The Sun. — 1849-07-05 (London, England)

MURDEROUS OUTRAGE.—Mr. S. Joseph Coe, described as a person in independent circumstances, was charged beeire Air. Hammitt with having, crus Ily maltreated his wife, who was so seriously injured that some doutes are entertained of her recoln ry. Police-constable 315 K stated that at three o'clock that morning his attention was attracted by an uproar in front of one of the houses in New Somerford-stet et, Cambridge-road, upon reaching which he found a lady lying in a state of insensibility in the gutter, with nothing on but her night dress, and surrounded by several persons, one of whom pointed out her husband as having reduced her to such a condition. Having secured the prisoner, who was standing a few paces off, he assisted the others in conveying the lady to her bed-room, and the family surgeon was at once sent for, who pronounced her to have been so dreadfully injured about the head and al &men that it was impossible at presmt to form an opinion as to her recovery. Airs. Maria Reynolds, landlady of the house where the occurrer:ce took place, stated that the prisoner and his wife had for some time occupied }ter furnished drawing room and other apartments, and that at a late hour On the preceding night the former returned home in a state of partial in oxication. the first intimation they had of his arrival being his hurling a stone through his wi'n's chamber window. The door was opened as quickly as possible, and the prisoner proceeded to the bed-room, but be had only been there a few minutes when witness was alarmed by the sound of blows and loud screams from the wife, which were almost immediately succeeded by a heavy fall upon the floor. Witness instantly hastened into the room, where she found his wife lying upon the ground, and the prisoner standing over her, with one of his hands entangled in her hair. Witness succeeded with some difficulty in extricating her from his grasp, and was supporting her to a chair when the prisoner made a violent attack upon his wife, and after striking her repeatedly in the face, knocked her back into the chair, when she became stupified, and whilst witness was attending her, he struck her three or four other blows with such force that she was reduced to a state of complete insensibility. The prisoner then retreated down stairs and went out, and after the lapse of a considerable interval she succeeded in restoring the injured woman to consciousness, and supported her down stairs with the intention of protectihg her in her own bedroom for the rest of the night; but upon reaching the passage the prisoner returns d to the house, and immediately commenced a third attack upon his wife, striking her repeatedly till she again tell in a nearly senseless state in the passage, when he kicked her violently on the lower part of her person. She was raised from the ground by the witness, and sta4gered out into the street, but upon reaching there instantly fell down in the kennel, and remained there till the arrival of the constable.  A certificate was handed up to the bench from Mr. B. Shaw, surgeon, of the Cambridge-road, which described the lady as suffering from serious injuries inflicted upon the head and abdomen, and declared her to be in a state which pi ccluded the possibility of her removal. When called upon for his defence, the prisoner said he had been out for some hours, and that on his return his wife, who was of a very jealous disposition, accused him of passing the evening with some other woman, which so greatly exasperated him that, after some words between teem, and he being in a state of intoxication at the time, he certainly struck her, but had no recollection whatever of having (idler beaten or kicked her in the exaggexaggeratedmanner described by the landlady on the second occasion. Mr. EIAI43IILL said it was a most serious case, and after the evidence he had heard as to the condition in which the lady then was, he felt it his duty to remand the prisoner upon the charge; but would consent to ao cept substantial bail for his future appearance—the ,ner himself in 801. and two sureties in 401. each, with 48 hours' notice to inquire into their sufficiency.