The Sun. — 1827-05-14 (London, England)

SINGULAR MURDER. •  (,Extract of a letter from Madrid, dated April 93.) linal judgment has been given in the following case, by the Chamber of Alcades de Castor Corte, of Madrid  On the 26th June 1826, Pedro Froylan, a gardener, and a married man, about thirty years of age, came to the Alcade of the town of Ariscollar, in the province of Toledo, and stated that he had that morning found upon the side of the road leading to Toledo, Anne Berbal, a young girl, known in the country by the name of la touta (the fool)—that she was covered with wounds and blood, and to all appearance dead ; that he had placed her body upon his ass, and had come to inform the authorities of the circumstance. The Alcade ordered a physician to examine the body, who soon discovered that life was not extinct, and, after the necessary medicinal aid, the girl recovered her senses. She had received several wounds, the most severe of which were about the chin and mouth. On being questioned, it became evident that the unfortunate girl had been deprived of the power of articulation, by the cutting of her tongue across. She, however, by signs, which could not be misunderstood, indicated that an assault had been committed on her, that she was afterwards stabbed several times with a knife, dragged by the hair of the head, and thrown into the place where she was found, and that the time when the -crime was committed was about eight o'clock that morning. There being a great number of persons present at this examination, she was asked if amongst them she could discover the person who had maltreated her ? she replied in the negative by a nod of her head. Shortly after, there came into the room, drawn thither by curiosity, Antonio Froylan, the brother of Pedro Froylan, who had found her on the road side. She was asked if he was the person ; she made a sign that he was not, but it was observed that she kept her eyes fixed on him with the most intense expression, as if indicating that he was in some way or other connected with the circumstance. This peculiarity led the Alcade to remark the conduct of Pedro Froylan, who had kept walking up and down, at the other extremity of the Chamber, and had not once approached the unfortunate girl. He was then ordered to come near, but gave some frivolous excuse. He was, however forced to approach her, and the moment she saw him she became most violently agitated, and before any question was put to her she pointed him out with her finger, and by signs intimated that he was the person who had so brutally maltreated her. An examination which the parties then underwent, left no doubt as to the facts mentioned, and afforded the strongest presumption of the perpetration of the crime by Pedro Froylan. No knife or other instrument with which the wounds could have been inflicted was found upon his person, and he even denied having possessed one. However, a search having been made near the place where the girl was found, a knife, stained with blood, was discovered, which several persons swore they had seen in the possession of Pedro Froylan. The prisoner denied all knowledge of the crime, and persisted in his first declaration to the Alcade, that he had found the girl wounded and senseless on the road side. On the 29th of June the unfortunate girl expired, and criminal proceedings were soon after commenced against Pedro Froylan, but, with the usual dilatory march of justice in Spain, the judgment—finding him guilty, and condemning him to be hanged—was not given till the 18th of December. The case was then referred for revisal to the Chamber. of Alcades de Casa y Corte, of Madrid ; which tribunal, on the 12th of March, confirmed the sentence, and ordered the prisoner for execution. He has since paid the forfeit of his crimes. The evening before his execution, being in Capilla (in the condemned chapel), he confessed his guilt, but declared that, after the commission of the first crime, he had no intention of murdering Anne Berbal, until she threatened to tell the Cure of what had taken place. But it was only then that he stabbed her, and thinking her to be dead, he, to remove suspicion from •himself, brought the body to the Alcade.