The Stockton Examiner, and South Durham and North Yorkshire Herald. — 1879-07-12 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

TULE RICHMOND MURDER CASE-SENTENCE  OF DEATH,  The Richmond murder case was advanced to al. most its final stage on Monday, by the turminatior of the evidence for the prosecution and the specet of the counsel for Catherine Webster. During Oa morning Mr. Warner Sleigh, the prisoner's counsel, said he dal received a private letter giving seam information regarding the witness Church, and the latter was recalled. He confessed that he had beer  engaged at a public-house previously. At his last examination he could not be inducel_to acknowledge  that he bad over been a barman.  lie c.ll not  collect whether ho had been in prison. The state. ment of Dr. Bond regarding the boiled and hacked . .  remains caused con—siderairde excitement in court  The defence virtually was that there was no trust• worthy evidence to show either that the body foune was that of Mrs. Thomas or that death had not  arisen from natural causes. After Mr. Sleigh bad done, the ease was adjourned until Tuesday, when The Solicitor-General replied on the whole case. After combating the arguments of Mr. S!eigh that it was not proven that any murder had been committed, or, if so, that the remains found were not  proved to be lhese of Mrs. Thomas, the Sol:eiterGeneral said that they had these facts pieced : First, that Mrs. Thomas was not seen alive after the night of the 2nd of March ; second, that shortly after her return Lome from chapel Mrs. Ives hear/ a heavy fallen the floor of Mrs. Thomas's house; third, _  that early on Monday morning a strange, unaccountable smell was noticed corning from Mrs. Thomas's house by Miss Ives ; and fourth, that the washing of clothes %vas secu early on that morning going on at the back ; all of which, he maintained, went to show that a murder had taken place. Mrs.  Thomas had not since been seen alive, charred bones and ticA had been discovered, and human remains, . • .  which when put together corresponded with the kind of woman Mrs. Thomas was described to be, bad  since been found.  'rho Solicitor-General then re fe.tred. to the two statements .niade by.tt,ae.pripiolter,  of which he spoke as a wicked and ailful attempt on hi r ptrt to fix the guilt of the murder on two Innocent persons—umiak:ly, Porter and Church. The publicity the press had given to the case had ,tho Solicitor-Ueneral said) been useful. Whvn . . . . . .  it was known that by the prisoner's statement Church was charged, then everybody who knew Church tried to tux their memory,and by no doing they were enabled to come forward and prove an alibi. To implicate Church and Porter as the prisoner had attempted to to would be a worse crime than the one they were Row inquiring into. If they were to believe the prisoner's statement they believe that the whole family of the Porter's were bound up in this wicked Hal abominable murder. As regarded the evidence  A the boy Robert Porter, either he had invented the  itory of the black bag, or else the story in reference Lo it was true. That bag had been spoken to by Independent witnesses. The head of the murdered woman was missing, and the saw was missing. Where was that black bag l" It had not been found. And where was that head There was one person who ;suet know, and that was the prisoner; but she made ”o statement about it. Why, even in her own state. ... . . . . . .