The Sun. — 1831-11-24 (London, England)

EXTENSIVE SYSTEM OF BODY STEAL.  ING.-NIYSTERY SOLVED  In our last Paper we gave some proceedings relative to the dead body of a man, seized on the Courier coach, in Leeds, in its transit to Edinburgh, which had been exposed at the Court-house for public inspection for several days, without being owned, which, combined with some marks of violence about the neck, led to the suspicion of his having been murdered. Under these circumstances, it was thought proper to hold an inquest upon the body, the proceedings of which we gave in our last Paper, and which, as far as they went, strengthened the suspicions which were afloat of the deceased having come to his death by foul means, as Mr. Chorley, the senior surgeon of the Leeds Infirmary, stated it as his decided opinion that he had died of strangulation.  With the view of affording further time for the identification of the body, the inquest was adjourned for a few days, and subsequent events showed the expediency of this measure, as the body was identified on the day but one following (Saturday,) when it was clearly made out to be the body of a man who had committed suicide, at East Ardsley, by strangling himself with a handkerchief, and who had been buried in East Ardsley Churchyard, on Monday, Nov. 7. At an early hour on Monday, the brother and sister-in-law of the deceased, the sexton, and the parish clerk of East Ardsley Church, were examined, who clearly made out that the deceased, whose name was Robert Hudson, was found on Sunday hanging in a coal cabin, at East Ardsley; that an inquest was held upon his body on the following day, when the Jury found that be had strangled himself, being in a state of insanity ; that he was interred in East Ardsley Church-yard on Tuesday, November 1, and that on opening the grave on Saturday, November 12, the body was missing, and the coffin lid broken open. The Jury found a special verdict, embodying these facts. The following is an outline of the various facts detailed in the course of the evidence. The head of the gang of the Leeds resurrectionists is a Mr. Hodgson, an attorney's cle k. He kept several people in his employ, to whom he gave " rounds," that is the names of a number of church-yards they were to visit, written out on a piece of paper. On reconnoitring the places thus pointed out to them, when they observed any newmade graves, they repeated their visits in the night. Having opened the graves, the coffins were sawn across the head, and the bodies extracted by means of ropes passed under their arms. The names of the gang are, besides Hodgson, their chief, Mr. John Crabtree Pickering, schoolmaster of Bond•street, Leeds, and formerly of this city; Wm. Germain Parker, York-road; Wm. Henry Bradley, joiner; James Norman, butcher, Wade-lane ; Thos. Pearson, cloth-weaver, New-road-end, all of Leeds; and John Wood, shoemaker, Buslingthorpe, near Leeds. Hodgson had a card in his possession, at the top of which was a triangle, with a cross on it, under which were Hebrew characters for the words " the bones;" and then followed John Hodgson, missionary. This had been explained to one of the witnesses, by a person to whom he was a stranger—to be Hodgson's oath, that the triangle meant secrecy, the Hebrew characters stood for dust; and that the crucifix signified, they were sworn on the Holy Evangelists to betray no secrets; that if any of them were to be apprehended in getting a body, they were not to inform—if they did it would be in peril of their lives Mr. Hodgson was bound for his appearance at the Yorkshire .Assiz2s, in two sureties, housekeepers, in 150/. each, himself in 100/.; Mr. Pickering in two sureties of 501. each, himself in 100/. ; and all the other defendants, except Pearson and Wood, each in two sureties of 25/. each, and themselves in 50/.; all the parties to give twenty-four hours' notice of their bail. Pearson and Wood have been discharged on account of this business, but they still remain in custody.—York Courant.