The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-12-24 00:00:00

SHOCKING

MURDER AT STOKETON-UPON
TRENT.

(From the Staffordshire Gazette.
)n Monday evening and Tuesday last, the town of Stoke
5 thrown into a state of great excitement, by a report, that

named Thomas Morris, a brewer,' had lard violent
ipon his wife, and thereby caused her death, whilst he
a state of intoxication. The report proved but too
On Tuesday afternoon, an inquest was held on the
`-' deceased, Elizabeth Morris, at the Old Swan
hefore W. Harding, Esq., coroner, and a re-

Inn, Sto

pectable jury

Nitness called was a niece of the prisoner's and
leceased's, named Fanny Hilditch, a little girl ten years of

age, wno stared that Morris and the deceased lived at their
[louse. [Witness afterwards explained that her mother was
fever-nurse at the Infirmary, and consequently generally ab-
sent from home, and allowed Morris and his wife (who was
her sister) to live in her house, and take care of her children.]
Witness remembered Morris coming home on Monday night,
believed it was about nine o'clock ; her aunt (the deceased)
was nursing a baby about ten months old, and sat by the fire,
making a cap and putting flowers in it. There were no other
persons in the house except Morris, the deceased, witness,
and the baby. Morris said he would not have the cap which
deceased was making in his house, and he then pushed her
towards the fire. Deceased then threw the cap up the house
to prevent Morris laying hold of it; he endeavoured to get
the cap from her, and she resisted ; he said he would throw
it on the fire, and she replied that he ' durst not' ; and he
replied that he durst' ; and some further altercation of a
similar nature took place. He then struck his wife a violent
blow on her brow, upon which she fell with her head upon
his knee; he pushed her off to the floor,,which was of brick.
After she was down, he kicked her twice on the side, and
some time after tried to lift her head from the floor, but it

fell down again,—and he then said that " he could not help
it." Deceased could not get up, the baby then began to cry,
and witness took it from the cradle and went to call a neigh-
hour, named Mary Swettnam, and told her that deceased
was dying; upon which she left and went to Morris's di-
rectly. When witness left the house, Morris was standing
in the same room that his wife was lying; she staid at Mrs.
Swettnams until near one o'clock ; when she went home
again, she saw deceased lying upon the sofa, and thought she
was dead: Morris was quite drunk.
Mary Swettnam was then sworn, and said, in conse-
quence of information received from the previous witness.
she went to Morris's house with her : the baby was asleep
in the cradle, deceased lay across the house floor on her
back, and Morris was kneeling down by the side of her. He
exclaimed, when witness entered the house, " Aye dear, aye
dear, Mrs. Swettnam." He had his left arm under her
head. Witness asked what was the matter, and he replied,
be thought she was dead, as he perceived no breath. Wit-
ness laid hold of deceased's hand and rubbed it, but she was
quite dead. Morris said something must be done,—witness
then went and called Sally Harrison and Betty Minshull,
telling them that Betty Morris was either dead or dying. They
came in soon, and then witness went to her own house, and
sent a man who lodged with her to call Mr. Davies. When
she went back to Morris's deceased was quite dead, and she
was laid on the sofa. Morris did not say anything about
how it bad happened to witness : he was drunk. The jury
returned their verdict—" That the deceased came to her
death by violence used towards her by her husband, Thomas
Morris," who was then brought up and committed to take
his trial for the offence at the next assizes.

REFORMATION IN LIVERPOOL

(From the Dublin Statesman.)