Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser. — 1876-01-01 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

UNLAWFUL 'WOUNDING AT REDCLII.—JOSepI; Ainsworth was brought up under remand, charged with unlaafally wounding Rachel Ainsworth, his wife, at Redcar on the 18th Dee mber. Mrs Ainsworth was led into court with head closely bandaged, and evidently in a very poor condition.—Beiug sworn, Rachel Ainsworth said: I am the wife of the prisoner Joseph Ainsworth, and live at Redcar. On the 18th December, in the afternoon, I had been out at a neighbours house to mangle. When I returned the prisoner was at home. No words passed between us, and he struck me over the head with the poker produced. He was upstairs when I went in. He came down stairs and walked round me to the fireside, and I felt a severe blow. At first I could not think what it was, and turned partly round just in time to see a second blow coming, which I evaded. I ran out of the house to that of a neighbour named Mrs Gilligan. I asked a woman to go for a policeman. The blow fell upon the back of my head, and it bled fearfully. W hen the prisoner takes drink he becomes very unruly. He has been in the habi; of drinking very much of late.—Mary Gilligan said : I am wife of John Gilligan, labourer, of Redcar. Mrs  Ainsworth came running into my house on the 18th December, to mangle some clothes, and then went home. She had not been gone above a minute, and then Mrs Ainsworth came running into my hack yard with her head bleeding at the back part.. She told me to fetch a policeman and a doctor, as her husband had tried to murder her. I told the police sergeant, and went for the doctor. When I went out I saw the prisoner go away from my back door with the poker in his hand, us though he ' had followed his wife and was waiting for her to come oat. I was frightened, and said nothing to him. I assisted to dress Mrs Ainsworth's wounds.—Mr Thomas William Spink Locke, Surgeon, of Coatham, said: On the morning of the 18th December, about nine o'clock, Mrs Ainsworth called up-n me with respect to the conditic.n of her husband, and I called at his house to see him about ten o'clock the same morning. I found him sitting at the fire in an excited canditiou, evidently caused by delirium tremens or excessive chinking. I told her that he was in a condition that he might do an injury to any one, and that if she would come along in a short time I would make up some medicine for him: about an hour after that I returned home, and found an urgeot messa;ca to go down to her how3e, as her husband had struck her with the poker. I went, and found Mrs Ainsworth in a very weak state. She was suffering from a large tumour at the back of the head, with extravasated blood. Previous to my visit tlyire had been great loss of blood, but when I arrived, the wound, which was half an inch long, was closed up by a clot of blood. It was a contused wound, and would be produced by a blunt kind of instrument, such as the poker produced. I applied the usual remedies, and the wound is not quite closed up. There was much danger from erysipelas setting in at first, but that is nearly passed now.—By the bsnch : I think it is doubtful, in that state of delirium tremens, whether he knew what he was doing. I had been talking to him in the morning, and cautioning him not to take too much driuk.—Sergeant Alexander said: I apprehended prisoner at his own house about twelve o'clock at noon of the 18th December. I had previously been to Mrs Gilligan's, where I saw Mrs Ainsworth with a wound upon her head, and the blood running down her back. I charged prisoner with cutting and wounding his wife with intent to murder her that morning. He replied: "Yes, and I will murder some more of them before I have done." On the way to the police station, prisoner said, " She has not done will it, yet ; the deceitful b—, bringing children into my house to keep, which are not my own."—Prisoner was then formally charged and cautioned, and in answer to the Clerk said," Ido not wish to say anything at present." He was committed for trial at the next Northallerton Sessions. •