British Miner and General Newsman : — 1863-02-21 (London, England)

MURDER IN OXFORDSHIRE.—The county of Oxford was on Saturday morning thrown into a state of excitement by the announcement of a murder committed the previous evening on the poison of Mr. Allen, a respectable miller, of Upper Heyford, while returninc, from Bicester-market. Mr. Allen was returning 'home from Bicoster-market on Friday evening, at about' half-past six o'clock, in a cart, in company with a young man named Noah Austin, a butcher, of Heyford, who it is stated has been paying his addresses to Mr. Allen's daughter. The pair not returning together, and the dead body of Mr. Allen being subsequently found in the road with the horse and cart tied up to a gate, suspicion naturally pointed to his companion, who was arrested on Saturday, and brought before the coroner for the district, Mr. Churchill. The prisoner, after being cautioned in the usual manner, made a statement to the jury, to the effect that he was returning home with the murdered man in his conveyance, and when near Heyford they met two men. Some distance further on the road they met two other men, who called out to Mr. Allen, "We want to pay your account," and the deceased requested . him to go down to the mill and tell the miller to come up. The old man got out of the cart with him, and remained in company with the nien while he crossed the fields into the village to deceased's house, and requested the miller to go to his master up the road, as he wanted him aboutsome account or other. The miller, who , has not yet been examined by the coroner, corroborated the prisoner's statement to a certain extent, by saying he went up the road as directed at once, and found the horse tied up to's gate on the roadside. He thought, ' at first, his master had been thrown out of the cart, and on looking round stumbled over the deceased in the road. Finding the body cold he went for assistance, and having obtained a lantern, he at once discovered he was dead, having been shot through the head. He examined the cart, and found blood-marks in the tail  part, and blood sprinkled on the sack lying at the bottom of the cart. This occurred about half-past six in the evening. A little boy about 14 years of age, who gave evidence, stated that as he was driving a pig on the lower road he heard two shots fired, one directly after the other, and that after proceeding 30 or 40 yards the prisoner passed him and his younger brother running. The younger boy asked him who it was that had passed and he responded it was Noah Austin. The coroner adjourned the inquest until Thursday, the prisoner being formally charged with the offence and conveyed to Oxford Castle. The prisoner treats the charge with indifference, and does not seem to comprehend the awful Position in which he has been placed. Since the ad.  journed inquest we understand other evidence has been attained through the indefatigability of the police, which will be brought forward on Thursday. The occurrence has created quite a sensation throughout the county, where nothing of the kind has taken place since the dreadful murder by Kalabergo of his uncle, near Banbury, in 1852. The prisoner was on Monday brought before Dr. Marsham, at the County Hall, Oxford,by Capt. Owen, head of the county police, who applied for a remand until Thursday, by which time he expected to be in possession of sufficient evidence to complete the case. It is stated that incontrovertible evidence of the prisoner's guilt has been obtained by the police, who have discovered a pistol (a six-barrel revolver) in a cart in the prisoner's father's yard, and the bullets, mould, &c., in the prisoner's desk. With the latter the deceased's purse has also been found. The prisoner, it appears, between the time of the murder and his arrest bad given the key of the desk to his sweetheart, who, it is stated, would not believe that the prisoner was guilty until she saw her father's purse, and learned it had been found in his possession. A post-mortem examination was made yesterday at Heyford, where the dead body of the murdered man still lies, the result of which had been the extraction of two bullets from the head. The prisoner, who is twenty-six years of age, treats the charge with the utmost indifference.