Star.
London, England, 1818-08-17 00:00:00

MURDER AT RPSOM.

FINAL COMMITMENT OF THOMAS OSBORNE.
Saturday, Sir JAMES ALEXANDER, Bart. JAMES
TROTTER, JOHN WHITMORE, JoSEPH GRIMSTEAD,
GEORtACRIPPS, C. HAWKINS, and ROBERT HtrnsoN,
Esquires, Magistrates, assembled at the Coffee-house,
Epsom, when Thomas Osborne was brought before
them, in custody of May and Hall, the Officers of
Vnion Hall, to undergo a final examination, upon
the charge of being concerned in the murder of Ely
Cot, the gamekeeper of Mr. Tessier.
pGoeoserle Millsom, the coachman of Mr. Tessier,
de , that on Sunday, the 2d instant, Cos did not
come, as usual, to breakfast at eight o'clock ; at one
o'clock, at dinner, be was still absent, and the cir-
cumstance then occasioned some uneasiness in the
mind of the witness : he persuaded Edward Smith,
a fellow-servant, to accompany him, and they took
two dogs with them and went in search. After in-
specting.various parts of the grounds of Mr. Tessier,
they arrived at an inclosed wood-yard, at Crocken-
ham Corner, belonging .to Sir Gilbert Heathcote,
and adjoining Mr. Tessier's park : the witness sent
smith round one way, and himself went the other.—
On perceiving some pales broken, he looked over,
and within the enclosure saw Ely Cot lying on his
back, black in the face, his hands all over blood, one
of his fingers cut off, and apparently quite dead.—
He called out to him twice, and not receiving any
answer he became much alarmed, thinking that he
was murdered ; and, after communicating his fears
to his companion, he went back to inform dmfamily.
Edward Smith, servant to Mr. Tessier, gave evi-
dence to the same effect as the last witness, and stat-
ed, in addition, that he saw a clasp knife lying with-
in the inclosure, near the body of Cos ; he picked it
up, and perceiving that it was all over blood, was so
overcome with horror that he let it fall.
James Finch, a labourer in the service of Mr. Tes-
sier, saw the body of Cot in the situation described
by 'the witness Millsom, and the bloody knife that
Smith dropped was picked up and preserved by this
witness.—llie knife was then pi oduced ; the handle
appeared bloody ; it is a clasp knife, and such as is
generally used by gardeners.
Edward Smith further deposed, that the said knife
did not belong to Cos ; he frequently borrowed a
knife of witness, and did not appear to have one of

his own.
Hannah Selby, servant at Mrs. Pinkram's farm,
stated, that Ely Cox lodged at the house of her mis-
tress ; on the night previous to the murder he came
home about ten o'clock, and said, that he should go
out the next morning between one and two o'cloci,
but what time he actually went out she could not state.
John Smith, shepherd to Mr. Tessier, stated, that
he lodged at the same house with Ely Cox, and on
the Sunday morning that the murder was committed
he heard him go out about four o'clock ; at five he
heard the report of a pistol or gun ; it seemed to
proceed front Crockenham Corner, but being in the
kabit of hearing many guns go off, he did not much
notice the circumstance.
• Mr. Mayde, Surgeon, of Epsom, described the
mangled state in which he found the body of Cox
upon his being called in, and stated his belief that
t'ie murder was erected by strangulation. He search-
ed the pockets of the deceased ; there was no money
in them ; a handkerchief was tied tound his neck,
with knot behind, and in the knot was introduced a
thick stick, with a hook at the end, as if for the pur-
pose of twisting it with extraordinary tightness.
Charles Tanners, a labourer, stated, that as he was
standing with another man near Crockenham Corner
on the Sunday of the murder, at about five in the
morning, he heard some person exclaim in a mourn-
ful " Oh LORD f Oh LORD I" and immedi-
ately said to the other man, " There is some person
s!loi. by a spring gun." They looked about the park,
and up and down the road, to discover from whom
the exclamation proceeded, but could see no person.
The place where he stood, when he heard the voice,
i, very near Crockenham Corner.
Joseph Crompton, servant to Mr. Ladbrook, of
},-nom, stated that he assisted in removing the body
of Ely Cox to the house of Mr. Tessier, and after-
wards returned to the place where the murder was
committed, to make his observations. The bushes
and trees were much broke, as if a violent struggle
had taken place, and there were various marks on
the ground which denoted the same circumstance.—
At one place it appeared as if the toe of a man's shoe
had caught in the ground, and close by he found an
inside sock of a shoe, made out of an old hat, and
cut to a man's size.
The .sock was then produced to the Magistrates,
and fitted to the shoe of the prisoner ; it appeared to
correspond with the size of the shoe.
May, the Officer, said, that when he apprehended
the prisoner the second time he made him pull off
his shoes, and he then discovered two socks similar
to the one produced by the last witness, of the same
materials, and cut in the same manner ; one of them
appeared to him much more worn than the other.
Hall, the Officer, stated, that on the 4th- instant
he searched the cottage of the prisoner, but in con-'
sequence of having no warrant, and Osborne tieing
at that time but slightly suspected, he was not very
strict in the search. On the 11th inst. he again
searched, and then discovered between his bed and
the sacking a pair of grey trowsers, much faded and
tarn, and stained with blood; he also found a waist-
coat, upon which were several spots of blood ; a torn
• bhirt was found at the same time, and he remarked
that the shirt and waistcoat were both torn at a place
under the arm, as if rent by the same motion or ex-
ertion at the same time. A hat was also discovered
with marks on the front bearing the appearance of
blood. He had carefully examined the place where
the murder was committed, and it appeared by the
siirks of blood upon some gates, and particularly
tipon,a tree by a breach in the fence opposite the pis.
sowers house, that the murderer had made his • is.
treat from Crockenham Corner in a direct line with
Oshorne's house, over the fence in front of it. Hi
had been informed that Osborne usually wore short
boots, but there was a person who would state that
on the day of the murder he saw him in shoes.•
James boombs, a labourer; corroborated the lat-
tet.part of Hall's statement.
James Saunders, head gardener to Mr. Northey,
was called to identify the clasp knife found near the
body of gee, as belonging to the prisoner ; but al
though he hail frequently seen a similar knife in his

•
possession, he could not say that the bloody knife
produced was the same.
The prisoner protested his innocence in the most
solemn manner, and said that however appearances
were against him, he should be able to explain every
thing. He was attended by Mr. Amcat and Mr.
HARMER, and was recommended to keep silence in
the present stage of the business.
The CHAIRMAN, after a fonsultation with the other
Magistrates, addressed the prisoner, and said, that
under all the circumstances of the case he felt it his
duty to commit Mtn for•trial.
The examination was attended by a vast number of
the Gentry of the, surrounding coun try. The pri-
soner is a young man, apparently about 27 years of
age, fair complexion, and light hair ; he has been
several years in the Navy, and served under Captain
(now Commodore) HOST/.
The Overseers of Epsom were bound over to pro-
secute, and the witnesses to attend and give their
evidence at the next Assizes.