The Northern Guardian. — 1894-07-09 (Hartlepool, Cleveland, England)

THE SOUTHEND MURDER.  ARREST OF THE "WANTED" MAN.  SAD STORY OF DECEPTION.  James Canham Read, for whorn the police have been searching for nearly a fortnight in connection with the murder of Florrie Dennis, who was found dead, shot through the head, in a brook at Prittlewell, ngar Southend, on Monday, June 25, was arrested on Saturday by Police Sergeant Marden at Mitcham, Surrey. The prisoner was conveyed to Southend by train. Crowds of people who had heard of the arrest collected at the railway station, and when Read arrived he was hooted by the people, amongst whom there was a great deal of excitement. He had been residing at Mitcham occasionally for some months, running down from London generally on Saturday night, but sometimes earlier in the week. In answer to an advertisement last February, he took apartments in a cottage, and he and a young woman,  NVHOM HE DESCRIBED AS HIS WIFE, and a young baby entered into possession. Read described himself as clerk and traveller to a city firm of tea merchants, and thus accounted for his absence from home during the greater part of the week. To his landlady, and also to the young woman who passed as his wife, he was known by the name of Benson. On the day of the murder, Sunday, June 24, Read was not in Mitcham, but he came home on the following night, saying he had been detained at Canterbury. On the following day he went to Croydon, where he purchased the light suit and straw hat he was wearing when arrested. From that time until Saturday, when he was arrested, he had been out almost every day in Mitcham village. In the course of an interview, Miss Kempton, the proper name of the young woman known as Mrs Benson, said she was the daughter of a retired printer at Cambridge, and she met Read under the name of Benson nt Kensington about two years ago. Beooming enamoured of him, she took him home to her parents' house, but her father, who is 80 years of age, took a dislike to him. By Read's persuasion  SHE LEFT HOME AND WENT WITH HIM to Bishop Stortford, where they remained until a child was Vern. He treated her with great kinlnese during her illness, and shortly afterwards they removed to Mitcham. The unfortunate woman was astonished on learning that Benson's name was Read, and that he had a wife and six children in the east end of London. Down to this time Miss Kempton thought Read had been arrested for the nonpayment of a small debt, and when the news of his apprehension on the charge of murder was conveyed to her she exclaimed, "That never can be true." She went on to say that Read, when arrested, bade her goodbye, and, in the presence of detectives, said, " It will be alright." He told her when he came home on the day after the murder that he had been to Canterbury on business, but she could not help remarking on his agitated appearance. In reply to a question as whether she knew that Read had a considerable sum of money in his possession when arrested, Miss Kempton said she believed he had £5O, £39 of which belonged to her, being the proceeds of a share which had been bequeathed to her by a relative. It appears that when Detectiveinspector Baker knocked at the door, of the prisoner's lodgings he was answered by the prisoner himself.  ,