The Sun. — 1863-12-09 (London, England)

MURDER AND ATTEMPTED SUICIDE.  A dreadful murder and attempted suicide occurred at Ryde, Isle of Wight, early this morning. A man named Robert Hallett cut off the head of a woman named Phillips, with whom he has been living, and afterwards cut his own throat and stabbed himself. The murderer was alive when the message left Ryde, at 8 a.m., but was not expected to survive.  Another Mysterious Murder or Death by  Drowning on the Seashore.  Before the public have recovered from the interest and excitement occasioned by the finding of the body of a female on the beach at Rottingdean, and the singular death of the French merchant near Hastings, whose body was found by a coastguardsman on Tuesday last, we have to report another case which, for the mystery in which up to the present time it is shrouded, and the peculiar circumstances connected with the state of the body, and the place and way in which it was found, far surpasses the others. The facts of this case, which, it is supposed, is the result of a foul murder, appear to be these. As most of our readers are probably aware, it is the practice of the coastguardsmen to patrol the cliffs and beaches of our shores during the night in order to prevent breaches of the revenue laws. Yesterday morning the duty of patrolling the cliffs between Portobello station and the next station, E istbourne, was performzd by Wm. Benson, who, in his perigrinations, had to pass Bearbide Gap, a pass down the cliff, about equi-distant between Rottingdean and the port of Newhaven, and situate in the parish of Piddinghoe. Of course the night duty of the coastguardsmen renders them much quicker sighted than ordinary individuals are in the dark, and therefore it is perhaps not extraordinary that any singular object on the beach below should have attracted the attention of Benson upon his looking down over the cliffs, which they are in • the habit of doing at intervals—particularly as his sight would be much assisted by the phosphorescent kind of light which is emitted by the sea as it dashes upon the rocks and beach. At all events Benson, upon looking over Bearhide Gap, did perceive an extraordinary object upon the beach below, and lost no time in proceeding to ascertain what it was. On arriving at the spot he found the body of a gentlemanly-looking man lying near high watermark, from which the water had receded. .He at once, in the uncertain light, came to the conclusion that it was the body of a drowned man which had been washed ashore, and ascertaining that it was just after three by his own watch, started back to the station at Portobello for assistance. He gave the call to Lieut. Littledale (in command of the station), and that officer and a number of men accompanied him back to the spot. The body, of course, was in the same state as he left it, and it was immediately taken up the cliff. A closer examination of the. body—which it was evident could not have been in the water many hours, it not being distended with water as is usual when bodies have been submerged for some time—was then made. It was found to be that of a man about five feet six inches in height, and from 45 to 60 years of age, with dark whiskers meeting under the chin, and bald-headed. It had on neither coat, waistcoat, nor shirt, nor were any articles of this description found near the spot it was simply attired in a white guernsey (such as many gentlemen are in the habit of wearing under their linen ; around the neck was a white turn-down collar, fastened by a narrow black silk tie ; it had also on a pair of white cotton drawers, a pair of black cloth trousers, socks, and Balmoral boots. The only mark upon the clothes were the following :—" F. T. Sergeant," which was found upon the guernsey. And now conies the question, was the poor fellow drowned, or did he meet his death by foul means, and was afterwards placed in the water ? As to the former hypothesis he might either have endeavoured to swim ashore from a vessel which had foundered at sea, and for this purpose had divested himself of his upper clothing, or he might have been drowned accidentally or suicidally somewhere to the westward and ultimately washed ashore; but, as it were in contradiction to these suppositions, is a fact. of a very suspicious nature— upon the head were several serious wounds, and the police have reason to suspect from what we can gather that these wounds were inflicted before death. The most serious of these wounds is at the top of the head, where a clean cut penetrating the skull is observable, apparently having been occasioned by a sharp heavy instrument. One eye is also much blackened, and behind the right ear is the mark of another heavy blow. As soon as possible Policeconstable Sherlock, of the East Sussex constabulary, stationed at Rottingdean, was sent for, and on his arrival he took charge of the body and had it conveyed to Piddinghoe, where it awaits a coroner's inquest. He next forwarded information to Superintendent Jenner, at Lewes, and the police are now actively engaged in endeavouring to ascertain the facts of this extraordinary case,—Surrey Standard of yesterday.