The Sun. — 1864-03-10 (London, England)

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.  NORFOLK CIRCUIT.—NORTHAMPTON, March 8.  Lord Chief Justice Cockburn and Mr. Justice Crompton came from Leicester yesterday. Thecae that has of late excited so much attention hail gone off. It was a charge of wilful murder against William Weekly Ball, a man 47 years of age, and described as a butcher.  Mr. Sergeant Tozer, Mr. Douglas Brown, and the lion, G. C. Vernon appeared for the prosecution ; aLd Mr. O'Malley, Q.C., Mr. Keane, Q.C., and Mr. Metcalfe for the prisoner.  In the year 1,',50 the deceased and supposed murdered woman, Lydia Atley, was living at the village of Ringstead, in this county, where also resided the prisoner. For some time an adulterous intercourse had been carried on between them, the prisoner being a married man, and in July of the year above mentioned the woman was near her confinement. On the 22d of the month she was last seen alive at about 9 at night, in company with the prisoner. They were heard talking in his orchard, the witnesses who heard the talk baying that she was refusing to charge any one else with being the father of the child. Shortly after groans were heard proceeding from the direction where the talking had been going on, but no one seems to have attempted any interference, or to have attached importance to the circumstance. As we have before said, from that moment she was never again seen alive. Search was made, but in a few days a letter arrived in the village from a man at Northampton, saying that he had seen her walking with a man in that town a day or two after the 22d July. This being made public had the effect of to some extent lulling the suspicion of the villagers, and ultimately, although there was a very strong feeling that there had been foul play, the matter was at rest. In the meantime the prisoner removed to Thrapston, established himself as a butcher, and at the time of his arrest was carrying on a good and thriving trade. So many years had now passed that ho might well have imagined himself safe from any accusation in reference to Lydia Atley; but in the month of February last some labourers were digging a piece of waste land by the roadside, near the orchard before mentioned, and about 18 inches below the surface they came upon the skeleton of a woman. It was lying face downwards. The bones were collected, and on examining the jaw a tooth was missing from the back of the mouth—a remarkable circumstance, for but a few days before she disappeared a labourer, the village dentist, had extracted ono at her request. No sign of any child could be discovered. The man who wrote the letter before mentioned now comes forward and says ho wrote it at the request of the prisoner, and the story as to' seeing the deceased in Northampton was utterly untrue. It will be seen that the case is still only one of great suspicion for beyond the tooth no further iudentification of the skeleton can be arrived at. It now appears that where the bones were found Gipsies have been in the habit of burying, and, as if further to embarrass the case for the in the same piece of ground, a supposed remains of the woman prosecution, feet cution, below last where Saturday, the s were found, another skeleton, that of a man, was found, and yesterday two more were discovered. These are the short facts of the case; and an investigation having taken place before the magistrates, the prisoner was committed for trial. •  To-day a bill was prepared for the consideration of the grand jury, but before it was sent to them Mr. Sergeant Tozer stated that he had consulted with the solicitor for the prosecution an I the counsel with him in the case, and the result was that, seeing how incomplete the case was at present against the prisoner, he should ask that the recognisances of the witnesses be discharged and no bill prepared. The effect of this would be that, in the event of any fresh evidence coming to light, the prisoner could again be apprehended. Mr. Justice Crompton thought the course proposed a safe and wise one, and mad an order accordingly.