The Sun. — 1852-11-03 (London, England)

AWFUL MURDER IN DE.VOASHIRE.  A most barbarous and shocking murder was committed at the village of Milton, in the parish of Buckleant Monachorurn, on Friday night or Saturday morning last. This hamlet is situated etrout fcur miles south-west of Tavistock, and about ten miles from Plymouth, and the person murdered is a Mrs. Msry White, a vArioes, about sixty years of age, who carried on a small huckster's business, selling tea, cuff e, c andles, &e. The old lady bore an excellent character for frugality end honesty. She was last seen alive on Friday eight about eleven o'clock, at which hour she was sitting up for a man named William Glanville, who had gone to Tavistock, and from whom she expected to receive some lees. Ira the course of the evening she had called upon several of: her neighbours to have a gossip, and about heir-rase, ten she returned to her house. Shortly afterwards Glenville brought her the lees, and after she had recrived them he saw her no more. She lived in the house alone, occupying the lower room of a somewhat miserable cottage as her shop, and the up-stairs room seas her sleeping apartment. In this room she had a large box, about three feet loneh, and it: this she kept her money, which was believed by all her neighbours to be considerable, though no person has been as yet able to state tete amount. Mrs White, the deceased, was a smart, active woman, and although about sixty years of age, she wee accustomed to milk one of her neigbour's cows. both night and morning. On Saturday morning, therefore, as she did not appear, about eight o'clock one of her neighbours began to speak of its being odd than Mary White had not come down; and shortly after nine one or two of them tried the door. It was found t'aat the door was locked, and that the key was not inside, whereupon one of them got a ladder, and ascended to a window over the shop, about iii feet high, and having cut the fastening, opened it, and crept into the chamber. ebresdo,nthbeeinbredtocahliltheepapaepa: apparently 'lfs se undisturbed,some o n ranee in a calm sleep; but on coming close, and slightly e lyi naged in the the e moving the clothes, he found that there eras an immense gash in the throat, and that the person had either committed suicide or had been murdered. Ho immediately returned to the window, and descended into the street, but so horror. stricken was he with what he saw that ho thought it was a man, and not Mrs. White, whom ho had known when living, but who was so disfigured by the blood that was about her face that he was unable to recognise her. This person, emmediately he had come down, ran over to Mr. Whete's, the brother of the deceased, with whom also hers sn lived, and there stated what he had seen. Young write team' over, with others, to the house, and a shoemaker, named Westlake, came along with White and one or two other the ed convictionthi this fact,bethena waThe party. men, and Westlake broke open the door. found all below undisturbed. They proceeded up stairs, and one of the men wentst airw immediately . eight pulled down the bedclothes, and then as floating;m° in a pool presented itself. The poor womaainm wosat literally ceverect of blood; her head had been on seeing her, se id that rwardsdiscovered that ifrtowmashehrisbmodoyth. erl.-oulntg wWir aet,te obirfoiliieewn open, and that all the pence had been taken, with other circumstaecee., led to tmhceinryo. money-box had ehxacdedpb been nn coupled a most foul murder had born pariviellichkuppoucCl thatl d Search was made for an in:Ammo:vat, but petrate • inflicted.und witht nothing whatever the :murder could have the murderer secreted himself in the bed..room, behind the truckle bed, and that he had ob[ained admission into the cottage in the course of the evening , while the deceased was out. Information was immediately sent to the coroner, Mr. A. 13one, and at eleven o ' r; juryon Monday morning a respectable ' c I,e was impanel ed, and evidence taken, of which •in the above we have stated the principal facts that were elicited. The eon. of the deceased, a stolid person, seemed to regard the death of his mother, under the circumstances, with, to say the least, great calmness. Mr Bone questioned him very closely as to the quarrels that had occurred betwesn himself and his mother. It is a singular fact tbist the son went to Tavistock on Saturday for Merritt, and asked him to come over to Milton, a; a woman had been murdered, and it was some time before Merritt learned that this " woman" was his own mother. In the course of the day a man named Corber was taken into custody on suspicion, bat was liberated, there being no evidence to warrant his being detained. The investigation leas emitinusd till seven in the evening, when, there being no further evidence, the inquiry was adjourned till the 13th inst. An application will probably be made to the Government to offer a reward for the apprehension of the murderee.