Winter Assizes.
The Times, 1824-12-20T00:00:00

T77omas Coombs was indicted for the wilful murder of Thomas ll organ, at Beckenham, on the 16th of August, by shooting him with a gun, loaded with powder, shot, and slags; This case eseited the most Intente Interess, not metely from the barbarous nature of the outrage, but from the peculiar atid almost unprecedented train of circumstances upon which the case for the prosecution depdnded. It is tnnecessary to enter into an elaborate detail of the testimony of an immense number of witnesses, who deposed to apparently trifling circumstances, but al of which formed the links of a long train, but eonclusive proof of guilt. The prisener *as a man ofabout46 yeiirsf sge, but remarkable for the unusual height ofhisstatairean drobustbtateofb dy.The deceased Trhomas Morgan wras an undesrgardener in the service of a gentleman named Goodhart, of Langley-park, in this eounty. On the 9th of May last his garden had been robibed of pmeapples and other fruit; and at the same time a fowling-piece, tbeproperty of the deceased, was stolenfrem oneof thegreen-houses. Thir circumstance formed a prominent fetare of the case as 3t affected th4 prisoner. Since that event the deceased wag in the habit of sleepimg in a seed-room ad- joinitig the house for the purpose of p d lng: the premises. On the evening of the 1igth of Auigust,' the- decear had retired to his rest, and about six o'clock the following morning wheh the head. gardener went to his work, his attention was arreatedbythe faint voice of a person crying "Holloo!" heimmediately vrentto the green-house, and found the deceased prostrate on his back, covered with blood, and apparently in adying state ; he gave the alarm; s urgical assist- anee was procured; but, at one o'clock on that day, the un- happy man expired, from the effecta of a gun-shot wound, which bad penetrated his lungs. 1$efote bib deceaset and under the con- viction of approaching dissolution, he stated to thdse yho attended his death-bed, that in the course of the night he had bfen disturbed by two men, who entered the garden; and upon attempting to sei2oe them, one fired a gun and morta11y vpunduhini,, -n thcatheihad himself diseharged his piece at hia asamilant. He was, however, un- able to give any description of the men to whom he attributed the fatal wound. After the injury, he had crawfed to the green-house, where he remained cxhausted,until he was found in the morning in the manner described. Upon exanlining the premises, the footsteps of a man of a considerable size were observed, and traced to an adjacent orchard, and leading circuitously to Beckenham church, where fur- ther track was lost. It appeared that the garden gate bad been foreed by a pitch.ork leftl on the spot. The circumstances of the murder became the subject of public rnitoriety, by means of band-bills which were published, offering a reward for the apprehension of the offend- ders. On the 10th of Alay last (the day after the robberv of the presecutor's garden), thie prisoner went to the shop of Mr. Ilook, a fruiterer, Kennington, and ofFered two pine-apples, one of which was unripe, for sale, for 4s. This circumstance exa{ted suspison in Mr. Hoox 'smnd,wliho refitsed to purchase themon theground that he be- lieved they were stolen. On the 18th of August the prisoner went to the same shop, and ofrered 51b. weight of hot.house grapes, for which he demanded the fall price, which Mir. fook agreed to pay hlim, and gave him five shillings, desiring him. to cal for the re- mainder intending to apprehend him on his return, if in the inte- rim he shoul(d find they had been stolen. The prisoner called for the remainder the same afternoon, bat. AIr. Hook being from home, his intention coutd not be carried into effect. On the 2d of Septem- ber he called again, auid offered two melons and a quantity of peaches to Mf rs. Hook for sale, and her husband being out, she detained the prisoner in conversation until his return, when the prisoner was ap. prehended. He was forthlwith taken to Union-hall polUce-of}ce, but on his way he afTected to have a bowel complaint, and re- peatedly desired to- retire to a public-house; but was carried to the oefice, and. at his urgent ebtteaty,;was allowed; without suspicion, to go to a place of accommodation. Thls -circumstance awakened curiosity, and, upon examining the privy, a pistol was found at the bottomi, loaded with -powder, chot, and pieces of lead. The prisoner was afterwards searched, and from hin, person was taken-a steel gun-charger, containing ammunition of a similar na- ture to the contents of the pistol ; and on examining his shirt, there were evidently marks corresponding witlh the pistol-lock and barrel. After the apprehension, the prlsoner's lodging, in Fox's.buildings, Kent-street, weresearched, and there several pieces of paper. in whi6h tobacco had been, wrapped, were found, which exactly tallied with the wadding taken from the pistol found in the privy. Dlary Wright Lawrence, with whom the prisoner cohabited, was taken up, and from her testimony it appeared, that on the 16th of August. the prisoner left her, saying that he wae going to visit a re. lation on the other side of Eltham, ahd that if he did not return be. fore eight o'clock that evening, he should not be. back till early in the=moing; on the morrow abolit eight o'clock, prisoner returned in a gloomy state of mind, and apparently fatigued; the sleeve of his coat was torn, which she remarking'to him prisoner replied it was fortunate his neck had nibt been broken: lhe theS Igy down upon the floor and slept until tea.ilme, when he got up and went to the. window, aud observed, in a melancholy matinef td her, that he had shot a man; she asledl him why. and he ieplied that if he had not done so, the man would have shot him. To a further queation howit happened, he said lhe did not hurt hii, butbadonly blown alittlepow. der in his face, and that the traniskiton liad taken place at Sevenoaks. lIe was absent from home for rome days, during whiqh timne slhe had heard of the murder at Beckenham, and op socittioning the ir0ttm. stance to him, and alluding to what he had told of his havlng sliot a man on the same evening, he threatened to shoot her If she ever repeated the circumstance; before-this- times he adi told her that he had left a fowling-piece at a friend'si at Tlltham, which he 'intended to sell in the. shooting seamon, and he was fearful it would s oil where it was, as it was ilUed with leaves I it was fur. ther proved, that a man named Riley met the prisoner on his vay to LIondon at an early hour of the moriinig after the murder, at Lewisham, to whom he said he waP on his wvay fromI Sevenoaks. On the 29th of July a gun was found in a wood, called Westwood, near Bexey, tfrom which, on the Monday of that day, at 4 o'clock, the prisoner was seen to leave, that gun vas distinctly p roved to have been the' property of the deceaed, stolen on the 9th of May,. the persons who found it drew-.. the charge, and substituted some leaves; it had been loaded with powder and pieces of lead, and now upon comparing the contents ef it with the loading of the pistol above mentioned, and the ammunition found upon the prisoner's person on bisd nprehension, a rerarkable correspondence was observable. It was also proved that the aper v whieh forrmed the niadding both of the gun and pistol tallie exactly with eon:e paper foand in-the prisoner's lodgtng. Upon these several dir. cumstances the charge against the prisoner mainly restedi. The shoes of the prisoner were of the same dimensions exactly as the footsteps discovered in 31r. Goodh7at's garden, and were of a most unusual size. - - in bis defenee, said, that some'of the circumstances ewitnesses were untrue but was unable to point out any particulars; te--rionrs oo A respectable h9y-master of' Miaidstone gave the ptisonera good charactelr forthe last ten years, butsaid he bad Imown little of him - Mr. Juitice BunrLouGiH summed up the.evidenee miniutelyto thejury, leaving it to them to determine the guilt or innocence of the prisoner, after a temnperate and dispassionate view pf all the cir. cumstances. - TheJury,after five minutes' deliberation;found theprisoner GuiUy, and he was ordered for execution on Meilday next. The prisoner was quite collected during tb.etrial, and ecemed re. signed to l,11l1 fate. - DR9M.PFUL ACCIDtNT.-A genltleman was killed near to the Bricklayers' Arms, Kent-road, on Friday evening,, in conse- quence of having been run over by aliorse and chaise. The horse had taken fright at New..cross, and 'was nor stopped till after the niishiat.was done. A lady and gantleman, and tlfeir daughter, whom thev bad been fetching from ,a: -boardingschool at E 1thain were in tho clcaise, buti hlpAly sustaine4 no injsiry. The deeeeW vaa said to be A clerin the Bank of Egland. WTIh1ER ASStES. MAIDSTONE. FinDAY. DEe. 17. '