The Northern Daily Times. — 1857-01-01 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

MURDEROUS ASSAULT.- EXTR A ORDINARY  CASE  At the Worship street police court, London, on Tuesday, Dr. Mitchell Wynn, the eminent physician, in Finsbury square, was charged before Mr. Hammill, in conjunction with Thompson Finlay, his servant, with having violently assaulted and seriously injured Mr. Mark Benjamin Btmham, an attorney's clerk, residing in the same house. The complainant, who was evidently in a state of extreme suffering, and appeared With his head enveloped in bandages, said : Dr. Wynn and myself are j,iint tenants of the house, No. 1, Finsbury square, and shortly after twelve o'clock last night, I was in the act of entering my bedroom, on the second floor, when the doctor, who sleeps on the same landing, suddenly rushed upon me from behind, and struck me two heavy blows on the back of the neck, which knocked the candlestick out of my hand.  instantly turned round to repel the attack, and, after exchanging several blows with him, he grasped hold of my hair and dragged my head forward in such a position that I was incanable of further resistance. The doctor then called out " Finlay," several times, and the other defendant ran up stairs immediately afterwards, with some deadly weapon in his hand, with which he struck me repeated heavy blows on the top of my head. The blows were delivered with such force that I lost a vast quantity of blood, and became partially insensible, but my cries for assistance were heard by my wife and son, who hastened down from the nursery, and at lengli got me away from theth. I was afterwards retnoved in a cab to the house of a surgeon, who dressed my wounds, and was thence conveyed to the station house, whero I found the defendants in custody, and preferred the present charge against them. The complainant added.that he was wholly at a loss to account for the outrage unless it had arisen from a disputed right to the possession of the premises. In cross-examinatio❑ by Mr. Solomons, who appeared. for the defence, the complainant admitted that he had been previously engaged in an altercation with Dr. Wynn, and that while passing his chamber door at the time in question he had certainly called him a swindler. Witness was induced to use the expression from his belief that he did not pay his way, and that he was connected with two bubble companies. Ho denied that he had knocked down Dr. Wynn, although the latter exhibited a severe contusion over the eye, and declared that he acted throughout in self defonoo. The complainant's wife and son were severally examined, and fully corroborated the material portion of his testimony ; but the female witness, who was reproved by the ravish ate for the flippant manner in which she gave her evidence, positively denied that her husband had called the doctor a swindler, which she declared she must have heard it ho had used the epithet. Police constable Wakefield, 133 G, stated that at an early bour that morning he was alarmed by the spring of a rattle, ' accompanied by cries of " Murder !" and " Police !" from the house in question, and after repeatedly knocking for admission, the door was opened by Dr. Wynn, and on entering the hall he found the complainant, whose dress was completely saturated with blood, which proceeded from wounds in the head. Both parties were greatly excited, and tl cy voluntarily accompanied him to the station house, where Dr. Wynn was ultimately detained in charge. Witness afterwards returned to the house, where he secured the other defendant, who had locked himself in a back room, on searching which he die. covered the poker produced with the lower part stained with blood, as it yaw appeared. Mr. Charles Edward Jackson, a surgeon, in Great Prescot street, Goodman's Fields, stated that about half-past one o'clock that morning the complainant was brought to his house with the blood streaming down his face from two contused wounds on the head, which divided the scalp. Be had evidently lost a vast quantity of blood, and witness was decidedly of opinion that the poker produced was calculated to occasion such injuries. Mr. Solomons, on behalf of the defendant, assured the magistrate that Dr. Wynn had been subjected to constant insults and annoyances from the complainant, who had been the aggressor in this instance, but as he presumed that the case would not be decided at this court, he should reserve the defence for another tribunal. Mr. Hammill said, that it was certainly his intention to send the case before a jury, but he should accept the recognizance of Dr. Wynn in £5OO, and two sureties in £250 each for their future appearance.