The Sun. — 1862-07-09 (London, England)

MYSTERIOUS MURDER IN GLASGOW.  Between the morning of Sunday last and Monday a murder of almost unexampled ferocity was perpetrated in the west end of tle city of Glasgow, the circumstances of which are at present shrouded in obscurity. The victim is a woman ; but the facts so far as have been ascertained, do not point to any motive which could have urged to the committal of such an 4ttrocious deed. The name of the woman is Jessie Macpherson ; she was between 30 and 40 years of age, unmarried, and employed as a domestic servant by Mr. J. Fleming, accountant, Sandyfordplace, a two-storey house, with sunk flat, the block of building in which it is situat3 running west from Elderslie-street. The occupants of the house are, besides other members of the family, Mr. John Fleming, with his son, John Fleming, and his father, Mr. Jas. Fleming. The family have a house at Dunoon, and it was the custom of Mr. John Fleming, with his son, to go to the coast on Friday, remaining generally till Monday. On Friday last they proceeded thither as usual, leaving in the house Mr. James Fleming, who is 87 years of age, and the deceased. About half-past 9 in the evening Mr. Fleming went to bed, at which time the servant was in the scullery ;1 and about 4 o'clock on the following morning—as he learned by a casual reference to his watch—the old man states that he was aroused by hearing two or three screams, which seemed to proceed from the lower part of the house, in which the kitchen and the bedroom of deceased are situated. He paid no attention to the circumstance, however, thinking that she had perhaps brought in a female friend to sleep with her, as there were so few people in the house, and that the noise might have been occasioned in some trivial way. This opinion he still held when on the following morning he arose about 10 o'clock and found her bedroom door shut, the idea then occurring to him that she might have gone out with her friend, as the front door was only on the check. At all events, he did not seek to investigate the matter further, but after making and partaking of breakfast quitted the house; and in the evening he again retired to rest, her apparent absence from home still unaccounted for. On Sunday he went twice to church—the day and night passed, but still there was no tidings of the missing woman. His son and grandson came home about 4 o'clock on Monday afternoon to dinner, and to them her disappearance was made known. They went down stairs to the sunk flat, but found the bedroom door locked, and the key missing, The key of the pantry, however, secured ingress, and on entering the room the body of the murdered woman was found lying on the floor, face downwards, and in a state of almost absolute nudity, with three fearful wounds in the head, which had seemingly been inflicted with a heavy and sharp instrument—one above the right ear, and so large as almost to admit of the finger being inserted, another across the forehead, and the third over the bridge of the nose, while one of the jaws was smashed in several places. The clothes of the murdered woman were strewn about the room, covered with blood, and the bedsheet, also red-stained, was found wrapped up and placed behind the door. Leading from this room to the kitchen streaks of blood were also descried, and on close examination the conclusion was come to that here the murder had been committed. After the deed was consummated, the body had apparently been dragged through the lobby to the bedroom, there placed on the bed, undressed, and afterwards left on the floor in the position in which it was subsequently found. The kitchen appeared to have been partially washed after the murder was committed. On Saturday morning the door opening on the back part of the house was found locked and the front door, the only way in which egress could have been obtained, was found on the check, No definite opinion can be formed as to the mode in which ingress to the house was obtained, and it is equally a matter of uncertainty as to whether one or more persons were concerned in the deed. Nothing was removed from the house.—North British Mail.