The Sun. — 1850-12-06 (London, England)

BRUTAL MURDER. (From the Dumfries Courier.) 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 ult., three persons left Dumfries, two of them, at least, with the intention of proceeding home to the village of Kirkland of Tinwald ; 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 publichouse, 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 discolors ions of a❑ extensive character. A medical examin*•  tion 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. Further examination afro disclosed 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 assailant. These dreadful facts having been communicated to the Procurator-Fiscal, 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 roadside in a state of insensibility. Ile 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 unaccountzbly left them and went home.  It also appears that, if this statement be correet, the woman must have been carried back to the original spot, where she was again found by the parties who eventually conveyed ber home. On a personal examination, after apprehension, Law ke's clothes were found to be stained and marked wi blood, Laurie is a strong, thick-set, middle-ageol man, and resided in the village of Amisfield, about; half a mile from Kirkland.  hl:c.thG uhTa.d—b been adjl,,AirLned three times, was resumed and concluded before Mr„ --isTelitNegrdUaEyST;n—iFnqAuTeAstL, William Baker, jun., at the Seven Stars, Little Fleet-street, Bethnal-green, on view of the body of Mr. George Smith, C.Ttnoxit. aged 46, the proprietor of a beer-shop, No. 1, Peddy-street, adjoining, who died in consequence of an injury inflicted sn him during an affray, by a person of the name of James Consent, also a beer-shop proprietor, carrying on business in the same street. Toe jury, after a brief consultation, ivturned a verdict of Manslaughter against James Cousei and the witnesses were bound, over to prosecute. Mr. Cousa was non est invefttus.