The Sun. — 1850-03-20 (London, England)

FRIGHTFUL MURDER. . (From a .Second Edition of the Edinburgh Courant  of Monday.) Great consternation was excited this morning in the village of Juniper Green, about five miles south • west of kklinburgh (in the neighbourhood of Currie), by the diticovery of the murder of two persons in the house of Dr. Wilson, a resident medical practitioner. The ebunty police were immediately on the spot, and upon entering the house found Dr. Wilson in the kitchen, le.iing upon his back, quite dead, with his head beatsm almost to a jelly. The next object which presented itself was the lifeless body of the aged mother of Dr. Wilson, which was found lying in the passage, apparently on the spot where the unfortunate woman had been struck down, and killed. The implements employed in these murders appeared to have been the kitchen poker and tongs. A person suspected to be the murderer was apprehended in the house, and has been lodged in the Edinburgh jail. Information of the dreadful occurrence reached Edinburgh about nine o'clock this morning, when Mr. Sheriff Gordon, the Procurator-Fiscal, and Mr. List, Superintendent of the County Police, drove out to the scene of the murder. They wer, occupied for several hours in making an investigat on into the circumstances of the tragedy, and return'al to town a little after one o'clock. It would be improper, in the mean erne, to enter into all the details that have come to light, but we believe that the publication of the folleiwing statement cannot interfere with the course of jeistice. From what we have heard, it fa:pears that at a late hour last night (Sunday) a wee of the name of Pearson, who is understood to ha,."o been in confinement in a lunatic asylum, called at the house of Dr. Wilson for medicine or -eedical advice. The Doctor accordingly prescrilYd a simple dose, of which one-half was to be t-ien that night, and the remainder next morning. ,Dr. Wilson having just returned from visiting country patients, left the man at the door, whir -"te himself and the maidservant went to the ~.ttle to put up his horse. Upon his. return to the ;J.-Use, Dr. Wilson found the outer door locked, upon knocking, was immediately admitted.,,Thie appears to have been observed by the manservant, who then went to her mother's house is thl neighbourhood, where she usually slept. 2lie precise circumstances that followed within Dr. Wilson's house, can only be matter of conjecture. The state in which his body and that of his mother were found next morning, has already been described. It is said that the man Pearson, who had called at the house the previous night, is the person now in gaol upon suspicion of the murder ; and it is added that he had passed the night in the house, sleeping in Mrs. Wilson's bed, having first, it is supposed, burned his clothes. He was found naked, in bed, and sound asleep. The murder was brought to light at an early hour this morning by the servant returning as usual to her work. She found the door locked, and upon looking through the windows, saw the body of Dr. Wilson lying upon the kitchen floor. She immediately gave the alarm, when the door was forced open, and the full extent of the murder was disclosed.  Dr. Wilson was about fifty years of age, strong aadhealthy. His mother had attained the great age (ninety. We have already stated that Pearson had been in confinement as a lunatic. This, we believe was some time ago—his. eonfinement lasted about four years, when he was discharged, apparently in sound mind. We understand that, within the last few days, symptoms of insanity again manifested themselves.