The Barrow Herald and Furness Advertiser. — 1876-04-29 (Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England)

THE MURDER OF A LADY IN LONDON.  The circumstances attendant on the death of Mrs. Chapman, as published in our edition of Saturday last, see in to be gradually clearing up. It now appears that Mr. and Mrs. Wallace, her lodgers, and the deceased had long known each other, and it is suspected that Wallace and the husband of Mrs. Chapman were confederates in crime. Wallace is an American, and Mrs. Chapman was married, as appears from her marriage certificate, in America. Her husband, as has been stated, is in prison in Constantinople, and the crime for which he is suffering punishment is that of forgery. Wallace is believed to have been connected with him, and they have, it is said, both been in prison in this country, and it is from a photograph taken of Wallace in prison that copies have been made in order to assist in his apprehension.  The remains of certain valuables, together with some correspondence found in the house, have led the police to suspect that the deceased woman has been connected with a very daring and extensive gang of forgers. It has transpired that the deceased's jewellery, some of which was very choice, was insured for £1,500. As she was only the daughter of a cabinetmaker, and was formerly a pupil teacher, and was afterwards in the postal telegraph service, this has been considered a large amount of property for her to have. It has been ascertained that her husband, with three other men whose names are well known, have been engaged in extensive forgeries, and that since her husband's incarceration at Constantinople on one of the charges the three other men who escaped have been living at Chelsea as best they could, and that for some time past they have been living upon the deceased, and that she has had to part with some of her valuables to maintain them. Special messengers were despatched to Constantinople with information as to the discoveries made, and to obtain descriptions of the men wanted there for forgery, and whose description, it is expected, will answer to certain people lately seen in Chelsea on intimate terms with the deceased.  The Wallaces (the suspected man and woman) were traced, it seems, to Charing-cross station on the night of the murder, when they missed the 9 40 train for the Continent, and, calling another cab from the outside, the number of whicbAherefore, was not registered, slept somewhere in the neighbourhood. The inquiries of the officials show that a male and female answering their description left the station for the Continent by the 7 40 train on Good Friday morning, and are supposed to be at Brussels. The police have been actively engaged tracing some shawls and other articles, and, it is understood, telegraphed to Brussels to stop the fugitives on the charge of felony. Photographs of 'a man answering Wallace's description have been obtained from one of the London prisons, and copies are being struck off to be forwarded. There is a discrepancy, however, in the age, the prison officials describing him as 36, while his age is given to the police as 42 or 44.  Dr. Whitefield states that he had known the unfortunate deceased since March, 1874, and from that time, with the exception of short intervals, had attended her about once a fortnight, firstly at 29, Hollywood-road, and then at 1, Finborough-road, and lastly at 46, Mats le-grove. During that time she was delivered of her second child, now about fifteen months old. He always knew her as Mrs. Potter, althcugh he never saw her husbind, but he says her conduct was irreproachable in every nay, and she bore herself liike a lady. He has thnt se has been tnurlerocl.