The Sun. — 1851-06-24 (London, England)

WORSHIP-STREET. Michael Butler, a powerful fellow, of notorious character, was placed at the bar for final examination, before Mr. Tyrwhitt, charged with having broken into the dwelling-house of Mr. Henry Bateman, a wheelwright, in Holy well-lane, Shoreditch, and with having also assaulted and wounded the prosecutor, with intent to murder him. The offence was committed on the 10th of February last, when the prosecutor, on returning home from an evening party at a late hour, discovered the prisoner and anintier man secreted at the rear of the premises, both of whom instantly set upon him, and after beating him unmercifully with the butt-end of a horse-pisiul and life-preserver, with which they were respectively armed, and inflicting numerous severe wounds about his head and other parts of his person, succeeded in Of. cting their escape over the rota of some adjoining out-houses, and had ever since eluded pursuit until about ten days since, when the prisoner was traced by the police and taken into custody. The depositions of the several witnesses having been completed and read over, The prisoner was next charged with having been concerned, with another man not in custody, in the following murderous assault and robbery upon an aged widow, named Elizabeth Hussey, living in Mulberry-court, Wh• techapel. The prosecutrix stated that at about five o'clock in the evening of the 19th April lest, the prisoner, who was accompanied by another man, called at her house, and stated that they required the attendance of her son, who is an itinerant musician, with his violin at a rand which was to come off that evening, and that he would receive ss. for hia services. She invited them into the parlour to receive their directions, as her son was not at home, and one of the men having insisted upon providing some liquor, another woman who was with her was sent for it, and as soon as she had left the prisoner inqu►red if there was any other person in the house, which she answered in the negative, and then asked her her age, which she told him was 65. The instant the words were uttereu the prisoner sprang upon her and grasping her by the throat, flung her down upon the fluor, where he held her fast while the other man forced his hand down the bosom of her dress, from which he abstracted a bag containing two sovereigns and a quantity of sil►er, with which he er,caped ieto the street; but the prisoner continued holding her down, and compressed her throat with such violence that she entirely lost her senses. She did not recover consciousness till nine o'clock in the evening, when she felt herself in a state of extreme suffering and experienced all the effects of strangulation, which confined her to her bed, where she remained for a considerable period under medical attendance. A married woman named Rosina Flaherty, who was present at the time referred to by the last witness, was also examined, and gave similar positive evidence to the prisoner being one of tho men who had perpetrated the outrage. Fornsal evidence of former convictions was then given by a retired police sergeant of the G division, named Cross, who was present at the prisoner's trial and conviction for highway robbery in October, 1846, at the Central Criminal Court, when he was sentenced to seven years' transportation, which was afterwards commuted to twelve months' imprisonment; and also of a second conviction for felony, and sentenced to a similar period of incarceration in the month of January, 18411. The prisoner, who reserved his defence, was fully Committed for trial upon the first charge, but was ordered to be again brought up in a week for the completion of the depositions in the second case.