The Sun. — 1846-02-13 (London, England)

SUICIDE. Between six and seven o'clock yesterday morning the inhabitants of Arbour-square. Commercial-road, were alarmed by loud calls for the police, and screams of murder issuing from the house, No. 16, in the square, occupied by a respectable man named Baxter, employed as a clerk in Templeman's coal wharf. Police •constable Sutherland, who was passing the house, which is within about eighty or one hundred yards of the Thames Police court and station-house, immediately entered, and, on descending to the back kitchen, receivedi in his anus the body of a young woman in the last gasp of death, from a frightful wound on the right side of the throat, which gaped to the extent of several inches. She died almost immediately, without uttering a word. llaving laid the body on the floor, he proceeded to the next arm tment, which was furnished in the way of a parlour, and there, on the floor close to the rive-place, hey the body of a man about twenty-six. years of age, with his bead nattily severed tram his liody, his throat being cut quite acewa.: -aSapool of blood had isteed from the wound, and whore the woman lay in the other apartment the place was also deluged with blood. There was a pond of blood at the shot of the staircase, and the door, the tablee, and the chairs were spat- • tered and smeared with gore.' The fender, fire irons, and furniture were scattered about in every direction, and all things betokened a silent but terrible struggle. From all that could be collectel in the confusion which ensued, this appears to be one of these motiveless murders which, had the suicide • survived would, by some sapient jury, have been attributed' ntootinys,eatnaittytai. attained iE seems B 3 x ter, the proprieter of the house. Against the father's consent she married her murderer, Jeremiah Spence Stark, about ssixthteeendtel ceeaset year,t was the daughter of Mr. yoaug woman, who had nine months since. Though averse to the match, her poor father took them into the house, in the hope that he might further their future prospects; but the son-in-law was of a gloomy and morose temper, and apparently idly disposed. the only discoverable grounds for the terrible tragedy, which has fearfully alarmed the neighbourhood, are these : A little brother of the young woman Ellen Baxter, alias Stark, slept in the same apartment with her and her husband, and on the previous night heard the latter abusing her, and calling her odious names. This he told to his father, who mildly remonstrated with Stark on the impropriety of his conduct. It would seem this galled the fellow, and must have rankled all night in his mind. From the appearance of the front kitchen, which seemed to be the breakfast room of the family, the young woman must have been at work in the place when Stark made the attack upon her, and the silent struggle between them must have been terrible. Her hands were cut in several places through the gloves which she had on doing her work. The poor young woman, who is supposed to have been in the family way, is said to have been a sweet, good-tempered girl, of very prepossessing appearance, and her life might have been saved had not her too great love for the murderer and suicide prevented her giving a timely alarm, as there were several persons in the house at the time. Information of the awful occurrence was instantly conveyed to the Arbour-square station-house, when Sergeant Shaw, who was acting as inspector at the time, made all the necessary arrangements, by writing to the coroner, and placing officers in the house to preserve everything in the state in which the scene first presented itself. In a deep pool of blood close to the head of the murderer there was a comb belonging to the young woman, which must have dropped from her hair in the commencement of the struggle. The only object which has been removed is the weapon with which the horrid deed has been committed, and that is wrapped up in a newspaper at the Arbour-square station-house. It is a black-handled carving-knife, covered from the point to the hilt with thick clotted gore.