Northern Times. — 1859-01-01 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

EXECUTION OF REID. At twelve o'clock to day, the sentence of death passed upon Henry Reid, who wilfully murdered his wife at Manchester, on the 23rd Sept. last, will be carried into effect.  No doubt it will be fresh in the recollection of our readers  that the trial took place at the last assizes at St. George's Hall, in this town, on the 14th inst., a full report of which we gave at the time. From the evidence, it appeared that the unfortunate man had been leading a very dissolute life. His wife also had been in the habit of drinking. On the night in question, when the murder _ was committed, the culprit, together with his wife, had been drinking at a public-house near to where they lived. They were both drunk, as was given in evidence against him, and the culprit was heard to say that "if his wife did not behave herself, before morning he would be the death of her." If he had not come out with this expression, it is quite possible he would have come off clear. During the trial, the unfortunate fellow stood quite unmoved until the last moment ; but as soon as the judge r had pronounced sentence, he dropped on his knees, as if to beg pardon. He was recommended to mercy on account of inebriety. The following was given as evi— , dente against him :----Joseph Wright said he was a police constable, and in consequence of what Mrs. Dickenson had told him, he went to the prisoner's house at about twenty-five minutes past three. He saw the deceased ; she was lying as described, and dead. The body was warm, but stiff. She was laid at the bottom of the stairs, with her forehead over the floor. Her arms were bent, as if she had been endeavouring to raise herself up. Her face was towards the window, and her head would be about fourteen inches from the house wall; the feet were , on the stairs. The clothes were turned up over the left leg ; she was in her evening dress ; she had no bonnet on,_ and her hair was very rough. Witness did not see any blood on the stairs ; but saw a rope round deceased's neck. There was blood on the floor where she lay, and the head was lying in it when he got there. The rope was tight round her neck. He looked at the bannisters. of the stairs, but there was no remnant of a rope there. He turned the body over on the middle of the floor on its back, and took the prisoner into custody. John Birchley, inspector of police, at Manchester, said he entered the house of the deceased shortly after ten o'clock, when he got the body removed to the Infirmary. He did not meddle with the cord till it had been inspected by the surgeons. He then searched the house, and found two pieces of cord, which, however, did not correspond with that found round the neck of the deceased. He was unable to find marks of the cord on the stairs and bannisters, though be had searched for them. The colouring was much loosened on the kitchen side of the staircase, and some had fallen off, as if there had been a scuffle there, and something had been in contact with the staircase. There was a large clot of thick blood at the bottom of  the stairs, and there was a great quantity of thick blood in the middle of the floor of the lower room. The wound was still bleeding freshly. There was a strong nail in the partition of the staircase, about six feet from the gronnd. William Meakin, a rope-maker, proved that the piece of rope found round the neck of the deceased had been cut with a sharp instrument at one end ; the other had been broken. The cord would sustain a weight of at least 2001bs. Thomas Parry deposed to being in company with the prisoner and deceased on the night before the murder, when he heard the prisoner say, "If my wife does not conduct herself in a proper manner, I will be her death before morning." These were the last words he heard him say; and they were both the worse for liquor at the time. James Smith, 5 scene-painter at the Theatre Royal, said, he was at the Windmill public-house on the night of the 22nd of September, and left there about twenty-five minutes past eleven. The prisoners were there, and they appeared quite tipsy. Mr. John Elliott, house-surgeon to the Manchester Infirmary, said, he remembered the deceased being brought to the Infirmary on the morning In question. She had been dead about two hours. He made a post mortein examination of the bodyr and found a wound over the right side of the forehead, by the ear. Blood was still flowing from the woundHe was of opinion that the wound had been inflicted 199 a knife. The wound penetrated to the skull, but did not cause the death. The piece of cord produced is the sane as that which was round the deceased's neck. It was quite tight. On each side was a mark from two to three inches in length, in front of the angle of the jaw. Dr' Frank Reynolds corroborated the statements made hi the last witness. Mr. Cobbett then addressed the jury for the defence, urging, at considerable lengtl!, that this was a case of circumstantial evidence. 11? Lordship then proceeded to sum up, remarking that thy; was a most important matter for the jury to decide. it would be for them to decide, whether the prisoner Was the cause of the death of his wife, or whether she had committed suicide by strangling herself. The jury real:cur and His Lordship received a message from them, asking if it could not be made out a case of manslaughter. ifra Lordship ordered the jury to come into court, an explained the law relating to manslaughter more clearly, The jury again retired for a short time, and returned verdict of " Wilful murder," but recommended the prisoner to mercy on account of inebriety.