The Falls City tribune., 1905-08-04
THE SOLVING
OF 4 MURDER.
BY GRANT JONES.


wishing to attend murder trial.
The London, Chatham and Dover
Railway company did so upon the
occasion of the trial of Percy Le-
troy Mapleton, at Maidstone, on
November 4, 1881, sin conse-
Quence of the vast public interest
in the case" | travelled down in
one of these trains, with Mon
tagu Williams and other barris'
ters engaged in the trial. The
train was besieged by crowd of
the general public. AS celebrat-
ed and cynical legal gentleman
remarked, "we might have been
going to race meeting"
/ doubt whether, among all the
assassins ] have seen in the deck,
have met one who was more dan
gerous than Lefroy-as he chose
to call himself. He was a tall,
weedy looking young fellow of
about 25, thin, with sunken
cheeks, dark, short hair, and pc.
culiarly pallid complexion. He
was neatly dressed in dark suit.
with a turn down collar, and a lit
tie knotted dark blue tie. His
hearing was of the exaggerated
theatrical type.
AS he appeared in the dock,
and walked forward to it's front.
every gesture seemed artificial,
and his eyes glanced round as if
he were surveying his audience,
expecting their appreciation.
He was charged with the mur.
der of Isaac Frederick Gold on
Monday, June %, in a Brighton
express on the London, Brighton
s. South Coast railway, between
Three Bridges and Balcombe.
The case was one which presented
many extraordinary features.
Montagu Williams had been espe.
cially retained to defend the
prisoner. The attorney general
himself went down to Maidstone
to lead the prosecution. Lord
Chief Justice Coleridge, it is said.
in arranging the circuits of the
judges, took some care that he
should himself preside at the lie
troy trial. The court was crowded
to suffocation.
For some weeks indeed the
whole nation had been excited
over the miscreant, now safely
Gagged in that dock in the Maid
stone criminal court. AS people
unfOlded their newspapers on the
morning of June % their eyes had
fallen upon the startling words in
the heaviest type calling their at.
tentiOn to one of the most cruel
and dastardly crimes ever perpe.
trated. And the perpetrator had
disappeared.
Isaac Gold was an aged Lon
don gentleman, who had retired
from business, and who had gone
to live in the suburbs of Brighton.
On the morning of June q he left
home and came to London to col,
lect some money owing to tim,
and he caught the two o'clock eX.
press to Brighton from London
bridge on his return journey. He
was well known to the station Off
cials, and was seen by them com
forJably seated in a first class
smoking carriage reading a news,
paper as the train started out of
the station. He was doomed never
to reach the end of that journey
alive.
AS he sat snugly ensconced in
his corner, lazily giancing at his
paper, and nearly asleep, over
come by the intense heat of the
day, tall, thin young man in IA
dark frOck coat, with dark hair
and small side whiskers, and with
a low felt hat worn rather on the
back of the head, walked slowly
up and down the platform, Ian.
guidly looking into the carriages,
as if in search of a comfortable
seat. At last he opened the door
of the carriage in which Mr.. Gold
sat, and entering took his place
in it.
At % minutes past two O'Clock
the express car was swinging
through Croydon. A few minutes
later, with a shrill shrek of its
whistle, it plunged into the mile