Evening journal., 1890-03-10

Mr. AND MRS, HIRCHEliA
sufficient TO cause death, and your jurors
have reason to believe, and do believe, that
said shots were fired by the hand Of Regi-
nald Birchell, alias Somerset, with deliber-
ate purpose, wilfully and feloniously, TO
commit murder, on or about the nth Of
February. 1920, and we are Of opinion that |
Caroline Birchell. the wife Of said Reginald
Birchell was accessory to the murder after
the fact
Mrs. BirchelI's Position.
There was very little difference OF opinion
among the jurors as to the question OF guilt,
the only question being whether OF not
verdict should be given in the absence Of the
prisoners. Under the law Of Canada d wife
cannot be punished for shielding her hus-
band, and therefore Mrs Birchel cannot be
made accessory after the fact, in the general
sense Of the term.
The Body Exhumed.
When the inquest was resumed d. r.
Pelley, the young man who accompanied
Bonwell and Birchell to this country, was
taken to the grave Of the murdered man,
where the body was exhumed. He recognized
the dead man as Benwell After Pelley had
identified the body Of his murdered com
panion no was put In the witness box. He
again told the wonderful story Of his asso-
Citations with Birchell and Benwell as he
told it at Niagara Falls.
Were There other victims9
New and sensational developments are
cropping up in connection with the tragedy,
and the question now is whether there have
not been at least two victims. Some two or
three years ago young Englishman, Neville
H. Picllthall, came here, and about year
ago purchased a farm six miles south Of
Woodstock. About four months ago he
married the daughter Of his minister. Feb
10 last Pickthall raised 81 900 ON mort
gage on his farm and left here, saying 70 his
wife: II am going to double this money be-
fore / come back He was seen at Niagara
Falls that night, and then said be was going
TO New York TO meet his sister.
he was Never Seen Again.
The testimony in the Birchell examination
showed that Pickthall reached New York
and there met the Birchells. Since then no
trace OF him has been found and no word
has been received from him. His disappear
ance caused a stir at the time and the police
sent descriptions Of him all over the country.
The theory now is that he was enticed to
New York by Birchell with the expectation
of making large sum Of money, and that
he was put out OF the way for the money he
carried with him. A search Of Birchelrs
baggage will be made for anything that
might give a clew to Piekthall's fate
Pellsy's testimony, II true, shows conclu-
sively that Mrs Birchell aided and abetted
in the swindling Of Pelley and the deceased,
whether she knew Of the murder or not
She frequently mentioned the fictitious farm
10 Policy.
BircheIi's Strange Career.
What is known OF Birchellis career is not
at all 70 his credit. 1t is said that he was
always a liar, always an adventurer. In
college he loved to pose as the scion Of some
great family. If caught in lie he would
easily laugh il Off. He made the acquaint-
ance Of the daughter Of David Stephenson,
traffic manager Of the London and North
western railroad, and won her heart by his
dashing ways and taking lies. He said he
was great land owner and stock raiser in
Canada. They were secretly married
against the fathers wishes, who wished to
know more about the young man, and
sailed away for Canada. And here, in the
little village of Woodstock, which they
reached in the autumn Of 1885, they began
to cut the swell which made him such a
local celebrity.
Here He Was "Lord Somerset"
Here he was Birchell no longer, but Somer-
set, Lord Somerset, or at least the son of
Lord Somerset, with all the glamour Of a
title about him. He was an exquisite in
every way. His linen was embroidered to
suit his rank. He even went in debt like a
lord, and when heleft Woodstock there were
many poignant memories in the shape Of un-
paid bills left behind him. His wife, blue
eyed, light haired, pretty little blonde, was
a fit companion for one so high bred.
They left at last and went back to Eng
land, and for time lived with Mr.. Stephen
son, who forgave his daughter for her secret
marriage. The girl told no tales out OF
school, though II is certain that by this time
she knew her husband to be a rascal. And
meanwhile "Lord Somerset set about some
means of recouping his exhausted exchequer.
In the course Of time he fell in with Fred
erick c. Benwell, of Cheltenham, England
and Douglass Raymond Pelley, Of Saffron
Walden, Essex, and lured them to Canads
as heretofore described in these dispatches.
The Theory of the Police.
Birchell, his wife, Benwel and Pellel
crossed the Atlantic together on the Ger
manic. BY the time they reached Buffalo
Pelley had been bled el70. How much Ben
well vas mulcted does not seem clear, al