Glasgow Courier. — 1850-12-07 (Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland)

BRUTAL MURDER IN DUMFRIESSHIRE.  We have the painful duty of recording an occurrence in the usual tranquil county of Dumfries, involving the commission of two capital offences, under circumstances of peculiar and painful atrocity, by which a respectable female has been suddenly and awfully deprived of life. About seven o'clock of the evening of Wednesday, the 27th ultimo, three persons left Dumfries, two of them, at least, with the intention of proceeding home to the village of Kirkland of. Tin wald; john Hamilton and his wife, accompanied by William Laurie, a shoemaker. Hamilton is a ploughman. They had one child, a daughter, about fifteen years of age. Before leaving Dumfries the party had been together in a public-honse, and Hamilton had become much intoxicated. About ten o'clock the same night, Hamilton found his way home, and went to bed alone. Being questioned as to his wife, he said she was with some people, and would be in directly. About two o'clock next morning several persons, in returning from Dumfries with a horse and cart, found a female in a state of complete insensibility lying on the road-side. They placed her in the vehicle, and she shortly afterwards died. Various marks were observed upon her face, and contusions and discolorations of an extensive character. A medical examination was forthwith ordered, when, in addition to the marks of violence on the face, three severe contusions were found on the upper part of the head, apparently caused by blows and not through a fall. Farther examination also di-closed the fact of the perpetration of another capital offence, which must have been preceded by a fearful struggle and great resistance on the part of the unfortunate woman, and accompanied by the most brutal violence at the hands of her assailants. These dreadful facts having been communicated to the ProcuratorFiscal, no time was lost in apprehending Laurie and Hamilton, who are both in prison; and of course a minute and searching investigation into all the circumstances of the case is in progress. It appears that, some time between Hamilton 's return home and the discovery of the murdered woman's body by the party in the cart, a young man, who was passing along the road, found Laurie standing beside Mrs. Hamilton, who was lying on the road-side in a state of insensibility. Be helped Laurie to carry her for some distance towards her house, and then offered to wait beside her until Laurie went for more assistance. Laurie refused to go, however, and the man most unaccountably left them and went home. It also appears that if this account be correct, the woman must have been carried back to the original spot, where she was again found by the parties who eventually conveyed her home. On a personal examination after apprehension, Laurie's clothes were found to be stained and marked with blood. Laurie is a strong, thick-set, middle-aged man, and resided in the village of Amisfield, about half a mile from Kirkland.—Dumfries Courier. The unfortunate victim of violence was buried in Tinwald church-yard on Monday last. A hundred reports are afloat regarding the dreadful subject; but it is due to justice not to notice them farther at present. A good deal of mystery, we,believe, attaches to the whole matter. Both Laurie and are still in custody, but not yet fully committed The authorities are busy precognoscing witnesses, doing everything in their power to get at all the facts the awful oase.--Dumfries Herald of Thursday.