The Sun. — 1868-02-06 (London, England)

THE MURDER IN BIRMINGHAM.  The mystery which for a fortnight has surrounded the leath of Miss Mary Milbourne, in Heneage-street, Birmingham, seems at length to be in a fair way to be cleared np. As frequently happens where such a crime is committed by a number of persons acting in concert, one of ;he parties, either from remorse or hope of reward, has ?roved a traitor to his companions, and thus placed the t)olice in possession of information which has led to the apprehension of five people. The first arrest which was made vas that of Thomas Beasley, who is a costermonger, and ormerly lodged in Park-street, Birmingham. He was arrested in Bristol by Detective Mountford, of the Birmingham force. As soon as he was safely lodged in prison, information was sent to Birmingham, and Detectives Manton, Flavell, Clarke, Jenna, and Cooper, with Police-constable Roscce, went shortly before two ,'clock on Tuesday morning to 4 court, 11 house, Lawleystreet, where they apprehemle-1 a brother of the other prisoner, named Joseph Beasley, who is 21 years of age, cripple, and by trade a shoemaker. After this arrest the party of officers separated, and a portion of them went to Allison-street, and in the house 79 they arrested a hawker named Charles Grayson, 33 years of age, and his wife, Elizabeth Grayson, 28 years of age. The other officers went to 17, Park-street, where they apprehended William Beasley, 27 years of age, costermonger, who is a brother of the other prisoners bearing that name. The prisoners who were apprehended in Birmingham were taken to the lock-up in Moor-street. At the time of their arrest they were all in bed. Joseph and William Beasley and the two Graysons were orought before Mr. T. C. S. Kynnersley, at the Public Office.  Mr. Glossop said the prisoners were charged with being in company with others, and murdering Miss Milbourne, in her own house, in Heneage-street, on the 21st of January. He applied for a remand for a week. The prisoners were then remanded until next Tuesday.  The cause of these arrests is the statement of an informer in the confidence of the prisoners. This statement has been tested, and collateral circumstances substantiate important parts of it, so that the arrests have not been made on frivolous grounds. The statement referred to is somewhat to the following effect. It will be remembered that a short time before her death deceased broke her leg. Whilst the deceased was thus partly incapacitated from helping herself, Mrs. Beasley, a cousin of the deceased' and stepmother of the three men in custody ; was xccustomed to go herself or send one of her children daily to do " odd jobs " for deceased. During these visits Mrs. Beasley heard the story from dec eased of her having several hundred pounds in the house at the time of her brother's death. The story was related by Mrs. Beasley at her own house, and thus came to the knowledge of her stepsons—the three prisoners. The cupidity of:the cripple, Joseph Beasley, was first excited, and it is said that he formed the plan—in which the other prisoners afterwards joined—of breaking into deceased's house during her absence, and possessing themselves of the large sum of money which they fondly believed to be still in the house. On the 21st of last month the project was put into execution. The thieves visited deceased's house when she was away from home, and had partly accomplished their work of searching the house when they were interrupted by deceased's return. She came into the house, and was about to raise an alarm, when Thomas Beasley—the man who was captured at Bristol—seized her by the throat to prevent her. The result we know. In the words of the informer, " she went off in a minute," which is accounted for in the evidence of Mr. Oliver Pemberton at the inquest, where he says that the ringshaped or cricoid cartilage of a person of the age of deceased would he very brittle. This cartilage broke under the first pressure applied, and suffocation then was a very easy matter. The informer states that there was no intention of murdering deceased ; the plan was simply to possess themselves of the money.