The Sun. — 1868-01-20 (London, England)

THE BUCKHURS7-HILL TRAGEDY,  A day or two ago the Registrar of the Chelmsford County Court held a sitting for the examination of debtors then detained in the Essex County Gaol, when, amongst those who presented themselves for examination upon their own petitions to be adjudicated bankrupts, was Matilda Griggs, the young woman who, at the beginning of last year, was the victim of what was then popularly known as the Buckhurst-hill tragedy. The bankrupt is only 18 years of age. The warrant explained that she was detained in custody to satisfy a claim by the Crown of £4O, the amount of recognisances entered into by her to appear and prosecute her would-be assassin, and she was arrested " by order of the Barons of the Queen's Exchequer because she did not appear at the Central Criminal. Court to prefer a bill of indictment, and prosecute the law with effect against Frederick Alexander Watkins, for felony, as she was bound to do by her recognisance." The Registrar, after expressing a doubt as to his ability to deal with the case, proceeded to put some questions to the debtor which she answered to the following effect, the leading circumstances being. no doubt, in the recollection of our readers :—She stated that her father is by trade a well-sinker, at Buckhurst-hill, and he is poor in worldly circumstances. She has no sisters, but has one brother, and until she was 16 years of age she was in the habit of going to school with tolerable regularity. She will not be 18 years of age until the 3rd of April next, but when she was 16 years of age she made the acquaintance of Frederick Alexander Watkins, and was engaged to be married to him. About fourteen months ago she gave birth to a child of which he was the father, and he came regularly to see her after that time. When the child was about three months old he called upon her one evening, and they went out for a walk together. In the course of their ramble they had a dispute, and he stabbed her with a dagger in thirteen places, leaving her for dead on the ground. In the last wound which he inflicted he left the dagger sticking, and she was told but for that circumstance she must have bled to death. After Watkins had left her she returned to consciousness, and made her way for a few yards in the direction of home, but was unable to proceed far. There were two calves in the field where the attempted murder was committed, and they followed her to the place where she fell the second time. When she fell down the two calves lay down one on each side of her, and their warmth kept heat in her, or she must have died from the cold of the night and loss of blood. She was found in that condition on the following morning. The reason why she did not appear to prosecute was because she thought that without her evidence Watkins would not be convicted, although she had deposed to the facts when it was supposed she was dying. She had promised in a letter written to Watkins after his arrest that she would remain with his parents until he was set at liberty, and then they would be married. She was not afraid to marry him after what he had done to her. She could not tell why he had acted so cruelly to her, for she had never refused to marry him, or given him cause for jealousy. She was with his father, who is a jeweller in London, at the time of the trial, and she went abroad, but could not say where she went to. Watkins was convicted of attempting to murder her, and sentenced to twenty years' penal servitude. She had never been a trader, nor had she carried on business of any kind, having lived with her father all her life until this occurred. The Registrar said that as she was not a trader he could not deal with the petition at present, and as far as he was concerned she would have to remaia in gaol until March next, but she would come before him at the February sitting, and he would then see what could be done for her.