npedrazzini/19thc_murder_suicide_news huggingface dataset:
The Sun. — 1854-10-21 (London, England)

MURDER IN ABERDEENSHIRE.—On Friday night last, Mr. William Davidson, of Kebbaty, had a small party oh young people assembled at his residence, Tillyfro Cottage, Cluny, about seventeen miles to the north-west of Aberdeen. Drink, it would appear, had been indulged in to a considerable extent, as it is stated that when the company broke up, shortly after twelve o'clock, the host and his housekeeper Catherine Davidson were both intoxicated. What may have actually taken place during the night it is impossible to say (the two persons named living alone in the house), but the first intelligence of anything serious having occurred was conveyed by Mr. Davidson himself, who, about half-past five on Saturday morning, entered, in a state next to nudity, a neighbouring house, crying that he had found his housekeeper lying dead or dying beside him. Alarmed, the people at once proceeded to Tillyfro Cottage, and found that his statement was too true, the unfortunate woman having evidently bled to death from two large wounds on the top of her brow. Mr. Davidson, on being questioned, said he could in no way account for the circumstance—he could not even say how or when he got to bed—all he knew was, that on wakening in the morning, he found his servant lying beside him, cold, with her head on his arm, and with all her clothes on. In a short time a medical gentleman who had been sent for arrived, who immediately on examining the poor woman's head caused the room in which the body was lying to be locked, so that no person might get near her, and information of the melancholy affair was sent to Mr. Simpson, fiscal for the county, at Aberdeen. On Sunday morning Mr. Simpson, accompanied byh t twosar ate surgeons, proceeded to Tillyfro Cottage, and body hadpav ibdeseonn euxua tmh ienuehd a, r ghee foundu f hhaving itn g s u rdduetrye dt the ea r deceased Catherine Davidson. The c wound ds h are supposed to have inh been t e caused reem bya nearthe body pair o fsci ss o rs, coveredw i with i s blood.a id, w fo u Severaln parts of the accused's shirt were also covered with blood, but how it came there he says he cannot tell. Re was brought to town on Suhndanigcleht, and committed to prison on Monday on t e awful arge. Mr. Davidson is a tall, handsome man, aged forty-four, a widower, and has a family, who resided. apart from him. A. considerable time ago he was, for as rhoobmrente nl2oeong period,tasol. utend ofer Kebbatytrus. of the Aberdeen Lunatic Asylum, worth,fru mwehhisahveahhitesairt has d, f tees, i . but t is situated in the three at on inmate, 5001. Cluny, and Kincardine O'Neil, \pyaheeisnheins dorfinkMhidemwaur, very violent, but in his sober moments kind and goodhearted. The unfortunate deceased was a person of middle age, and bad been in Mr. Davidson's service for several years, and belonged to the parish of Fergus.— iSlerorntsanntaen* e of Hamlet at the BurnleryETße
The Sun. — 1854-09-11 (London, England)

SUBMARINE AND EUROPEAN TELEGRAPH.) GRAVESEND, Monday, 10 a.m.  -Wind calm, tide low water, tine. Arrived, 10th—Cumberland, from River de Loup ; Moselle (s.),Hamburgh; Agenoria, Honduras ; Alexander, Guernsey. llth.—Zwantie Elizabeth, from Archangel ; Ocean (s.), Havre ; Ravenabourne, Antwerp ; Tyenoored, Rotterdam Sailed, 10th—Quickstep, for New York ; Harriet Armitage, Cape of Good Hope ; Janette Willes, Port Phillip Soho (s.), Havre; Baron Osy, Antwerp. 11th—Elizabeth Sophia, for Christiana.  DEAL, Monday, 9.40 a.m.  W nd S., light, and fine, hosed—Ashburton, from London for Sydney ; Coromandel, London for Adelaide ; Ouan Spray, Quebec for London ; Fortitude, ditto ; Effort, ditto ; Acis, Trinidad for London ; N. S. Delharmen, Havaunah for London ; Quickstep, London for New York.  The Earl of Clarendon has been in town several days during the week, to attend to hi 4 official duties at the Foreign Office. The noble earl returned to the Grove, near Watford, on Friday, where his lordship and the countess are entertaining the Countess (Dowager) of Verulam and a select circle. The Imperial Agricul _ural Society of Paris has lately proved by experiments the efficacy of salt in destroyingn snails. Some salt havil g been used as manure at ro: part of the Jardin des Plantes, it was found the spot. that a 1 g nunaber of snails soon after lay dead all round .kos it appeared likely that the salt was tb mortality, some salt was strewed on the ground, and a number of snails placed on it. It as then found that touched the salt at all of them which left their shells and the cause of this w' once threw out a greenish froth, and died soon after.— Paris Paper. after long inquiry, The Lords of the Treasury, declined to accede to a peti. o a , have batraent in the port of London for a more open system lionC+Js; to hme s landing PROMOTIONS department p r . promotion, and that they might succeed to the offices! off Lllectons and comptrollers, their lordships having rep lied that they are not prepared toalter the existing practice.—Civil Service Gazette. _ Handbills are circulating at Exeter, inviting the conitn DEAg 131311).—Itees of the local benefit societies to breadcompany, in order to secure to t and forma . . the bl •of In" that city its fair share in blessings a the public of t In the handbill referred to, which is 'fill harvest. bountiful is dated the 7th inst., it said—" In January last corn. Friday last • a* 88s. the quarter , on it sold at was selling. 525., being more than 4s. per bushel less than in January ; besides, in the last two weeks wheat has fallen 16s. per qr., and our modest bakers have dropped one halfpenny on the 41b. loaf. THE MURDER OF AN INUNT BT ITS MOTERR,-At the Southwark Police-court, Mr. Combe was in. formed by Serjeant Golding, 7 M, that an inquest bad just been held at St. George's Workhouse, on a male infant, 17 days old, the offspring of Jane Harrington, who was charged on Thursday at this court with iimiuistering poison to it, and cruelly ill-treating it. The jury bad returned a verdict of Wilful murder against her and she will be brought up to-doy for fartber. examination.  .. , ~ q
The Sun. — 1861-08-21 (London, England)

TRIAL OF CAPTAIN W. WILSON FOR MURDER.  Captain William Wilson, late commander of the British ship Express (engaged in the African trade), was indicted for the murder of William Henderson, a steward on board that vessel. Captain Wilson, being a native of Memel (Prussia), had claimed to be tried by a jury half composed of foreigners. Mr. Bliss, Q.C., and Mr. Temple appeared for the prosecution ; and Mr. Aspinall for the defence. The Express sailed from Liverpool on 22d Sept. of last year, and the deceased (who was about 30 years of age) had joined some short time before, being then in good health and strength. When the ship had, been some time at sea the acts of vio. lence on the part of the prisoner commenced. The first was the throwing of a handspike at deceased, who was wounded in the ankle. This was done as a punishment for the deceased not being quick enough, and not having brought the captain a clean towel, or some act of that kind. On the same day the prisoner threw a knife at the deceased, and wounded him in the temple. The deceased picked up the knife, gave it to the prisoner, and a second and third time the captain threw it at Henderson, and in the course of the same day also beat him with his fists, knocked him down, and kicked him. From this time to the deceased's death a series of acts of violence were perpetrated, to three of which, however, as the most remarkable, the learned counsel for the prosecution called particular attention. On the 4th of November, just before entering the Brass River, the prisoner followed deceased out of the cabin, beat him with his fists, kicked him four uiveheieaest sdeehNesys withtitchaneah nt2d eohhdniossei bstrhewre ocon became losamgr beEtaebeltneoiosdorwio,nitesbssn.,ywt assianothnhdmod rwegt shoulders insensible,rl itoyew fah aettrf ahteee doubled cou covered rve severity. crew neei dddt withtroNlvi lorhaPafiseet vndngbeoeiratetim entering Brass River the fever broke out on board, the carpenter being first attacked, and then the deceased. A doctor attended, prescribed rest and generous diet, and though Henderson recovered from the fever, it left him so weak and prostrate that he vk as unfit for duty. While he was in this state, however, the prisoner. On he v nerordteredhdimptcocn pcicikbeorakfluiemd,oncuttorhefocuonudldinliornt doi it in such a bruised condition that he asked the deceased who had been striking him. The deceased was unwilling to tell, but the doctorinsisted, induced the the deceased then mentioned some name, which in the doctor to go at once to the captain, and bringing him to the deceased, the doctor said their presence, " Vvrho has struck this man ?" The captaid, " I did not do it. The man has fallen down upon deck, and has hurt himself in that way." The deceased, who heard the master say that, made no observation whatever. The last, act of violence wes shortly before his death, and there was some difficulty and contradiction as to whether it took place on a Wednesday or a Saturday. The deceased was
The Sun. — 1861-09-25 (London, England)

ALLEGED MURDER.  John Speller, aged 19, described as a sailor, was indicted for the wilful murder of William Dixon, on board the American ship Bosphorus, on the 6th of September. Mr. Orridge having briefly addressed the jury on the part of the prosecution, called his evidence. Thomas Porter, a seaman on board the Bosphorus, said that vessel arrived off the Commercial Docks on Friday,  Sept. 6. The mate ordered all hands on deck, and witness went down to the forecastle to tell the men who were there. The prisoner was one of them. Prisoner said he would not go until witness went, upon which witness caugkt him by the collar and tried to pull him out. They both fell, the prisoner being underneath. The prisoner ran away, and witness jumped on a chest. The man Dixon was coming in at the time, and attempted to take from the prisoner a knife which he had in•his hand. Dixon was stabbed, but witness did not see the blow, although ho saw the knife in the prisoner's hand. The prisoner had his right arm up when Dixon caught hold of him. Police-constable 264 M produced a large clasp-knife with which the assault was said to have been committed. Examination continued--Dixon died within three minutes after he was stabbed. There had been quarrels between witness and the prisoner during the voyage, but not on the day the assault on Dixon took place. Cross-examined by Mr. Thomson—Dixon and witness had been on shore in the morning, and had been drinking. Witness had two glasses of gin. All the sailors in the ship carried knives in their belts.  Re-examined by Mr. Orridge—Witness was not altogether sober when he had the struggle with the prisoner, nor altogether drunk.  James Galbraith, a seaman on board the Bosphorus, gave a similar version of the quarrel. He saw the prisoner strike Dixon a back-handed blow with the knife. The prisoner then threw the knife away. He had heard the prisoner and Dixon quarrel in the morning about money. The prisoner said, " I will have my money, or I'll see for why."  A police-constable said that when ho took the prisoner into custody ho said he was very sorry that Dixon was dead. He meant it for the other man (Porter), who had very cruelly used him on the voyage. Medical evidence was given that the wound received was sufficient to account for death.  Mr. Sleigh (who, with Mr. Thompson, appeared for the defence) made a very able speech to the jury on behalf of the prisoner, suggesting that there was no motive for the committal of murder, and that the offence was nothing more than manslaughter at the runs& He thought that the jury would be still safer in acquitting the prisoner on the ground of •tne wow uy wnten Dixon met his death being unpre•. meditated and accidental.  The judgeleft it to the jury to say whether it was raw. der, manslaughter, or accident.  The jury found the prisoner guilty of manslaughter, adding that he had received provocation which mitigated the offence.  Mr. Justice Byles said he Would take time to consider the sentence.
The Sun. — 1861-02-09 (London, England)

THE SUN. LONDON, SATUN,DAY, FEB. 9, 1881.  The statement of Lord PALMERSTON in regard to ANDERSON, whose extradition is demanded by the Slave State of Missouri, will be read with pleasure by all. It will be seen that the case is in hands as safe as could be wished. First, the Duke of NEWCASTLE wrote on the 9th of January to the Governor-General of Canada that he was not to surrender ANDERSON to the United States except under positive instructions from our Government, Next, Lord PALMERSTON corrected the prevalent but erroneous impression that the deci. sion of the Court of Queen's Bench in Canada involved necessarily the surrender of ANDERSON ; whereas, it merely affirmed that he was lawfully in custody. The refugee could be surrendered only by the warrant of the Governor-General of Canada. Lord PALMERSTON thought it did not belong to him to give any opinion on the view the Canadian Court would take of a Habeas Corpus issuing from our Queen's Bench in England, but it was certain that if ANDERSON came to England he could not come through American territory. He used rather strong terms respecting the ASHBURTON Treaty, saying that in reference to this subject, it was " imperfect and unintelligible ;" but he thought it quite clear that it required that the offence should be recognised by the laws of this country, and that such proof of it must be given as would warrant a justice of the peace here in committing him for trial. Without entering into the question whether lawyers here would regard a free man's killing another who attempted to reduce him to slavery as murder, manslaughter, or justifiable homicide, he thought no English lawyer could regard it as murder ; if so, no case for extradition could be made out. It is now, therefore, little more than a matter of legal curiosity to see how the courts will arrange their jurisdiction in the business. It is also not a little amusing to think of the position of a Slave State urging Mr. LINCOLN to demand the surrender of a fugitive slave from England ; Miss°ll:l, perhaps, being one of the border States, and with comparatively few slaves, only about a seventh of the Population, is not likely to persist very long in the original demand.  Nothing remains now to be done by the French troops in Syria but to evacuate it. The stipulated period of six. months, set apart by the general Agreement of the chief Powers of Europe as the interval during which that province of the Turkish Empire should be occupied by the soldiers of Prance, is at this time uper,q the eve of expiring. b And the object of the occtipation has not only long since been accomplished quite effectually, but it may be said to have been virtually accomplished before the first portion of the Fren ch expeditionary force had beE n disembarked up( )n those shores of the Levant. It was virtually al re adY assured to Europe even
The Sun. — 1861-02-15 (London, England)

CRIME IN I RANCE.: ,4,5--- I .11- /4.7,3„ - ~, ,,.., S It may be remembered that, in October lastizat account was given of a man named Davin havingbeen found murdered at Puteaux, and of a workman named Bourcois :having been arrested on the charge of being the murderer. Yesterday this man was brought to trial before the Court of AsSizes. The circumstances of the case were very simple : Davin, who was a married man, with'a large family, got his living by hawking about watches and jewellery, and he was accustomed to sell such things to work-people of Puteaux and the neighbouring villages, to be paid by instalments. At the beginning of October, Bourcois bought a watch of him, and on the 6th of that month Davin called at kis lodgings in that village for a sum on account, which he had promised. Davin was not again seen alive ; and the next morning his dead body, with the skull beaten in, was found at a short distance from the river. Bourcois was naturally suspected, and on the police entering his lodgings, they found that the floor had been recently washed, but that traces of blood were visible; moreover, on his clothes were spots of blood. These circumstances left, littli; moral doubt that the man had committed the murder; and as to his motive, it was not difficult to be found. Davin was accustomed to carry in a box about 6,000 f. worth of watches and jewellery, also to have constantly a considerable sum in his purse ; and both the box and purse had disappeared, and yet when he had been seen going to Bourcois' lodgings he had the former in his hand. Bourcois energetically denied that he had committed the murder ; but yesterday, on being interrogated, he. said, " Well ! I will now tell the truth ! lam guilty, but lam not the sole criminal ! A man whom I know recommended me to join him in murdering Davin, in order to rob him. I consented, and we agreed to commit the crime in my lodgings. Davin . came there, and we made him drink. I then went out, and when II returned the person said, ' The, thing is done, and now we must carry the body to the river ! You must take his hat and coat, and I will carry the corpse on my shoulders!' We set out, but on approaching the river we saw some persons coming towards us, and so my companion threw down the body, and we both ran away. My accomplice was a man named Fifils," The President remarked that this statement was not only very improbable, but that the police had ascertained that Fifils was a man of excellent character, and that he had been absent from Puteaux on the day of the crime. " Well," cried prisoner, " I confess that what I have just said was not altogether true. I was present when the murder was committed and aided in carrying the body, but I did not take part in the crime, which was accomplished by blows with a piece of iron." In this version the man persisted in spite of all that was said to him, but it was explained to the Court that his reason for accusing Fifils was that he bore animosity against him. The jury declared the prisoner guilty, and the Court condemned him to death.  PROSECUTIONS UIVDER_7IIE
The Sun. — 1861-11-27 (London, England)

TIIE MURDER. IN DRURY-COURT.  Richard Reeves, 18, basket maker, was indicted for the wilful murder of Mary Ann Reeves, _ _ .  The prisoner, who pleaded not guilty, was defended by Mr. Sleigh. The evidence offered against the prisoner was the same as that which was given at Bow-street Police-court, but in a more condensed form. The material points, for instance, were the missing of the child, and the finding of her dead body in the coal-cellar of the house in Drury•court, after the prisoner had sent word home to his father that he had strangled her with a rope in that place. Mr. Sleigh did not in any instance cross-examine any of the witnesses, and, in his address to the jury, said he could not urge them to acquit the prisoner on the ground of insanity, but whatever result they might arrive at, he felt sure they would take the most merciful view of the case. Baron Bramwell, in summing up, said there was not the slightest evidence of insanity. Unfortunately the prisoner had a drunken father, who was subject to delirium tremens, but that had no bearing whatever on the case.  The jury retired at half-past 12, and in about a quarter of an hour returned into court. Having answered to their  names, The Clerk of the Arraigns said—Gentlemen of the jury, have you agreed to your verdict ?  Foreman—We have.  Clerk—How say you, is the prisoner at the bar, Richard Reeves, guilty or not guilty ? Foreman—Guilty; but the jury strongly recommend the prisoner to mercy, on the ground of his youth and the bad example set him. Baron Bramwell—Your recommendation, gentlemen, shall be sent to the proper quarter immediately. The Clerk of the Arraigns—Richard Reeves, the jury have found you guilty of murder ; have you anything to say why sentence of death should not be passed upon you ? Prisoner—(who heard the verdict pronounced without the slightest emotion)—No, sir, I've not. The Usher then made proclamation for silence during the passing of the sentence of death, and Mr. Baron Bramwell, having put on the black cap, said—  Prisoner at the bar, the jury have found you guilty of murder, and according to the evidence I don't see hew they IC to Lay,' v uv pabi3 upon you the sentence of death. The sentence of the Court is, that you be taken from hence to the place from whence you came, and from thence to a place of execution, and that you be there hanged by the neck until you be dead, and that your body bo afterwards interred within the precincts of the  prison. The Rev. Mr. Davies, the ordinary of Newgate, occupied a seat on the bench in full canonicals, but as the learned judge did not finish the sentence with the words "and may the Lord have mercy on your soul," ho did not pronounce his " Amen" as usual.  The prisoner was then removed from the dock, '
The Sun. — 1829-01-08 (London, England)

MURDER AT MANCHESTER.  On Monday morning a man named Cliff was taken into custody at Manchester, on the charge of having murdered his wife. It appears that on the morning of the new year his wife went to a publichouse, where he had been drinking freely, to fetch him home : on their way home he beat her, and, on being remonstrated with, threatened to do so again. Soon after his arrival at home the neighbours were alarmed by the cries of Cliff's children ; on entering the house the poor woman was discovered in a dreadful state, three of her ribs broken, her head beaten almost to a jelly, and several wounds on her body, of which she died on Sunday last. The husband was found concealed in a loft. How the deed was effected is unknown, excepting to the children in the house, of which the oldest is the only one capable of giving evidence. On Tuesday an inquest was held at the Townhall Tavern. The Jury proceeded to Coneyhurst to view the body; they then 1-eturned to the Tavern to hear the evidence. They shy that they never saw such a dreadful spectacle as the body presented. One eye was nearly knocked out, four ribs were driven in, one knee was much injured, and it appeared these injuries must have been inflicted previously to the body being taken up stairs, and to have been done by kicks. His shoes were extremely thick and completely nailed, and would weigh at least six pounds. Thee were marks on her chest of the bottom or soles of shoes, as if stamped upon her. There was a most dreadful wound in the abdomen of about six inches, which the surgeons stated must have been perpetrated by a sharp instrument, but there was no evidence as. :o any instrument having been found. There was a common knife and a razor.  Cliff had changed his shoes after kicking his wife, and had given them to his child to oil. The jury returned a verdict of" Wilful Murder." The prisoner was eommitted, on the Coroner's warrant, to Lancaster gaol, to take his trial at the next Assizes.  A more ferocious case has not, perhaps, been brought before the public for a long time. It turns out 'that Cliff has been in the continual habit of heating his wife and that he once broke her arm. lie does not carry this ferocious appearance about him. He is about tire feet eleven inches high. His wife always bore the character of being an industrious woman, but the neighbours say she was always afraid of hiin, and did everything in dread of his displeasure. She was not sensible after the injuries she had received, and never spoke after, except singing two verses of a song, which plainly showed she did not know what she was doing.  We regret extremely to learn that the ,health of Bishop James continues still in a precarious and even dangerous state. Au affection of the liver we understand to be his Lordship's complaint. By his medical attendants his Lordship has been advised to proceed to sea, without delay—and the probability is that England will ultimately be his destination.— Oriental Observer, Aug. 3.