The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-10-25 00:00:00

MURDER IN LIVERPOOL

AnotrT half-past twelve o'clock on Saturday night, a
murder of an atrocious and cold-blooded character was
perpetrated in Charles-street. Two seamen, named re-
spectively Richard Crispin and John Crimp, part of the
crew of the schooner Compeer, Captain Weeks, now in
Canning Dock, were passing along Charles-street at the
time named ; while two other seamen, one named Thomas
Williams, an American, the other, Emanuel Montero, a
Spaniard, belonging to the Spanish vessel the Triomfante,
were passing on the opposite side. Crispin, it is alleged,
shouted over the street, "There's two whitewashed Ame-
rican sons of b-." Williams, resenting the epithet,
kicked Crispin twice in the abdomen, on which a fight
ensued, all four participating less or more in it. While
the fight was going on, Montero, drawing a large knife
from its sheath, stabbed both Crispin and Crimp in the
groin, and immediately ran away. Crispin, who almost
immediately fell to the ground, was conveyed in a car to
the Northern Hospital, where he expired within a few
minutes after his admission. Crimp, unconscious of the
severity of his own wound, accompanied his shipmate to
the hospital, where his case was attended to, and where
he still lies in a very dangerous condition. Both prisoners
were taken into custody in course of Sunday.
Yesterday, they were both brought up at the Police
Court, before J. H. Turner, Esq., and arraigned on the
capital charge of murder. Montero, being unable to
speak or to understand English, Mr. Charles Hunt,
translator, &c., attended on his behalf, at the instance of
the Spanish Consul. The case having occasioned con-
siderable excitement, the court was crowded during the
investigation.
Police Constable Francis O'Neil, No. 220, was the first
witness examined. He said that about half-past twelve
o'clock on the morning of Sunday last, he was on duty in
the neighbourhood of Charles-street, and he heard a row
at the bottom of the street. He went to disperse the
crowd, and the people went away. On turning round into
Whitechapel, he saw a man lying on the pavement, bleed-
ing very much. Witness was informed the man had been
stabbed by a foreigner, who had run away. On looking
round, witness saw a man running up Charles-street, and
turn into Marble-street. Witness ran after, but did not
overtake him. On reaching Marble-street, he saw a man
standing up at the corner, bleeding ; but was unable then
to learn anything as to the man who had committed the
crime. He returned toWhitechapel, and conveyed the in-
jured man totheNorthern Hospital in a car: the other,who
said he was his comrade, went with them. The man who
was lying in the street died in a few minutes after he was
taken to the hospital. The case of the other man was
examined into, and it was found he also was seriously
wounded, and he now lies in the hospital in a dangerous
condition. On Sunday,in consequence of information he had
received, witness went, in the afternoon, to Georges Dock,
and succeeded in apprehending Montero, and brought him
to the Police-office, where he was searched, and the knife
now produced was found on him. [The knife, a large
wooden-handled, coarse-looking table one, with a leather
sheath, and marked on the handle with a rudely cut W.,
was produced. Its blade was stained with blood.]
Police-constable Thomas Cottam, No. 509, from infor-
mation he received, went on Sunday to 19, Peter-street,
where, after some little difficulty, he found the prisoner
Williams. On asking if he knew anything about the
man being stabbed on Saturday night, he denied all
knowledge of the affair. Witness took Williams into
custody, and as they were on their way to the police-
office, Williams said he had been in company with the
man " who had done the deed," or " who had stabbed the
other," and added they had slept together, but that the
other man had gone away that morning. Williams, after
being locked up, expressed a desire to see witness, and he
went to him ; Williams then admitted that he had twice
kicked one of the men who had been hurt, and said he did so
because he had called him, Williams, " a bloody son of a
b- :" that a row had then taken place in Charles-street,
and that he (Williams) went away, and got into 19, Peter-
street.
Harriet Gladsome, who lives in Charles-street, was out for
some candles about twelve o clock on Saturdaynight. There
was a row in the street. It was occasioned by Williams,
who wa
They s
13assinge' and two English sailors, who were also
passing.alled Williams " a son of a b-." One
never Williams, he
insulted him. of the English sailors was a tall, the other a short, man.
Thneveertall
calledone such him on baeinngainsep,okaennd tnoevb
With that, Williams up with his foot and kicked him in
the belly. The English sailor said, " Will you give me
another half-dozen like that ?" Williams replied, " Yes,"
and kicked him again in the same place. They then both
turned out to fight, and the English sailor knocked Wil-
liams down. The foreigner (Montero) stood smoking his
cigar, and when he saw Williams down, he went and
attacked the English sailor. Witness left them fighting.
Betsy Salmon, lives in Crosahall-street, and was in
Charles-street at the time spoken of. There was a crowd,
and she heard the tall man call out for his shipmate. She
went up to him, and seeing him about to strike the
foreigner, she pushed him away, and said, " Don't you be
foolish to go near him, those foreigners always carry
knives?' Almost immediately after this, she saw the
foreigner take out a knife and stick it into the bottom of
the tag men's belly. The man, 911 being dabbed, seized