Denton and Haughton Examiner, etc. — 1880-04-24 (Denton, Greater Manchester, England)

CHARGE OF ATTEMPTED MURDER.  At the Special Sessions held at the Town Hall, Woodstock, George Tiling, aged 27, formerly in the 16th Hussar., was brought up on remand charged with attempting to murder Eli. Smith, at Woodstock, on the 9th inst., by shooting her with a revolver. The circumstanceu which led up to the crime were that the prisoner had been paying hisaddreeses to the daughter of the injured woman, who disapproved bin attentions, and, accordingly, sent the girl away to London. On the evening in question the prisoner called at Mrs. Smith's house, and, it is presumed, after some words shot her with a revolver the face. The evidence taken on Saturday, briefly summarised, was to the effect that a neighbour named Elizabeth Margetts heard a tapping at the wall in the back room, and in consequence went round to Mrs. Smith's kitchen door, where she saw the prisoner. He said he wanted to speak to Mrs. Smith, who replied that she did not want him upmtting her, and he was to get out of the house. The prisoner bad a pistol in his hand, and he pointed it at Mrs. Smith and fired at a distance of about a yard and a half or two yards. Mrs. Smith said, "You have shot me;" and as the prisoner was coming out at the back door she pushed it toned locked it, and as the door closed she heard another shot fired. The prisoner went away, and about five minutes afterwards she saw Mrs. Smith bleeding profusely from the right side of her face. Thomas Margetts, hmband of the last :whines, said that hearing screams, cries of "murder," and the report of a pistol, he went in the direction of Mrs. Smith's house, where he saw his wife. He went up to the prisoner and laid ',hold of his arms, and in the struggle which ensued the pistol went off. He directly afterwards gave witness the pistol, saying, "Take it; take it ; " and be at once took it to the police-itation. Dr. Taylor stated that be was called to attend Mrs. Smith, whom he found suffering from a pistol wound on the right lower jaw. The wound extended through the integuments under the tongue on to the inner side of the left lower jaw, where he found a bullet embedded. The jaw was fractured on the right side. He extracted the bullet about half an hour afterwards. Mrs. Smith had progressed favourably ever wince, but she was not able to attend the court yet, and would not probably be in a proper state to do so for a fortnight. She could articulate only with difficulty. Henry Pratt, proprietor of the Bear Hotel, Woodstock, said the prisoner came into his bar on the evening of the occurrence and asked for a policeman to be found, as he wished to give himself up for Mooting Mrs. Smith. Policesergeant Dyer said he went to the Bear Hotel, where he saw the prisoner, who at once said, "I will go with yon; I don't want to get away." Witnees said to him, "I most take you into custody on a charge at premnt of attempting to murder Mrs. Smith by shooting her with a revolver ; " and he replied, "Yes, I did it, but under great provocation. She has served me very bad and driven me to madness. I did not know what I was doing." At the station he found a cartridge in his :coat pocket, and be received a box containing fortythree cartridges from Pratt. Inspector Hawtin mid he received the revolver from Margetts, and on examinI in it he found five chambers had beep loaded with 'ball cartridge. Three chambers had been discharged and two were still loaded. A remand for a week was then granted for the attendance of Mrs. Smith, and the prisoner was removed back to Oxford Castle in the custody of Chief Constable Owen.