Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1880-02-07 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

EXTRAORDINARY CONFESSION. The editor of the Ashton-under-Lyne Reporter has received an extraordinary letter, containing a confession not only of the murder of the unfortunate girl Sarah Jane Roberts at Harpurhey, but of an alleged accomplice of the writers in the crime. The handwriting is of a fine flowing style, and the letter reads as follows : Harpurhey, February 4th, 1880. "Stung 4Pith _remorse for my evil deeds, and paralysed with terror lest the reward now offered, arousing the cupidity of reckless persons, may lead them to manufacture evidence against an innocent man, I am almost bereft of reason, and would willingly give myself up to the police were it not for the thought of the terrible end I should infallibly encounter. This I dare not face, but I would gladly endure the hardship of a convict for the remainder of my life, as the bodily suffering I should experience might divert my thoughts from their present channel, and afford some relief to my overwhelmed conscience. "You will doubtless understand from the above that the crime I am guilty of is the perpetration of the Harpurhey murder. To execute this foul deed, which I now deeply deplore, I taxed my ingenuity to the utmost with what success you know. After planning every detail of the crime with almost diabolical cunning, I found immediately after its cOmmision that in one partioular I had most thoughtlessly over-reached myself, and I foresaw that all the precautions taken for my safety would be unavailing if I allowed matters to stand as they were without proceeding further. To avoid detection by means of the handwriting, I employed an old man with whom I was slightly acquainted to write the now notorious letter. The thought now for the first time flashed- across my mind—this letter will be made public, and this individual will then inform of me. Desperate and maddened I resolved on the adoption of extreme measures. I directed my steps at once to his lodgings and met him on the way on Regent Bridge, Salford, I enticed him down to the river side, and there with the same weapon which an hour before had sealed the doom of another victim—l stunned him and threw his body into the river. "Such is a portion of the miserable recital I shall make in the dock if I am convinced that the extreme penalty of the law will not be put into effect against my wretched self, and I am confident that the crime will never be brought home to me without a voluntary confession on my part. "I have already written to the Home Secretary offering to surrender myself to justice if he will cause an addition to be made to the notices offering a reward for the detection of the Harpurhey murderer to the following effect : In the event of the murderer now at large confessing and producing sufficient evidence to obtain his own conviction, the mercy of the trown will be extended to him. "This petition has been disregarded so far, and I believe that if the police are left to themselves no such announcement will ever be made. I therefore address myself to your valuable paper in the hope that some of its inflluential readers will take the matter up, and set an agitation on foot in order to compel the police to adopt my very reasonable proposal. "The insertion of this letter in your columns will throw a ray of light over a darkened spirit, will offer a morsel of consolation to one whose sincere repentance and agonising reflections seek solace in the penance of a life's degradation, and will for over secure to you the heartfelt gratitude of "A