The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-05-15 00:00:00

THE MURDER` OF LORD WILLIAM RUSSELL-
EXAMINATION OF COURVOISIER THE VALET,
AT ,BOW--STREET. ,

(From the Morning Herald of Tuesday.)
The investigation which took place betbre the police author-
ities, at the
.residence of the deceased nobleman in Norfolk-
street, Park-lane,. having produced a sufficient train of cir-
cumstantial evidence against the accused, to enable those
engaged in the enquiry to send the case before the chief ma-
gistrate at Bow-street, the valet Courvoisier was removed
'from Norfolk-street at twelve o'clock on Sunday night, in a
hackney-coach, and conveyed as privately as possible, to the
station-house of the F division, guarded by several consta-
bles. He was then locked up in one of the cells, and closely
watched during the night. At an early hour in the morning,
fhe fact of his having been sent to the station-house soon
transpired, and a great crowd of persons collected in a Bow-
street; for the purpose of obtaining a sight of the accused.
During the day, the street in front of the court, and opposite
the station-house, was nearly impassible, and towards even-
ing it became necessary to call out several constables to keep
the footway clear. The curiosity of the public was further
excited, by the rumour that Richard Gould and Jarvis and
his wife were also at the station-house, and that another in-
vestigation would take place upon the subject of the murder
of Mr. Templeman, which proved to be correct.
At ten o'clock, Mr. JARDINE took his seat on the bench,
for the purpose of disposing of the night charges, which being
more numerous than usual, occupied his attention until a
quarter to two o'clock, by which time, Mr. Hobler, the soli-
citor, arrived, to conduct the prosecution against Courvoisier,
on the part of the commissioners of police. Mr. Flower, of
Hatton-garden, was also in attendance on behalf of the pri-
soner, and on the bench we noticed, besides the chief magis-
trate, and Mr. Jardine, Lord Montfort, Major Anderson,
the Hon. Mr. Byng, Mr. Dyer, son of the police magistrate,
Mr. Yardly, secretary and chief clerk to the commissioners of
police, and several other gentlemen. None of the relatives of
the deceased nobleman were present.
At two o'clock, the prisoner was brought from the station,
in custody of Inspector Peirson, of the A division, and three
constables, and placed at the bar. He is a middle-sized man,
rather stoutly made, and aged, we should suppose, about 30 ;
the expression of his countenance is dull and heavy, and there
is not much of a foreigner in his general appearance; he has
a down look, and his face and lips were deadly pale.
As soon as he was placed in the dock, Mr. Flower, the so-
licitor, addressing the chief magistrate, said that he had re-
ceived instruction to attend on behalf of the prisoner, and on
his going to the station for the purpose of obtaining an inter-
view with him, he found, contrary to the usual practice, that
he could not he seen, even by his professional adviser.
Mr. HALL—I believe the usual practice is in all cases of a
serious nature to obtain the order of a magistrate to visit a
prisoner. You may now, however, retire for a short time
with the prisoner, before the examination is proceeded with.
The proceeded was accordingly allowed to leave the bar
with Mr. Flower. They remained absent for a short time,
and the prisoner having again taken his place in the clock.
Mr. Barnaby, the chief clerk, asked him—ls your name
Francois Benjamin Courvoisier.
Prisoner—lt is.
Mr. .Hobler then stated that he was instructed by the com-
missioners of police to conduct the inquiry against the pri-
soner, who was charged with the wilful murder of the late
Lord William Russell. It was not his intention at present
to produce more evidence than would be necessary to entitle
him to pray for a remand until some convenient day in the
course of the present week.
Mr. HALL—Does the prisoner understand English enough
to enable him to know the nature of the evidence you are
about to bring forward?
-Mr. Hobler—Oh yes, he understands English, and can
speak it very well.
Mr. Nicholas Peirson, an inspector of the A division, was
then sworn.
Mr. Hobler—Did you attend at the house of the late Lord
William Russell ?
Witness—l did ; I went there between five and six o'clock
on the evening of Wednesday last.
Mr. Hobler—Did you on that occasion go into his lord-
ship's bed-room ?
Witness—l did.
Mr. Hobler—ln what state did you find his lordship ;
alive or dead ?
Witness—He was dead.
Mr. Hobler—What establishment had he kept there?
Witness—A man servant and two female servants, as I was
informed.
Mr. Hobler—'Was the prisoner in the house at the time
you went there, and was he named to you as one of the esta-
blishment ?
Witness—Yes, sir, I understood that he was one of the
servants.
Mr. HALL—Did you address him as such?
Witness—No, not at that time.
Mr. Hobler—Did you afterwards speak to him as one of
the servants ?
Witness—l did, and he told me himself that he was one
of his lordship's servants.
Mr. Hobler—What did you observe when you first went
into his lordship's bed-room ? --
Witness—l turned down the bed-clothes, and found his
lordship lying dead on his right side.
Mr. HALL—Sitting here, I am not supposed to know what
has occurred elsewhere ; and I wish you to state whether,
from the appearance which the body presented, you were of
opinion that death was produced by violence?
Witness—That was my impression. His throat was cut;
I saw blood upon his face, and a great quantity of blood on
the bed-clothes, and also on the floor.
Mr. Hobler—Do you mean on the floor by the side of the
bed ?

Witness—No, it was under the bed, as if a great quantity
of blood had soaked through the bed and the two mattresses.
Mr. Hobler—Did you attend that night at the inquiry held
before the coroner?
Witness—Yes, I was present part of the time, towards the
close of the proceedings.
Mr. Hobler—Were you in the room when the jury returned
their verdict?
Witness-1 was.
Mr. Hobler—What verdict was given ?
Witness—The verdict was " Wilful Murder against some
person or persons uniznown."
Mr. Hobler—Did you assist in searching the house that
night ?
-Witness—l did, and since then.
Mr. Hobler—And have yon found any property belonging
to Lord William Russell. in the course of those searches ?
Witness—l have found property, which I have brought
here.
Mr:. Hobler—Describe to the 'magistrates what that pro-
perty consists of, and where you found it.
Witness—On Friday last 1 examined the butler's pantry,
having previously searched the house as well.
Mr. Hobler—Had the room you speak of been described
to you as the butler's pantry before you made the search
there?

Witness—Yes, it was ; and the prisoner himself told me
• it was his pantry, before the search was made.
• ' Mr. Hobler—Now state the result of your search.
Witness.—On searching the room I observed a skirting
board between the side of the fire-place and the sink, and
perceiving that a small piece of the lime,, or plaster, had been
recently removed, and, by tearing- some more of the plaster.,
I got my two fingers inside of the skirting-board, and then,
by a sudden jerk, about nine or ten inches of the board in
length, and about six inches hi',breadth, came away with the
pull.
Mr. HALL.—Did this board come away as if it had been
. .
recently removed from its place?
- Witness.—Yes, it did.
Mr. Hall.—Did the wood appear to you to be sound or
decayed?
It was perfectly sound.
Mr. Hobler.—Now state what you discovered.
Witness.—At the moment I pulled away the skirting, I
saw the gold net purse I now produce. It was lying about
two inches from the skirting, on the inside, as if it had been
pushed there. Two constables were in the pantry at the
time, and I immediately called their attention to the cir-
cumstance. I then took the purse out, and it is now in the
same state as when I found it.
Mr. Hobler.—Now, then, tell the magistrate what it con-
tained.
Witness.—lt contained the five gold coins I now produce,
wrapped in this piece of paper ; also five gold rings, one of
-which is a wedding ring. After I drew out the purse, I saw
a riband in the same place, or a little farther in, and having
pulled away another piece of the skirting, 1 took up the ri-
band, to which was attached a Waterloo medal, with the
name of the " Hon. Captain Russell, Aid-de-camp,"
inscribed upon it. On the inside of the skirting, and far-
ther on, I found a £lO Bank of England note. "afterwards
searched the room, and found this watch ring hidden in the
wall, about seven feet from the ground, behind a leaden pipe
affixed to the wall.
Mr. HALL.—Before you searched the pantry had you any
conversation with the prisoner about the rings or any other
property which were missing ?
Witness.—l had ; and before I found the rings the pri-
soner told me that his lordship was in the habit of wearing
rings, which, he said, were missing with the other property.
Mr. HALL.—After you found the articles you have de-
scribed, did you mention the fact to the prisoner ?
Witness.—l did. He was in the back parlour at the time,
and I placer) the articles on the table, and said to the pri-
soner, I have found these rings and other property concealed
in. your pantry.
Mr. HALL.—Did he make any reply to that ?
Withess.—Yes, he did ; he said 1 know nothing about
them. lam innocent, my conscience is clear.
Mr. HALL.—Did he say that the rings were those which
were missing?
Witness.—No, be did not. He merely said I never saw
the medal before.
Mr. Hobler.—Did you afterwards take him to the pantry,
and show him the place where you found the things?
Witness.—l did.
Mr. Hobler.—What observation did he make when you
pointed out the place to him ?.
Witness. His answer was the saine—" I know nothing
about them. lam innocent."
Mr. Hobler.—Did you then continue your search in the
room, and did the prisoner remain there while you were so
engaged ?
Witness.--He did for some time.
room when I found the watch ring.
Mr. Hobler.—Were the articles you found afterwards iden-
tified as his lordship's property?
Witness.—Yes, his lordship's late valet identified them.
Mr. Hobler said he did not mean to go farther with the
case at present.
Mr. HALL considered that some further evidence ought to
be given.
The witness then proceeded to state. I searched the bed-
room of the prisoner, and found a bunch of keys, I think
ten in number. I also searched his person, and in his right
hand trousers' pocket. I found a gold locket, with hair in
it, and is in silver. While I was examining the locket, the
• prisoner said " It is mine."
Mr. Hobler—Did he tell you how long be had it?
Witness—l did not ask him that question.
Mr. Hobler—Did you afterwards search his box for any
property or instrument ? ,
Witness—l did, but discovered no property in the box. I
found, however, a screw-driver and a chisel in it. And on
Wednesday night I found a hammer in the pantry. Having
applied the end of the chisel and screw-driver to the marks
on the drawer, and also on the door of the plate-cupboard, I
found them to correspond. When I showed the prisoner the
chisel he said, " That's mine," but the hammer and screw-
driver he said belonged to the house.
Cross-examined by Mr. Flower—l first went to the house,
No. 14, Norfolk-street, on last Wednesday, in the afternoon.
I found a great. many persons and several of the police,
amongst whom was Inspector Tedman. 1 found the rings
and other articles last Friday at one o'clock. The prisoner
told me that his lordship wore rings. He gave me that in-
formation before the rings were found. I cannot say how
many persons had gone to the pantry nefore I went there.
The prisoner is a Swiss.
Mr. HALL—I suppose, Mr. Hobler, you have no farther
evidence to bring forward at present.
Mr. Hobler—No, sir, I have no more to offer now, but in
a day or two I shall be prepared with additional evidence.
Mr. HALL—What day would you name for farther hear-
ing?
Mr. Hobler—On Thursday, if you please.
Mr. Ham, (to the prisoner) Is it your wish to make any
observations now ?
Prisoner—No, sir, none at all.
Mr. HALL—You are now remanded until Thursday next,
and you will be sent from hence to the Westminster Bride-
.
ffiu, in.Tothill-street.
;i?utglikiver—l hope.,sosnire,r ,
in the mean time, that I may be
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tier. Wray you may, on my order, as his pro-
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