Star.
London, England, 1827-08-27 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

MIDLAND CIRCUIT.—WARWICK, Meese 24.
Willies* Miller, aned thirty.five years, stood indicted
forthe wilfel murder of Mary Ann Lane, on the night
of the 26th of May last, by casting her into a pond, at
Harbury, in this county. In a second count he stood
charged with the murder of Maly Ann Greenway; and
he also stood charged, on the Coroner's Inquisition, with
the like murder. He pleaded Not Guilty.
Mr. Sergeant ADAMS (with whom was Mr. Gout.
susses), said, it was his duty, as Counsel, conducting
this very important prosecution, to lay the facts before
the Jury. He should not animadvert upon the nature
of the atrocious crimes imputed to the prisoner, but he
should confine himself to a brief outline of the evidence
which he should al terwards bring before them, to satisfy
their minds that the prisoner at the bar was guilty of
the murder of the female, who, in one count, was called
by the name of Mary Ann Lane, and in another count,'
Mary Ann Gteenway. A chain of circumstantial evi-
dence would be brought before them, all tending to one
point—the guilt of the prisoner ; and in confirmation of
his guilt, Witnesses would be called, to whom he had,
since his arrival in gaol, confessed the crime. The'
brief statement which he was about to make, might
materially assist them in the inquiry, and better enable
them to understand and apply the evidence. The pri-
soner was a labourer in the employment of a Mr. Heath,
a farmer at Harbury, and the deceased woman, Mary
Ann Lane, bad been living in the same family as a wet
muse. On the 26th May last, Mr. Heath gave an enter.
tainment to all the servants, labourers, &c. who were at
that time, and had been previously,employed by hi noand
Mary Ann L was invited. The prisoner and Lane.
were at the entertainment, and some conversation
took place between her and the prisoner, in the kit-
chen. which would be stated by a witness to the
Jury, from which conversation they would drag
slid) conclusions as they thought the facts warranted.
At a gum ter before eight o'clock at night, the dece.o.td,
Mar y Ann Lane, who was said to he a married woman,
residing at Bishop's littchinten, left Mt. Heath's hou.e,
in a direction to go towards her residence. Tne dis-,
tance was more than two miles. The prisoner followed.
soon afterwards along a road, though shorter, yet .ead-.
ing in the same direction in which Lane had gone. The
prisoner was not seen again till near ten o'clock the
same night, and then he gas near his on n residence at
Harbury. Had he gone in a direct way to his own
home, he must have taken a oifferesit road to that which
he took, wong a foot-path leading to Bi.hop's Hitchin-
ton. It would be proved that the prisoner pas-ed
through the second gate—(Here the Counsel directed
the Jury to examine a map which he wife. d in their
hands, and he pointed cut the gate and road in tines-
, tion,)—and made a short cut t • overtake the deceased.
On the following turning a Mr. Plat, who lives at
Harbury Field, was passing by a pond (eating towards
Harbury Heath, and he saw something black, and an
umbrella was sticking up above the sitiface of the wa-
ter. Oa apptoaching closer to the pond the body of
the deceased was discovered wi h marks of violence
thereon; there were narks f struggling near the vide
of the pond, and the ground had been torn up in diffe-
rent places; these were deep font m ,rks, and masks on
the clay, which had been caused by a f erson kneeling
thereon, with corduroy breeches. The body of the de-
ceased was removed from the pond. and it was clearly
ascertained that she h.d d ed a violent death; no su pi-
cion at first existed against the prisoner, and he assisted
in removing the body to the place where the Corot'. l'a
quest sat upon it; the prisoner was dirrwards taken
into custody. and the Jury would ►ay it the manner in
which he had subsequently conducted himself, and n.t
accounting for the period between eight and ten o'clock,
did not tend to confirm his guilt.
Edward -Bentley cumin:el by Mr. GOIABLIANE—In
May last I was waggoner to Mr. Heath, r I Haibury
Field ; I remember an enterta nment given by Mr.
Heath to hi, servants on Saturday, the 26th May; I
knew the &ceased, Mary Ann Lane, by sight; I knew
the prisoner, who was a day labourer in Mr. Heath's
service ; the prisoner and Mary Ann Lane wrre both at
this entertainment ; I reniemb r some conversation
taking place between Mary Ann Lane and the prisoner,
Sn .he kitchen, in the presence of the company; the pri-
soner said to her," Lane, shall you go home to-night?"
she made him no answer; I heard nothi g further pass
between them at that time; the labourers left about
seven o'clock, except Miller (the ',rivulet) and Shaw ;
I went into the stable, and Miller continued talking to
me till the young woman (Mary Ann Lane) gas going
home; it wanted 25 minutes to eight o'clock when
Mary Ann Lane set out to go home; wen she got out
of the yard, she turned to the left hand ; one the
servant girls came out with her; i.e (the prisoner) asked
me, " Who are they?" I replied, .4 They are the ser-
vant girls;" he said," Nn, it's old Janie Lane, and I'll
go home with her, I'll be curst it I don't ;" I said," No,
you'd better go home to your wife;" he made no air
swer, but staid with me, in the stable, about five mimics
after this; the woman went across one field and turned
again to the left, towards the Hitchinton road;
in about five minutes the prisoner left the stable;
I saw him afterwards, running towards the gate
which led to the Hitchinton road ; I saw him
open that gate, and go into the road ; I had seen
Many Ann Lane pass that gate two or three minutes
before; the prisoner had on this evening a short smock
frock and worsted cord small clothes, and high-tcpped
shoes.

Cross-examined by Mr. Huz—The deceased was a married
woman, for what I know ; she passed as a married woman; she
heed with her husband, I believe, when she was at home.
Henry Beasley—l am a labour ei, living at Half:my;
the prisoner lives in the same street wi h rue at Harbury ;
1 know him; I remember the night of the 26th May ; 1
saw the prisoner about a quarter past ten that night;
he was coming towards home; he was 6J or 70 yards
from his own door when I saw him; be was coming
the pad-road, but whether from the Pool's Pleck or not
I can't tell, for there are two roads meet there, but if he
had come from the Pool's Pleck, he must have passed
along the road I saw him on to get home; the pond
where the body was found is in the Pooes Pleck.
Abraham Pratt—l know that part of Harburpheath
which is called the Yew's Pleck ; I was passing by the
pond in the Pleck on the as rning of Sunday the 27th
of May ; my brother George was with me ; he picked
up a pair of pattens about a yard and a half Iron' the
pond.; he saw an umbrella floating on the water, and
somqtring dark in the water, on the opposite side of the
pond ; we got it out, and found it was the dead
body of :Try Ant Lane ; there is a ditch opposite
tve mou h of art pond; it Foe, along both sides of
the pond; I observed -ome marks of struggling, as
they seemed to me, in the ditch ; it seemed to me as if
a female had been rubbing against the side of the bank,
near to the ditch; the bank goes up quite close to the

ditch ; there appeared to be some finger-marks in the'
ditch; there also appeared the :nark of a man's foots,
in the impression of the sole there were nail.matks ;
these marks were in tl,e ditch; on the outside r f the'
pond I observed the marks cf pattens ; I should have
said, that just at the mouth of the ditch I saw the mark
of small clothes, and ;he mark of a female's arm near
the ditch ; I remained with the body whilst my brother
went for aconstable.
John Heath said—l live at Mallory ;on the evening
of the 26th of May last, I gave my servants an enter.
tainment ; it was on Saturday o I went, in consequence
of what 1 heard, the next morning, to the pond in P co's
Pleck ; at that time the body was on the bier ; the pri-
soner was there, standing beside the bier: the body was
taken to the New Inn at Harbury; the prisoner assisted
in carrying it ; I followed the body to Harbury ; the
body was put in an outhouse at the New Inn; I got tt
the pond about hall after eleven in the forenoon ; I called
the prisoner from the outhouse when he had set the body
down ; I likewise called out Sprawson, the head borough,
at the same time; I said to Sprawson, 4. You'll take
this man into your custody; "tire prisoner heard me,
and I said to him, 44 William, I feel justified in doing
this, you being the last person seen with the deceased ;"
upon that Sprawson and the prisoner went into th.-
house, and I accompanied them; before I went into the
house I said nothing to him to induce him to confess. either
in the way of expressing that it would be better for him.
to confess, or worse for him if he did not, nor diJ any
other person to my knowledge. I said to the prisoner,
" William, you know that you met this woman last night
at a gate at the top of my field, leading to the Warwick
road." He male me no answer, and I said, (-Through
the Bridle gate to the Witidmill-hill." He said,
" Yes, I did." I said, 44 And kept the hedge side
down the Lodge-ground stile?" Prisoner replied,
" Yes, I did." I then said, " How far might you walk
with her?" He said, "To Harbury-heath.' I said,
"The Poor's Pleck, where the body was found?" He
slid," No, to the Wheelwright's." I their said," Which
way might you come home?" He said, " Across the
fislds by the foot-road, home." I was present at the
Inquest; the prisoner was asked some questions there
ithout the Poor's Pleck ; what the prisoner then said was
taketi down in writing ; when I was interrogating the
prisoner as to where he had parted from the deceased,
Spr•ws, n, the headbritough was present; Sprawson
then asked him if he had met any One as he came home?
he said, -4 No ;" he asked the prisoner if he had seen any
one as he came into the village? prisoner ',id, 44 No, I
did not see any one." I then left the New Inn with
' Sprawson, and went to the prisoner's house; I there saw
the prisoner's wife ; I saw the prisoner's wife take some
small clothes nut of a tub; Sprawson took possession of
these small.clothes; I returned to the prisoner; I had
seen the prisoner the day before in one of my fields; I
said to him, " Where are the shoes that you had on
yesterday when you came to me in the field?" he said,
" Tracy are in the kiln mouth;" I said, " Then you
changed your shoes before you came down to my
house ?" he said, " Yes;" I said, 4' The shoes you have
'on are the shoes you had on yesterday, when you came
to my house to dinner ;" he said, 44 Yes;" I then said,
" Take them off ;" he did so, and Sprawson took them
up; Sprawson and I went to the pond, and comp-wed
tl e shoes with the fm [-marks about i:, and found they
fitted the marks in the ditch about a foot and a halt
from the pond; the nail marks exactly corresponded
with the nails in the sole of the right, and in the heel of
the left ; when he took off his shies they were very wet,
and the stockings were wet also; on the morning of the
29th of May (Tuesday), ent to the prisoner, by his
desire ; he was then in a Mm of the New Inn, in cus-
tody ; it was in the morning part of the day, between
11 and 12 o'clock ; there was a long conversation about
his family, and I said to him, 44 William,.how came you
to do such a tbing ?" or do it, or words to that effect ;
I had made no promise to him, nor bad 1 threatened
him or field out hopes to him, and to my question he
replied, " I don't know ;" I said, " How did you do it ?"
he said, "I don't know how 1 did it ;" I said," Did she
resist you?" he said, " I don't recollect any thing about it;"
I said, " What might become of the bonnet ?" he slid,
"I don't recollect her having one on ;" I said, " What
might become of the sun-dial which the deceased used
to carry with her, as witness knew?" Prisoner replied,
44 I don't recollect seeing of it ;" Sprawson was at the
pond when I got there.
Thomas Sprawson said, he remembered on the morn-
ing of the 27th of May (Sunday) he was sent for to
Poors' Peck Pond; I ordered some men to follow me,
with a bier ; the prisoner was one of those I asked to
help to convey the corpse to Harbury; I got to the pond
first ; it was about half-past nine, when I got there; the
prisoner came there about ten minutes after ! reached the
pond ; I did not remain all the time with the prisoner at
the pond ; I remember Mr. Heath coming; I think I
left the pond before the prisoner ; the pisoner did not go,
to the ditch from the time I came until I left; I never
saw him there; I was near the ditch; before the psi.
sorter came down 1 observed the foot-malls in the
ditch; I observed Mr. Heath compare the foot-marks
with the :toes; with those marks, I mean, which weie
in the ditch before the prisoner came. I have no doubt
brit that tone marks were made by the shoes; 1 also
compared the breeches which I got out of a tub of
slater in the prisoner's house with an impression in the
clay; it exactly c.oresponded ; I had observed the mark
before the prisoner came; witness produced the breeches
and the clay, which was in the same condition he bad
found it ; the shoes he also produced.
Johannah Linell.-1 am t'.e wife of William Linell,
who keeps the New Inn, at Harbury. The prisoner
was in custody on the 28th of May, at my husband's
house; 1 was in the same room with him ; he looked
hard at me, and I asked him what was the matter ? He
burst into tears, and I said, " You best know whether
you are guilty or not ; and I would recommend you to
make your peace with Goo." The pi isoner said, 44 Mrs.
Linell, I have never denied it ; I wonder, if I pleaded
guilty, whether I could get off for tran-portation ; it I
could get. off for transportation for life I should not
maid, for another land would be as well for me as this;"
he said no more that night.
It chard Smith—l am one of the turnkeys of War-
wick gaol; I knew the poisoner very well before he
came to prison ; I also knew Mary Ann Lane, though
I was not aware that I knew her at the time of the con-
versation of which lam about to speak. On the day
the prisoner came to prison, I had some eonver-ation
with him ; I had used no threat, nor made any promise
to induce him to confess; 1 said, " Miller, these ate
bad things which are charged against you, what could
have induced you to do them?" He said, "It was the
drink that was the instigation of it." I told him that I
had heard they had not above two or three pints each ;
the prisoner replied, 44 we had a great deal more than
master or mistress knew of; we were awry in the.