Bridlington and Quay Gazette. — 1894-12-01 (Bridlington, Humberside, England)

ASSIZES AT YORK. THREE MURDER CASES, AND ONE OF ATTEMPTED MURDER.  MR. JUSTICE CHARLES ON THE FILEY TRAGEDY. The AfigiSEVl for the North and East Ridings of the County of Yorkshire were opened on Thursday Morning, at York Castle, before Mr. Justice Charles. His Lordship, in charging the Grand Jury, said the calendar contained 25 cases, and although the number was about an average one, several of the cases were of a very serious character. There were three murders, and a very serious charge of attempted murder, making 4 out of the 25 cases of a very grave character. The other eases in the calendar did not demand any; observation from him. He then referred to a , bankruptcy case, and to the cases against the Criminal Law Amendment Act. The latter, he WWI glad to say, were only three, a number which contrasted favourably with the other counties which he had just been visiting. He then chew the attention of the Grand Jury to the charge of attempted murder, in which William Edward Wright was charged with attempting to murder his wife, at Hothain, in June. The Grand Jury would have no difficulty in finding a true bill, but it was a very mysterious case, for, as far as the depositions were concerned, he could not discover any motive the man had for doing no. The Judge also referred to the case in which Samuel Stonehouse was charged with the murder of his wife, Maria Stonehouse, at Filey, on the 27th October. The facts of the case were very short. The prisoner and his wife were heard quarrelling together in their house. Apparently Ithe quarrel arose about some misapprehension on the prisoner's part as to what his wife had done with 10s. which he had given her earlier in the day to buy food. It appeared she did buy food, but no mail had been provided for him when he came home in the evening somewhat in liquor, which aggravated him, and he charged her with having used the money for other purposes. The quarrel was continued when they were alone, after the children had left the room. Blows were heard being struck, and zionaozgl other blows it would seem that the deceased struck the prisoner, for the voice of a woman was heard saying. Take that." From that it appeared that she inflicted a blow upon him, but however that might be, it was impossible to say with certainty in what fashion the quarrel was continued; and whether she struck him first or he struck first it was impossible to say. It appeared, however, perfectly clear that the woman was beaten to death, for, after death, 24 braises of various sixes were found upon her, some of them apparently inflicted with an instrument with a sharp edge. In the room there was a brick, which, of course had sharp edges, and there were pieces of brick found on the couch on which the woman was laid, and the blows must have been inflicted by that or some other instrument. It was true that some of the braises were slight, and that none of them were of a serious character, but the doctor who examined the unfortunate woman's body after death, said death was the result of shock to her system, caused by these repeated blows. There was a certain prune facie case of murder, and it was rendered the more serious because on the same day a person named Gedge saw the prisoner commit an assault on his wife. His Lordship requested the jury to consider the cases, and bring up some small bills first. A