The Warrington Examiner. — 1870-05-28 (Warrington, Cheshire, England)

EXAMINATION OF THE PRISONER.  On Wednesday the accused man was brought up before Sir Robert B. Harvey, Captain Farrar, and Mr. Coleman, at Slough. The court was closed to the public, but a large and excited crowd congregated outside, their shouts and loud conversation being plainly heard through the open windows, and occasionally reaching a pitch that interrupted the proceedings. The prisoner, who had remained in the police cells all night, was brought in shortly after eleven o'clock, and placed in tbe dock handcuffed. He is apparently a man 42 or 43 years of age, and was dressed in clothes which had been supplied by the police. His face was ghastly pale, and he looked like a man who had not slept for several days. He leaned over the bar of the dock and listened, apparently without emotion, to the circumstantial relation by Superintendent Dunham of the position in which the several victims of the murder were discovered, with the marks each bore of the blows of the axe. The witness having deposed to the finding of the bodies, continued—ln the front bedroom I found a pair of old corduroy trousers and a pair of boots (produced). There are marks of blood on the trousers, and the boots are saturated with blood. Upon one boot there is a piece of human brain. There was nothing abstracted from this room. In the room facing the smithy I found an old corduroy coat and waistcoat patched all over. They were pushed under a small table in the room. I also found a number of pieces of old flannel, a fustian jacket, and old blue shirt, a necktie, and an old " billycock " hat. In this room two boxes and two drawers were pulled open, and several articles were lying about the floor. On the chest of drawers there were a watchstand and key, but no watch. Yesterday afternoon I went to a lodging house called Oxford Arms, Reading. A man named Coombes was with me, and a policeman from Reading. We went into the tramps' kitchen, where there were about 20 persons. The prisoner was sitting facing us as we entered, and Coombes directly said "That's the man." The prisoner said, "I have never murdered man, woman, or child." The charge had not been made against him then. I went to him, and caught him by the throat. The Reading policeman said, "He's pulling something out of his pocket," and, catching him by the hand, pulled out this pistol. It was loaded up to the muzzle with powder and pieces of iron wire.  The Clerk.—Which pocket was it in ?—The Prisoner (in a sullen tone) : The left-hand pocket. Witness.—The pistol was not capped, but I afterwards found a cap in his pocket. I charged the prisoner with the murder, and he replied. "I have never murdered any one, but I know who did." I said, "Why, you've got on the Murdered man's shoes." He aid, "That may be." I took a black silk necktie (produced) from his neck. I then went to a second-hand clothes shop in Reading, and recovered from Margaret Lyons, the shopkeeper, a black cloth coat and a light waistcoat. The prisoner at the time of his apprehension was wearing a calico shirt, dark stripe trousers, and spring-side boots, which I now produce. On the left boot there is a spot of blood. Prisoner.—The blood came out of my nose fast night. Witness.—A silver watch and gold guard I produce I obtained from the shop of Mr. Butcher, pawnbroker, at Uxbridge. Charles Coombes described the prisoner's strange doings at Uxbridge. He positively identified the clothes found in Marshall's house as those he had seen on the prisoner on Saturday afternoon. The prisoner was then remanded till Tuesday. As he left the dock he nodded to the witness, and said Good-bye, Charlie." A young man named Robinson was apprehended at High Wycombe on Tuesday night on suspicion of being concerned in the Denham atrocities. He went into High Wycombe on Tuesday, and at a public house he described to several persons the position in which the bodies of the victims lay. He was brought before the magistrates on Wednesday morning and remanded. The poor victims of this tragedy were buried on Thursday. The funeral was attended by about three thousand persons. Another link in the evidence against the suspected murderer has been supplied by the finding of a key belonging to Mr. Marshall's premises in the lodging house at Reading, where the prisoner was captured. An opinion was expressed tor soon nwaafst aerbtihoethmeruorfdemrsatroshtalliel. effvecatritohuast ctihrceupmersptaentreaesare now mentioned as tending to strengthen that view of the case.