The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — 1841-12-24 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

SHOCKING  MURDER AT STOKETON-UPON TRENT.  (From the Staffordshire Gazette. )n Monday evening and Tuesday last, the town of Stoke 5 thrown into a state of great excitement, by a report, that  named Thomas Morris, a brewer,' had lard violent ipon his wife, and thereby caused her death, whilst he a state of intoxication. The report proved but too On Tuesday afternoon, an inquest was held on the `-' deceased, Elizabeth Morris, at the Old Swan hefore W. Harding, Esq., coroner, and a re Inn, Sto  pectable jury  Nitness called was a niece of the prisoner's and leceased's, named Fanny Hilditch, a little girl ten years of  age, wno stared that Morris and the deceased lived at their [louse. [Witness afterwards explained that her mother was fever-nurse at the Infirmary, and consequently generally absent from home, and allowed Morris and his wife (who was her sister) to live in her house, and take care of her children.] Witness remembered Morris coming home on Monday night, believed it was about nine o'clock ; her aunt (the deceased) was nursing a baby about ten months old, and sat by the fire, making a cap and putting flowers in it. There were no other persons in the house except Morris, the deceased, witness, and the baby. Morris said he would not have the cap which deceased was making in his house, and he then pushed her towards the fire. Deceased then threw the cap up the house to prevent Morris laying hold of it; he endeavoured to get the cap from her, and she resisted ; he said he would throw it on the fire, and she replied that he ' durst not' ; and he replied that he durst' ; and some further altercation of a similar nature took place. He then struck his wife a violent blow on her brow, upon which she fell with her head upon his knee; he pushed her off to the floor,,which was of brick. After she was down, he kicked her twice on the side, and some time after tried to lift her head from the floor, but it  fell down again,—and he then said that " he could not help it." Deceased could not get up, the baby then began to cry, and witness took it from the cradle and went to call a neighhour, named Mary Swettnam, and told her that deceased was dying; upon which she left and went to Morris's directly. When witness left the house, Morris was standing in the same room that his wife was lying; she staid at Mrs. Swettnams until near one o'clock ; when she went home again, she saw deceased lying upon the sofa, and thought she was dead: Morris was quite drunk. Mary Swettnam was then sworn, and said, in consequence of information received from the previous witness. she went to Morris's house with her : the baby was asleep in the cradle, deceased lay across the house floor on her back, and Morris was kneeling down by the side of her. He exclaimed, when witness entered the house, " Aye dear, aye dear, Mrs. Swettnam." He had his left arm under her head. Witness asked what was the matter, and he replied, be thought she was dead, as he perceived no breath. Witness laid hold of deceased's hand and rubbed it, but she was quite dead. Morris said something must be done,—witness then went and called Sally Harrison and Betty Minshull, telling them that Betty Morris was either dead or dying. They came in soon, and then witness went to her own house, and sent a man who lodged with her to call Mr. Davies. When she went back to Morris's deceased was quite dead, and she was laid on the sofa. Morris did not say anything about how it bad happened to witness : he was drunk. The jury returned their verdict—" That the deceased came to her death by violence used towards her by her husband, Thomas Morris," who was then brought up and committed to take his trial for the offence at the next assizes.  REFORMATION IN LIVERPOOL  (From the Dublin Statesman.)