The Shropshire Examiner and all round the Wrekin advertiser. — 1875-03-06 (Wenlock, Shropshire, England)

FATAL STABBING CASE AT WALSALL.  On Sunday, the town of Wal.ll was thrown into a considerable state of excitement by the statement that a man had been barbarously murdered on the road leading from Staffordstreet to Bloxwich, on the previous night. From inquiries made, it was ascertained that a miner named John Corbett, alias" Hampton Jack," and living in lodgings at Viatrage-terrace, Bloxwichroad, had been killed under very mysterious circumetanees. It would seem that shortly before eleven o'clock the deceased left the Horse and Jockey Inn, Bloxwich-rottd. where he had been drinking, to go to his lodgings close by. He ate his Rapper and again left the house, but returned in about five minutes, rushing into the house bleeding from a wound on the left side of the neck, crying out "Oh. landlady, oh, land. lady. I am stabbed." Mrs. Davis, who had been confined only about a week, at once jumped out of bed, hurried on some of her clothes and ran down stairs, by which time the deceased had gone to the door of the next house, and returned into his own. Mrs. Davis supplied him with a piece of rag, which he applied to the wound, and In answer to her repeated enquiries as to who had "done it," he murmured something about "by the Horse and Jockey." He also, with difficulty, said "Send for a doctor—l am dying ; " but before anything could be done to give effect to his wish, he gave a couple of gasps and expired, from lose of blood, which had been pouring from the wound in his neck all the time so copiously as to have completely covered the floor of the room. The borough police were at once informed of the tragic occurrence, and Acting-sergeant Salt and Detective-sergeant Drury immediately repaired to the spot, being soon afterwards followed by Chief-superintendent Cater. Nothing could be discovered, however, to indicate who gave the unfortunate deceased his death wound, or under what oircumstieices it had been inflicted. Traces of is scuffle were found close to the footpath on the side of the road farthest from the bye-road in which the Vicarage Terrace is situate, and a few yards farther up the road, towards Bloxwich ; but the residents on the other side of the road had heard no alterottion or unusual noise. That this was the spot where the deceased was stabbed is, however, pretty certain, for, in addition ti the traces of a scuffle, there was much blood on the ground there. Marks of blood were also traceable from this spot along the road to Pratt's Bridge, some considerable distance farther on, towards Blorwich, which would neon to show that Corbett's assailant must have received some severe injury. The deceased is believed to have been about thirty-seven years of age, and to have come from Tipton, and it is stated that, at the time of the occurence, he was sober. The spot where it is presumed he was stabbed, is just within the municipal borough; but the dwelling where the body now lies, is just within the parish of Rushall. Sergeant Arnold and Police-constable Williams, of the county police, joined the borough police in the search for the supposed assassin.