The Weekly Gazette for Middlesbrough, Stockton, Hartlepool and Cleveland District. — 1879-04-05 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

STATEMENT BY CHURCH.  The prisoner Church has made a statement to a newspaper reporter, in which he says that he had never to his knowledge seen the woman Webster (whom he always understood to be Mrs Thomas) till the evening Mr Porter brought her to his bar in the early part of Mara. Mr Porter introduced her as a friend of his named Mrs Thomas, who was then living at Richmond, adding that she had lost her husband two years ago, and had lately been trying to let apartments. She had not succeeded, and was going to try and sell the furniture in consequence. Church said that perhaps he could buy some. I After that she came a time or two, and was asked into the parlour along with Mr Porter to talk tho matter over. Eventually, Church went to the house, No. 2, Mayfield Cottages, and agreed to purchase part of the furniture for £6B. He gave her £lB as a deposit, and would give her the balance when the goods were in the van. Chinch then produced a stamped receipt he had drawn up for Mrs Thomas to sign, selling him thel furniture for £6B. Church, continuing his story, said that on the 18th of March he went with a van to fetch the things away, and when he had part of the furniture in the vehicle the landlady from next door came opt and wanted to know what the goods were being taken away for. "Mrs Thomas" and she then entered into conversation, and, as he thought there might be some dispute about the rent, he declared that he would not move the goods, and ordered those be had in the van to be carried back to the house. " Mrs Thomas" then disappeared, and he had seen no more of her since. Be (Church) had lost £l9 through her and _all his expenses. Porter, he continued, was with him at the time, and when they came back they heard that Mrs Porter was also out. "Mrs Thomas" went into the ' house where she had been staying a few nights, took her child out of bed, dressed it, carried it to a cab at the top of the street, and drove of to the railway station. Church added: " Onlyjust think of the impudence and audacity of the woman to come here dressed up in her silk dresses, with her gold watch and chain, and sit in my parlour, representing herself to be a lady and the mistress of the house, and swindle me in this way, and bring all the trouble on me." In reply to some questions, Church stated that when he was in the house where the murder was committed he saw no signs of blood, nor any appearance of a human body -having been chopped up or boiled. The real secret, he added, came out through a letter found by his (Church's) wife in "Mrs Thomas's " pocket after the things were taken out of the van. On the day before alluded to " Mrs Thomas" threw in some dresses for the men to bring away, and the text day in the pocket of one of these dresses was found a purse containing five rings and a letter from Mrs Hughes, of Finsbury Park, to Mrs Thomas. Church stated that he took that letter to Mrs Hughes the next day to see if it was known where the real Mrs Thomas had gone to. He then found out that Mr Hughes was Mrs Thomas's executor. The police were at once communicated with, and so the whole thing came out, Church added that he had heard from the Porters how dreadfully frightened the supposed Mrs Thomas appeared to be at going into the house, and indeed would never enter it until she had sent the boy Porter before her to light the gee.