bickerson while he went to the house. Scotney
said he thought belied better go, as he knew the directions
he had received from Mr. Watson how to gain admittance, but
the inspector said he would go. Inspector Partridge then
went to the house and knocked. Mrs. Watson answered him.
Partridge told her to open the window as he had something
to tell her, but she refused to do so, aid said she was undressed,
upon which Partridge told her that he had come from her husband
at Tarawa-green, and that he had met with an accident. Mrs.
Watson became alarmed at that statement and ran up stairs, and
at that moment the inspector was spoken to by Hocker, senior, out
of a window, who then went' away. On Partridge's return to the
other officers, inquiry was made for Victoria-terrace, at which
Scotney had been informed by Mrs. Watson the prisoner Thomas
was residing. Inspector Partridge told Scotney to get a cab and
go there. On alighting, Scotney saw in the windows of No. 11
bills, with " To let" on them, notwithstanding which he rang the
bell two or three times. At length a woman opened an upper
window, and said, " Who is there ?" Scotney answered," Can I
speak to you 1" and, supposing Scotney to be some person living in
the house, said she would throw the key out. Before, however,
she did so, the door was opened by the prisoner, Thomas H.
/locker himself. Scotney begged his pardon, and inquired if a
person named Thomas Henry Hocker lived there? The prisoner
said, " Yes, there is." Scotney then said, " Can I speak to him ?"
on which the prisoner said," I am the man."
What took place afterwards has been stated in the previous ac-
count of Thomas Mocker's apprehension.

We are requested to state, in explanation of the apparent
apathy of the servant at No. 6, Haverstock-terrace, when Mr.
Hilton, the baker, told her he heard screams of murder, that at
the time he spike, he was standing behind the closed half of a
double door, with his face turned towards the field, and the ser-
vant supposed he was talking to some one in the adjoining garden,
and did not understand what he said. It is a curious fact, show-
ing that Mr. Hilton, who is an elderly man, did not think at the
time there was serious meaning in the screams, that after hearing
them he received the order for bread, went to his cart at
the garden.gate, returned to the house with the loaves, and
entered the hall, where he remained at least half a minute to re.
ceive the money and give change, without making any remark
about the cries of murder which he heard when he first went to
the house. The only words he uttered not referring immediately
to his business were—" It is a cold evening," as the servant was
shutting the door. After this it would appear he again heard the
cries of " Murder!" which induced him to run into the field, and
afterwards to inform the police. The family did not know of the
murder until a policeman called at past ten o'clock the same night
to inquire where Mr. Hilton lived, and it was at first supposed
the policeman mutt be mistaken in the person, as Hilton had
not been heard to say anything of what had occurred. From the
lapse of time between the first cries of " Murder I" and those heard
by Hi!ton before he ran into the field, when the noise ceased,
it seems that a severe struggle must have taken place, though,
owing to the frozen state of the ground, there were few traces of it
on the grass.