The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle. — 1876-12-16 (Stourbridge, West Midlands, England)

EXECUTION OF THE CHELSEA MURDERER.  In London, on Monday morning, at eight o'clock, Charles O'Donnell, aged 57, a discharged soldier, wha wee convieted at the last session of the Central Criminal Court, before Mr. Baron Hawkins, of the rourder of his wife, was executed within the goal of Islewgate, pursuant to Er, sentence. The case of the prisoner was a rnther reale, kable one. He had only been married to the deceased two yeare, and they aPpeared to have lived on toleraele good terms, and the only motive that was supgested 2 1. the commiasion of the crime was that the deeetteed refused to hand over to the prisoner a sum of about £4O which she had in her possession. There was no doubt, however, that while under the influence of drink the prisoner made a savage attack upon the nuhappy Woman with a pair of tongs, and literally smashed her head to pieces, causing almost immediate death. The conduct of the prisoner after the dreadful occurrence was more like that of a person bereft of his sen-es than of a sane individual, for he appeared to have remained With the body for three dais, and slept at night in the tame room, and the matter was only bri-tuht to light through the prisoner going to a person with whom he Was acquainted, and asking him to make a will, and tc, become his trustee; at the name time when releationed with regard to the deceased, he said that he hoped she was in heaven. The defence aet up for him at his trial was insanity, and evideace was addneed to show that while serving with his regiment in India he had suffered a sunstroke, end that he had subsequently been confined for a coneiderable time in a lunatic asylum, and other facts tending to show that he was not of sound mind when the act Was committed; but, on the other hand, it was shown that ever since he had been in Newgate he had acted Perfectly rationally, and there were no grounds for 'ill:Posing that his mind was at all affected, and the jury found him guilty of the murder without any recomMendatios to mercy. Both before and since his conviction the prisoner aliPears to have behaved remarkably well, and as far he was .personally concerned the awful fate that awaited him did not appear to excite the least terror or alarm, and when he was informed, immediately after ls LUB convlctionrof the day on which beeves to-suffer, he received- the announcement with perfect calmness, and erpressed.himself to be perfectly prepared, -and made 411 °ball:wagon -to the effect that the softer—it was o'ver the. better. He has- attended to his religious (laths with great regularity and decorum, and paid the greatest attention to the exhortations of the Rev, tlr. Jones, the Ordinary of Newgate. As regarded his crime, he has all.along made the same statement with gard to it, declaring that his mind was a perfect blank refer, to the matter, and that he had no recollectioo whatever of what had cc :urred on the fatal day hen his wife met her death by his hand. The prisoner went to bed at half-past nine on Sunday *light, and slept soundly until six o'clock on Monday °awning, when be had his breakfast. Shortly after. Warda the Ordinary want to his cell, and re-mained With bun till the time arrived for the carry log 611 Z; of _ e sentence. The prisoner prayed with apparent sinand earnestress, and said he admitted the justice 01 his sentence. He walked to the scaffold with a firm steP, and appeared to be praying while the ening prePhrations were being made by Marwood, the exeFotioner. The drop then fell, and the prisoner appeared to have died almost in an instant. The body,after hanging the customary time, was tak en down, and, having been made the subject of a coroner'e inquest, according to modern usage, was 9rered with quicklime and buried within the preillets of the gaol in less than four hours after the execution.  NM. S.