Coroner's Inquest.
The Times, 1824-02-10T00:00:00

A coroner's inouest was held vesterday before - SItELTroN, Esq., upon the body of Jane Rooke. who fell from the window of Mlr. Abraham's house in Houndsditch, in consequencc of a fright at thc supposed appr3ach of a robber. Jamcc Biven, a watchman of the ward of Portsoken, deposed that hc was upon his beat at five o'clock on Saturday morninz in Hourds- ditch. He heard a scre.aming, he thought of Fire." The deceased was leaning or sitting out of the window, he could not say which, as it w as dark;. It was in the fourth story of hlr. Abrahamt's house. Shp called for a ladder, and screamed " Pire !" NVitness begged her to keep in, as he saw no danger of fire, or any thing else. She cnn- tinned to cry " Fire I" and to call for a ladder, and t'hc patrol ran and got a ladder; but she fell before the ladder arrived. She fell near witnems, who picked her up and carried her over the way to Alr. Bates's house, where he left her. She fell upon her head. and never spokc a word after; shehad night.clothes and black stockings on. Xy thie Jury.-Asked b1er .hat was the matter, and she said, as well as he could hear, " Fire, fire !" Did not hear her say her master and Staples were murdered; was let in at the hall-door: a window was open in the kitchen, and some plate was upon an apron on the table. They didl not appear to be packed up. The first per son witness saw was Staples, Mr. Abraham's voung man who had two pistols in his hand. lie seemed very nuch terrified, and shook excessively, AIMr. Abralhams was also very much alarmed. 'I be door seemed to have been well fastened inside. Afr. WX. Liscard, sutgeon, of Aldgate High-street, deposed that he was ctlled in to Mr. Hates's hous(e, at half.past 6. to see the de. ceased, whom he found in a dying rtate. Her skull was fractured, and she died in two or three minutes. Joseph Staples, shopman to Mlr. Abrahams, desed, that he heard a noise in tlse kitchen between four and five. He slept on the same I floor with thedeceased, Soon after he heard the first noise, he heardl a noise of footsteps on the stairs, which creaked, and he supposed that it was Illr. Abrahams. Hc laid awake for some time. One board creaked verv loud, and he listenedl to hear Mr. Abrahams go I into his room, but did not hear the door close He then heard a creaking still nearer to him. Witness then jumped out of bed. and took two pistols which laid tnder his he-ad, ant were loaded. He had slept for three vears with loaded pis. tols under his head, and liis master knew it. Having partly dressed himself, he went down stairs, and saw something moving on the landing place about 12 steps frost him, but *t was too dark to distinguish what it was. Witness said, ' You damned vil. lain, if voa move anothier step vou ate a dead nitan." Tmmedtately after le heard fooLtteps moving quicklv down stairs. (Convinced that it could not be any of the familyv he fired. {c hstl nn oi,tortunity ef asettainingwhether the person who moved wasa man. After heired he ran down stairs and kicked something with his foot,and called out for alight to Mr. Abrahams, s-tvinz that he had got the villaitt. ffe then descended into the kitchenttwhich was on the first floor, and pro. ceeded to the door that led to the leads. and in his way thithier fell over a table. He then went to the door. which, as he himself had bolted it the night before, he expected to find cloced, arnd found it open. Anv person mseht have come in at the rittdow which wa.X open in the kitchen, and then could opn1 the door from the jt'stle. The sash of the windeow had been downlin the night,but not fastened. He was the l.st up in the house, an(d had locked ar.d balted all thic doors; ithe deceased ltad gone tl bed hefore he went up stairs. W1itness passet out upon the leads and fired the second pistol, but without seeing ayR one. The Co RON Ett saiti he might have killed some person who might hale approached to acsist hitm at the first fire. The witness said there coiuldi have been no person in the direc- tion in which he fired exeept some one who had no business there. Hie mnust have been close to the thief's heel*, but he never heard | or saw any body after he fired the first pistol. Upon return- ing from the leads, lie ran to Mlr. Abraham s door and called for a light. Alr. Abraham opened the door, and witness took liold of a light wvich moved in oil. but in his haste he put I,st the light. Mr. Abrahamps then pulle(d him into his room. and said thev were in darkness, and he (witness) said that he knew Jane had a tinder-box, an(l he would go up to her room for it; he went to Jane's room and knocked at the door; he cried out to her " Jane, for Gotd's sake give me ai cathdle." lie heard her say three timnes. "They are in my room-they ate in msv room." lIe knocked several times at the door, but reccived no answer. Mr. Abrahams then ran up and knocked at it, but no answer was cAcao. They both then afte sQrne difficulty broke open the door. and witness went rounclnear the decetised's bed. and found the tinder.box. He then struck a light near the girl's bed, antl ho did not see her in bed. He did not know whether the window was open. Ile then went down stairs with a light, leaving llr. Ahrahams in the girl's room in the dark. There was a ringing and kr,ocking at tle door *ihen he. was dowvn. He opened thc dnor and let in the officers. who teok him ir;to custody. The officers went up to her room, and looked up at the ceiling. and said it was an apparitinn of the wttness's own, Witaess repli(d that they mnight as well say that he WaS a dead nman. Upon going into the 'dining.room he saw some small ar- ticles of plate, and a necklace of, the deceased, on the table, lying upon aii apron, and he was sure titat they had not been there the right before Before the girl went to bed the told witness that she had got ts. frots them. A hat was found by one of the offlcers on the lnding-pilace, and these was a shot hole in it. Mlr. Abrahams, of R'ottndsditch, deposed, that the report of a pistol awakened hinm on Saturiay morning. He got out of bed and went to a drawer where he had a pistol and powder-flask; he then heard Staples cry, " A light, alight !" Witness opened the dcor, and Staptes efiterecd greatly agitated, saying he hatl fired at the vil- lain. WVitness toid him to hold the lamp while he looked tfo the niseol; the lamp went omst, onl account of his agitation, and witness desired hin to go up sta*es to Jane's room and get a light. Staples I could not get into Jane's roomn, and witness ran up stairs, and said, "Jane, I insist upon your opening the door," She did not reply, and hce supposed she had fainted. Th,ey th^en broke open the door, and shevwas not in the bed. The window was than open. The plate wbich was found in the apron was not on the parlour-table when he went to bed. They might have beer let in the kitchen, and were clean. Do You know that he kept loaded pistels under his head ? lIr. Abrahams said he did not, but he knew that Staples had pistols; saw no appearance of violencc about the premises; was positive that he never saw such a hat as that produced before; there was some appearance of a person dlitsbing at the back of the house. Hovw did it happecn that he kent two pistols about him ?-8e said, because a former master had been robbed; I desired him to tell that gentleman to attend; he told me his former master would attend if he could. The gentleman did not attend. PMIr.'Abraharnshad said somedaysbefore that he thought the kit. chen-window was not safe. Oneof the jury observed, that he 'believed the robber escaped through the hall-door. A man had been seen rmnning in the neigh. bourhood, and upon being asked wvhat was the matter, he said these was a great fire at the oil-shop. This was an out-of-doors report. iMlr. Abrahasns.-Staples and the deceased were on good terns. Stanles was quite sober thse night before; was one of tle most as- siduous and clever young men that could be; and would, he had no doubt, exert himself te any extent for the benefit of his master. The Cosso,s directed the jury to go over to Mr. Abrahams's house and examine the stairs, to ascertain whether they creaked. Upon their-retsrn, they agreed that a~ erson stepping across the itchen, oron thse stairs, in tbe silence of night, might be heard in Staples' roomi The Colo1ER,ts tinaddressing the jury, said there was great im- probability-in the story. .It was evid,=,.t, lsewever, hat the poor girl cne to her death byeideavou:rin,g to escape xphenisd murder or bdrmnig; and whether th story Wsu tue or tbe *O z&&Wa ' could not be affectecL Verdict-" The deceased came to her detth iicom uenti of having attempted to escape outof, twindow in her mi3tetr 3i4e= her alarm, fearing that she would be either bur4 oi d." COR OAKBR'RS IANQlST.