The Sun. — 1864-02-19 (London, England)

MURDER AT BIRMINGHAM.  At midnight, on Tuesday, police-constable Patrick Golden, was on duty in Dartmouth-street, Birmingham, when he heard the•report of a pistol a few yard off, followed by a deep moaning. He ran towards the spot, and found a young woman lying in a pool of blood, her feet being in the gutter, and her head towards the middle of the street. He lifted her up and recognised her as a young woman who was lately married to a young man named George Hall. He found a wound on her face, from which the blood was flowing freely. The young woman was at once conveyed to her mother's house. She was quite insensible. A bullet had shattered the jaw, and, passing the neck, had lodged in the vertebrae. A surgeon removed por ions of the fractured jaw, and did everything in his power to alleviate the sufferings of the woman, but gave no hope of her recovery. The next stage of the tragedy developed itself au hour afterwards. Police-constable W. Dromage was on duty at Hockley-hill shortly after 1 o'clock, when he was accosted by a man having two pistols in his possession, who told him that a short time before a relative of his, named Geo. Hall, came to him in the Wellington Inn, and asked him to take a glass of brandy with him, as it would be the last he would ask him to take. On being asked what he meant, he replied that he had shot his wife, and handed him a couple of pistols; and having taken off his brandy he left the house with the landlord to go home to his father's. The man gave the pistols to the officer who accompanied him to Hall's father's house in Birmingham. Oa arriving there they found Hall sitting on a sofa in the same room with his father, mother, sister, and brother, and the landlord of the Wellington Inn. The officer claimed Hall as his prisoner, and charged him with having shot his wife with the intention of murdering her. The prisoner quietly said," It is true; I did," and gave himself up to the officer. He was not at all excited, but, on the contrary, was perfectly calm and collected, and even gentle ire his manner. On coming away from the house, he shook hands with all his friends, and said, " Good bye; I hope we shall meet in Heaven." The pistols were perfectly new. One of them had been discharged—the other was loaded, but had no cap on, On the charge being drawn, the shotticg was found to consist of a conical ball. The prisoner was brought before the magistrates on Wednesday ; and oa a medical certificate being produced stating that the young woman was in a dangerous state he was remanded until Saturday. He is by trade a stamper, and was employed in a workshop in Vyse-street. It appears that the prisoner and the young woman were married last Christmas-day. Before the marriage the prisoner told her that he had furnished a nice house in good style and that they would enter upon it after their marriage, He, however, went into lodgings, and his wife was so angry at this that she left him in nine days and refused to live with him till a house was provided. This greatly exasperated the prisoner, who gave way to an extreme fit of jealousy. On Tuesday night he called at the place where his wife was living in Princes-street, and demanded the earrings and wedding-ring which he had presented her at their marriage, saying he was going off to Liverpool. After some words they parted. In two hours afterwards the prisoner called for his wife at his mother's house, and they went out together between 9 and 10 o'clock, and walked about for two hours, talking over their affairs. The sequel hae already been told. The young woman died on Wednesday night at a quarter'to 5 o'clock, after suffering fearful agony aggravated by an unsuccessful attempt to extract the ball.