Middlesbrough & Stockton Gazette and General Advertiser. — 1870-11-11 (Stockton-on-Tees, Durham, England)

THE ALLEGED MURDER AT GATESHEAD. ONE OF TILE PRISONERS COMMITTED FOR TRIAL. On Monday morning, at the Gateshead Borough Police Court, before the Mayor, Ald. Bigger, John Sowerbv, B. J. Prockter, and Edmund Cmwshay, Esqs., he two lads—Thomas Keeney and Ralph Simpson—charged with causing the death of Hannah Robson, by throwing her from the Quayside, in Hillgate, on the morally, of the 23rd ult., were placed in the dock for father examination. The evidence taken on the last occasion was read over by the clerk to the magistrates, Mr S. Robson, and the following additional evidence was taken :—Ann Coulson said she saw the two boys, Keeney and Simpson, with the deceased in a passage in Duinn's Buildings and heard some conversation between them. —A: woman named Mary Jane Lough gave similar evidence, and added, in answer : to a question put by Mr Bush, who again appeared for Keeney, that deceased was so tipsy that she could not get down the stairs without Keeney helping her.—Charlotte M. Williams, in addition to the evidence given last week, stated that the two prisoners wore the same shaped caps as those worn by the men she saw with the woman, and were about the same age. In cross-examination by Mr Bush, witness said that she heard the splash first and then the screams. The man made a rush towards some objects with his hands raised in front of him, but he might have been rushing forward for the purpose of preventing the woman throwing herself into the river. —James Johnson was called, and proved thaLthe two boys slept at Ferry's Glass Works on the night of the occurrence from about one o'clock.—Mr Joel, solicitor, of Newcastle, who appeared for Simpson, asked that his client might be discharged, as there was no evidence to connect him with the affair beyond the fact that he was in company with the lad Thomas Keeney after the poor woman got into the water. Neither was he an accessory before or after the fsct. However the deceased came into the water there was no evidence to support the assumption that any intention or arrangement existed between these boys that she should be thrown into the river, and therefore his client could not be an accessory before the fact. To make him an accessory after the fact it would have been necessary for him to have done something more than be in Keeney's company after the occurrence—it would have been necessary for him to have done some act for the purpose of screening or hiding the principalsoffender.—Mr Bush, on behalf of Keeney, submitted that it had not been proved that his client had acted with any violence to the deceased, there being only one witness out of all those called who said anything to lead to the belief that he was at all violent, and even that one only said that he seemed to be knocking her head against ' the wall. The woman was in a helpless drunken state, anti it might very easily happen that she fell into the water, or threw herself in, and that Keeney seeing her fall into the water, rushed forward to prevent her. There -was no reason suggested why Keeney should have pushed the poor woman into the water, except that it was to get his I threepence back ; but if he had wished to do that I he would not have pushed her into the water. Was it not much more probable that the tipsy woman, being on the margin of the river, had fallen over? , It was also pioliable that she had thrown herself , over, especially as it was known that she had twice before that day tried to get into the water . from the same place, and had bitten the hand of k one man, who prevented her from doing so. He , thed called a lad named John Bone, who stated that : he saw the deceased about half-past eleven on the night of the 22nd October running along the quay , at Hillgate towards the water. He also saw the • railway watchman get hold of her and bring her back. She broke away from him and endeavoured ' a second time to get into the water, and when brought back again she said that it was George wko ' had put her where she was, and she would do it after. —The magistrates retired, and after an absearte ' of about a quarter of an hour returned into court, and dismissed Simpson, but committed Keeney for trial at the assizes.  The Queen, according to new arrangements, will leave Balmoral on Monday, the 14th inst., and arrive at Windsor Castle to breakfast on Tuesday morning, the 15th inst.  "