The Poole Telegram. — 1882-10-20 (Poole, Dorset, England)

THE DUNECHT BODY-SNATCHING CASE. The d cleration of Charles Soutar, charged with stealing the body of Lord Fialoarres, was lodged on Friday with the Just' chary Clerk. He says the letters signed" Nabob" were written and posted by him. He knew nothing about the removal of the boay, except that he found it in the wood at Dunecht. He would not tell the rest of the s'ory till he had been promised protection, as he Was threatened. The rest of his story is as follows :—" As I massed through the wood I heard a stick break on my left-hand side. I stood still to hearken. I then hear the rustle of another man crawling on my eght-hand side. I thought it was the keepers trying to surroun I me. I ran as fast as I could for the thickeat part of the wood. I had gone about 20 yards when I was tripped up by a third party. When I h•oked up, there were two men above me holding me down. They seemed to be young chaps of the tni. Idle size. Taeir faced were blacked, and I felt they had on winsey shirts. They had neither caps nor coats on. In about half a minute they were joined by tao other men, being those I heard creeping. I was on my back. They were tall, with omits and hats off. Their faces were masked half-way down, and I saw their white shirt-sleeves. One of the tal men pushed a pistol towards my breast and said to one of the men who had been holding me, "Remove your arm, and I will settle him." One of the men who were holding me down took hold of the wrist of the man with the pistol and said, "Hold on; there's more of them." The man whe said so got over ins and led the man with the pistol to one side and said to him, "It is all right, its the ratcatoher, he is poaching." After talking a little in whispers, which I oould not wake out, they called to the other t.ll man to come to them, which he did. The three conversed for a short Vert, but I could not hear what they said. They all came back beside me, and told the man who was holding ma to let me up. They then let me go. I hunted for an hour or two, and when daylight came I went back to the part of the wood where I had been seized. I saw nothing of the men, but on looking at the plt.ce where I had at first heard them I found a place where they had concealed something. It was a heap of rubbeh. I opened it up. I foun I a blanket, to which I gave a pull. There WAS tho dead body of a man inside it, and after looking at it I covered it up again. I did not petc Ave any smell of putrefaction. There was a 'prong smell of what I thought was " benzoline." The smell stuck to my hands for half a day afterwards. My impression at the time was that the man had been murdered, and that an attempt had been made to destroy the body by burning it with some chemicaL The eyes were sunken, but the other features did not seem to be shrunk. On being asked to conduct the police to the spot where he had seen the body, Soutar said he would rather wait, until they should get those who took the body. At an examination on the 23rd July, Soutar adhered to his first declaration, and being told that the police had recovered the body be said he was glad of that, and that they had not got it through him ; and on helot; conveyed to the wool at Dunecht, he refused to answer any more questions.