The Sun. — 1821-08-13 (London, England)

CURWOOD. _ _ _  It appeared in evidence, that the deceased, who was about thirty-five years of age, had' for Many years been a helpless cripple, incapable of doing- any thing to esSist. herself. She lived with her mother. The prisoner lodged in the seine house, in which there was also another lodger. About six weeks before the 19th of June, the day the-deceased died, she had been poorly, and confined to her bed, but was on that day observed to be better. On that day about two o'clock the deceased and the prisoner were left alone : shortly after-wards he charged a girl, the grand-datighter of the deceased's mother, who alsolived in the lie.eise, not to disturb the deceased, and left the house. After some interval, the grand-daughter went into the room of the deceased, and found her dead. She gaVe an alarm, upon which the prisoner andother persons canie in and examined the body, which exhibited various markS 'of violence, which were then thought to be effects of mortification. The prisoner soon after went into the village, and communicated the death of the deceased, and although not requested to do so, bespoke a coffin for her, giving the size ofit, and desiring that no one should measure or examine the body. At his request the Corpse was t wo days tifierieatils'etielaed; acid screwed down the coffin. At the request of the grand-daughter, the coffin was opened again, kit soon fastened dbwn. Shortly after it . was. said-that the deceased had been pregnant,' in conse= quence of which the body was examined again by a medical man, who declared that she probably died of.dropsy. In aday or two subsequently; in consequence of reports of a disagfeeable nature becoming .prevalent, the body was again. examined by another surgeon' who was of opinion that she had died by, vin-lence, and that.she was eight months gone with child. &Coroner's Inquest was then summoned, the prisbner saying that he should like td be on the jury. He afterwards declared that the deceesed had hung herself, that he had found her suspended from the tester of the bed, and had with his own hands cut her down. It appeared that tile tester of the bed could not possibly have supported, the weight of the deceased. The ncxt.day the prisoner was apprehended, upon which lie acknowledged that he was the father of the child of which the deceased 17t1'S pregnant, and produced a silk handkerchief with which he declared she had destroyed herself. This was the substance of the evidence. A great number of witnesses were called to, roye the different circumstances upon which the charge against the-prisoner rested. The prisoner in his defence said he was innocent, and that ' his motive for concealing the manner. of the deceased's ;death was to prevent her being buried in the highway for suicide. -„ One witness, who had knOwn the prisoher 'for 20 years, gave him a ,e(rood character for humanity and kindness of disposition. The learned Judge summed up the evidence for the Jury with minuteness and precison. He desired them to take the whole case into. theirconsideration, and if they had any doubts, to let those doubts operate.in favour of the prisoner. The Jury inunediately found the primmer GUILTY, and sentence of heath beingpeeised upon him, hi was ordered for execution on Monday (this day.) . Thg prisoner was perfectly composed during the whole trial, which lasted from nine in the morning until half past three. in the 'afterabon.