Stretford and Urmston Examiner. — 1879-07-12 (Stretford, Greater Manchester, England)

THE RICIDIOND MURDER. .  WEBSTER SENTENCED TO DEATII.  The trial of Catherine Webster for the murder of Mrs. Thomas, her Mistress, at Richmond, was brought to a close on. Tuesday 'eVening. The long chain of circumstances by which it was sought to prove the guilt of the accused woman had required for its completion the evidence of no fewer than 53 witnesses ;'yet, although thus supported, the case against Webster could hardly have been considered as indubitably proved but for the self-crirninatory stateme.nts she made after being arrested. These statements also. implicated a man named Church; but, in his summing up, Mr. Justice Denman said there-certainly did not appear to be a tittle of evidence to Show that there bad been .any communication-between the prisoner and Church prior to the 4th of March a date two days liter than the day of the murder, and the prisoner's statement at the close of the trial removes all imputation from that person. Catherine Webster had been in' the service of the.deceased woman for a few weeks prior to Sunday, the 2nd.Of March:- The deceased'was list seen alive on thatday: In the course of the ensuing week the prisoner made arrangements for the sale of Mrs. Thomas's household goods, passing herself as "Mrs-Thomas ;" but the removal of the furniture was frustrated by the appearance of a neighbour on the scene, an incident which led to the abrupt departure of Webster. About ,the same: time there was found in the Thames it ' Barnes'a box, which was proved to have come from Mrs. Thomas's house. • This box contained portioiiWof a human body,avhich) had evidently been submitted to the process of ' boiling; and an examination of the deceased's house after Webster's 'flight disclosed indications that human rernains had been so dealt with within the house. The prisoner had,betareen the and of March and her. disappearance, • removed from the house a box answering to the description of the box referred to. She was assisted in this task by a bey, whom she dismissed on Richmond Bridge, and who --alleW --that -after heleTt-tfie prisoner helleard a loud splash in:the '*ater, and that when, shortly afterwards, he was .overtaken by.flra prisoner, she was without the box. Not unnaturally; suspicion:pointed to the prisoner as the murderess of Mrs. Themaai!'-or, at least, as being in some way cohnected .with that lady's disappearance; and Webster was trabl to her native village in Ireland, and there arrested. She made statements with the object of showing that, though she was privy to a design on tile life of the deceased, yet she had no hand in the crime which her admissions proved had been committed.. The man Church was the person she implicated, and he was arrested and for some time kept in custody. The ,prisoner alone was, however,'lbminitted for trial. The trial began a week ago, and ended last evening. A curious feature in it was that lunch of the evidencejo support the charge against the.Priaoner was in the nature of proof of an alibi for Church. The jury retired at a quarter past five, and return( d into court after an absence of an hour and ten minutes with a verdict of guilty. The prisoner protested her innocence of actual murder, and asserted that what part she bad had in the Oair she was instigated to by a man not in custody—the father of her child. She cleated both Cfiurch and her friend Potter from blame in the matter, and, referring to the man just mentioned,- deelared in dramatic tones, "rt is he.who is guilty of this murder." ;After sentence of death had been passed prisoner's counsel put 1 forwar 'a plea that she was in a condition which called for a stay f execution. Thereupon a - jury of matrons was empan led, and, after hearing Dr. Bond's evidence, this jury founditlett the+risoner was not in. the state alleged. This la.st,e4ge of the trial occupied abOut an hour, during which time the prisoner Via in a fainting condition.