The Sun. — 1846-01-06 (London, England)

ATTEMPT AT MURDER. MONDAY AFTERNOON.—To-day, at twelve o'clock at noon, a man of the name of Woodward, a joiner, residing at Wellow in the north of this county (Nottinghamshire), was brought in the custody of the police to the county gaol, charged with having attempted to murder a female, of the name of Hind, a widow, with whom he had been cohabiting. Wellow is a village about ten miles from Worksop, and the same distance from the towns of Newark and Southwell, and it appears that for a length of time past the prisoner has been separate from his wife, and has resided with his unfortunate victim. The horrible deed was evidently a premeditated act, from the circumstance of his taking with him, on going to bed on Monday night last, a knife, which be placed under his pillow. At half-past six o'clock in the morning the man and woman quarrelled, when the wretch took the knife and inflicted upon the poor woman a dreadful wound in her throat, which extended several inches from right to left. She instantly jumped out of bed, and ran down stairs screaming" Murder,' the blood at the same time flowing profusely from the wound. The wretch ran away half undressed, and without any stockings on his legs. The villagers being alarmed, a surgeon was sent for, who sewed up the wound, and a pursuit of the murderer ensued, but for some time without success. On Friday morning, however, he was discovered crawling from under a hay-stack, in his own parish, almost famished. He was immediately apprehended, and conveyed before the Rev. E. Dawkins, a magistrate of the county. The woman being alive, but without hope of recovery, the man has been committed to the county gaol for further examination. To elude detection by his footsteps being traced, it has since been found that the artful villain had walked backwards into the stack yard, so that the marks of his feet upon the soft soil did not betray his hiding place. Since his apprehension, he has admitted that he went into Willow Wood, and lay there a day and a night, with a view of attacking a farmer, whom he knew to be in the habit of passing through it, and his intention was to rob and murder him; the farmer, however, having heard of the attempt to murder, and knowing that Woodward was a bad character, having fears lest he should meet in the wood, actually went a long way round, instead of going through the wood, and thereby, no doubt, saved himself from a brutal attack.  APPREHENSION OF SUSPECTED BURGLARS AT WooLivica.—During the past week, various acts of burglary have taken place at Woolwich, and hitherto the police have been unable to obtain any clue to the thieves. Sunday Glevening, between six and seven o'clock poliee-constable artwi n. an actiire officer Mr ,u,.. D. ~.—__.A.,2--.....,-...- -tirt Tsrityp ~;LliP....Aktr., a ntr.,,Lui e uroier, in Yowls- street. The better to observe their movements, and without being himself perceived, Gladwin concealed himself behind the pillar of a shop door opposite, and observed the prisoners trying to force the door. The prisoners, however, had a fellow with them who acted as " touter" or scout, and this man, on observing the constable, gave an alarm, and the thieves immediately desisted from their attempts on the house. Gladwin, however, perceiving that it was useless to watch the thieves farther, immediately darted from his hiding place, and seizing two of them by the collar, took them into custody. The third ran off. Gladwin having lodged his prisoners safely in the station-house, proceeded in search of the third, whom he succeeded in capturing. The prisoners gave the names of Tapner, Reed, and Mumford. On their persons were found a number of skeleton keys of various sizes, calculated to pick any of the common locks. A small crowbar was also found upon one of them. There is great reason to believe they form part of a gang which has carried on very extensive depredations in that neighbourhood.