Star.
London, England, 1812-12-05 00:00:00

OLD PAILEr

Yesterdav A Ckatiin ~gs indicted for the wilFul
tnurder ot Elitabeth his wile, by cutting her throat,
at thtir. . residence in Eagle and Child-alley, Shoe.
lane. This ease, which has been fully detailed by a'
• report of the Coroner's Inquest, t'.nk the greater part
cif the day. It will be remembered that the milder
:was committed by the prsoot.r, according to his own
eont,...jon t that, two days preceding the tact, the
prisoner wits discharged from the Compter, in which
he lid been confined for an assault, when the de-
ceased predicted that her life would be but of short
duration alai therefore the only novelty in the
case etas regarding the sanity of the prisoner.
Fletcher, a Wind Deidte of St. Andrew's,
prayed having found the dece,sPd lying on her back,
with her head nearly severed from her body.
W. Glencoe, another Beadle, rroved that the pris
••• 1,,r• fien •atiiageour; and he always
considerod him insane. Witness proved, that as• long
since as January last, complaint hid been made to
hap p. s. ncr murder I;is wife, and lie'
was subsequently confined in a straight waistcoat, and
was ultimately sent to 4. mad-house f and witness
bad no doubt as to his insanity. His wife had always
-supposed hint to be insane, und expressed her fear of
• sometimes being injured by him,
Mr. St...Hord, landlord of the Eagle and Child,
near the prisrner's residence, proved, that he came
into his house on the 1 1 ill of Noveniba, called for a
pint of porterf and 'observed, with the utmost cont.
posure, that he had just killed his wife ; and he ad-
ded, with equal composure, that she was a good wo-
man, but hecould not help what had happened. The
prisoner was an out-pensioner of Chelsea Hospital,
having fbisnetly been in the Guards ; and witness
always thought hith 'insane. This witness related
• many actsof insanity in corroboration of his statement.
Mr. Iteifrows, who keeps a house at . Hoxton for
the reception of lunatics, proved that Me prisoner had
been under his care in January last, in a bad state,—
.I.le was sometimes very boisterous, and at other times
• calm ; and when in the latter state he was most mis-
citiev-us. He was confined in a straight-waistcoat,
and be was taken away by his wife, in as bad a state
as when he first arrived there.
Nolan, keeper to the mad-house, corrobora-
ted the former witness, and added, that the prisoner
often refused food, and observed that it was of no
use to him, as black men were waiting behind him
to tate such from him. Other acts of insanity were
proved. The prisoner had described the deceased as
• the best of women, and said he had saved the lives of
ihonsands by killing her. During the trial, the pri-
soner burst forth in exclamations, or rather in pa-
roxysms of rage; and said he had killed all in the
Court ; he was with difficulty kept iu the chair by
three sturdy attendants.
For the cL tendant several other witnesses were
called, who completely established the insanity.
The Learned Judge slimmed up the evidence, and
stated, that the question 1.9 r the Jury to decide was,
wl ether the prisoner, however troubles' in mind or
understanding, Was conscious, at the timed he corn.
mined the murder, that he was•doing a wrongful act,
Or that he was noiiig mischief at the time ? it he was
sufficiently clear in intellect to know that he was
doing an act forbidden by the laws and by Gon, he
was gni), y of murder ; but on the contrary, if his
mind was sn disordered as to be incapable of judging
b. tt.• een tight and wrong, he would be entitled to an
acquitt..l, and he would report it to the Prince Re-'
gent, who would give ordt rs that a proper confine.
n tot -1 mild be appointed for the prisoner.
The Jury retired for about an hour, and returned
a verdict 01 Guilty, but that the murder was commit-
ted b' the prisoner when labouring under mental de-
rangement.
I tie prisoner is a man about five feet ten inches
high, large bones, but seems much emaciated ;—he
seemed quite regardless of his fate. He was alowed
a chair to sit en:

The following were convicted of felonies, viz. Ca-
therine Cazell, for stealing two table chths, and other
articles ; M. Hart, for putting off counterfeit money ;
W. T..ylcir and W. Challand, for stealing a quantity
of leather • D. Maloney, for stealing a quantity of
lead ; E. Hiatt, for Stealing a pair of pantaloons ;
Co fins, for stealing siz shirts, and other articles ;
and W. Adims, for stealing 551 b. of verdigris ; and
one was acquitted.