The Sun. — 1839-02-05 (London, England)

CONTI.` at tea time, and the children, the eldest of whom was about thirteen or fourteen years of age, after they had in ♦ain waited for her to come and make their ha, sent one of the younger ones, aged about nine or tell, to see why she did not come. He shortly returned much frightened, saying that he saw some person tying on the snow in the roast, with a light as if smoking a pipe. This alarmed the children so much that they locked themselves in, and remained so till the return of their parents at about ono or two o'clock in the morning. Mr. Jenkins and his wife then went towards Mrs. Giles's cottage, and saw the body of the unfortunate woman lying in the snow, which was horribly stained with blood, from a shot wound in her breast, and a dreadful gash her throat, which was severed from ear to ear. Her clothes had bean partly burned from her body, having apparently been ignited by the shot of a pistol which was lying beside her, together with a sheath of a razor. Jenkins alarmed the few persons a ho lived near to the spot, and proceeded to look for her husband before they removed the body. In two hours lie was found returning from Charing, much in liquor. The spot around where the body was found having been closely examined, it was found that the needlework which the unfortunate woman had taken with her, and also her shawl, were a few steps nearer to the house of Mr. Jenkins than the spot where the body was found, as if she had att:mpted to return after having been shot. Footmarks were traced in the snow through the fields, by a circuitous route towards Lenham In one place the person tracked seemed to have fallen on his hands and knees in getting through the gap of a hedge, and marks of blood were traced on the snow where his left hand had fallen. The pistol was identified by a blacksmith, as one which he had sold about a fortnight before to Samuel Scagus, who had been living in the adjoining parish of Stalesfleld, and who had been staying with the deceased, in the absence of her hus. band, from ten o'clock till twelve on the day before the murder, when he went towards home. He had been seen casting bullets a few days previously, and took out the above-mentioned pistol at two o'clock. He was afterwards seen at Charing in the course of the afternoon, and begged a draught of cold water from a person there, who gave him some cold tea, which he drank and departed. Seagus is a widower with two children, and his intimacy with the unfortunate deceased had been the subject of much remark amongst the neighbours. The deceased was the mother of four children. The eldest girl is out at service, and the youngest was left in the care of a woman of about eighty years of age, within about a stone's throw of the place of the murder. The two eldest boys of the unfortunate woman, of the respective ages of ten and twelve years, were passing from shopping along a footpath in a field in their way to the old woman's cottage, at about half-past six o'clock in the evening, and heard the report of a shot, and some female immediately afterwards scream several times. They were dreadfully frightened, but little thought it was their unfortunate mother! The unfortunate woman was about forty years of age, and Seagus about thirty. The following is the description of Samuel Seagus :—" Ile is about 5 feet 4 or 5 inches high, of a light complexion, pale face, and light hair, walks atoopingly, has a slow, whining mode of speaking through his nose, is about thirty years of age, and a shoemaker by trade. He had en when last seen a dirty fustian shooting coat, corded striped trousers, besot shoes, newly soled and specked, and black hat." It is understood that he has relations somewhere in London, and also beyond London, from this county. —3laidstonc Gazette.