The Express. — 1867-03-23 (London, England)

SHOCKING MURDER AND ATTEMPTED SUICIDE AT NORWICH.  (From the Norfolk Nm.) A murder of a moat revolting character was committed this (Friday) morning in Fountain-yard, St. Benedict's. Two old people—John and Elizabeth Winter (man and wife) the former 71 and the latter 73 years of age— have been living together in a single room at the top of the yard, their means of subsistence being parish relief, and some little assistance from their son, • man named Hardesty, in the employ of Mr. James Hardy, grocer, St. Stephen a. The woman being paralysed was unable to do any active work, and for some time past her granddaughter, a girl about 14 years of age, who lived with her father on Grapes's-hill, lied been in the habit of assisting in her house work. Tide morning between 8 and 9 o'clock, she went to the room for the same purpose, and found that the old man had got up and dressed himself, and lighted the fire. Her grandmother was lying in bed, but they all had breakfast together, and at the time nothing was noticed to occasion any alarm. The repast, however, had not been concluded very long before the old man turned her out of the room, and locked the door, giving no explanation for this singular proceeding. The girl immediately ran home, and told her elder sister of what had occurred, and the latter (Laura Hardesty) at once proceeded to the Fountain-yard. Finding that the door was locked, she looked through the window, and saw her grandfather in the act of leaning on the bed and cutting the old lady's throat with a razor. Fright. ened at the horrible act which she had witnessed, the girl ran out of the yard and told her mother of what had occurred. In the meantime • neighbour looked through the window, and saw the old man lying on the bed by the side of his dying or dead wife, with his own throat cut. It seems that he had only that moment committed the rash act upon himself, for he was laying down the razor at the time the neighbour looked in at the window. The door being still fastened, Mr. Minus, butcher, broke it open by forcing out the staple, and raw the murderer and his victim lying together on the bed, which was saturated with blood. The deceased's throat was cut on the left side, the wound being about four inches in length and of considerable depth, and severing the windpipe. The murderer had inflicted • wound upon his own throat, eaten, ling almost from ear to ear, and penetrating the jugular vein, and from the jagged character of the cut, the razor appears to have hail a backward and forward movement. The house was promptly entered by the police, and police-constable Wollard found on the window shelf a razor covered with blood. A quantity of cord was tied round the handle so as to enable the murderer to hold it with a firm grasp, and the blade was also tied so as to prevent it from shutting. Mr. Bailey, surgeon, who was the first medical gentleman in the house after the discovery of the occurrence, dressed the old man's wound, and remained in attendance upon him until 11 o'clock, when he was conveyed on a stretcher to the hospital. He was able to speak to three in attendance, but the injury is of so frightful a character that it is feared there is little chance of his recovery. From information which we were enabled to collect amongst the neighbours, it seems that the old people were in tolerably comfortable circumstances as regards food and clothing. The room in which they lived was furnished with two or three old chairs, a table, and other trifling articles, and in the centre of the floor was the bed, provided with plenty of clothing. The deceased, as already stated, was helpless, arid the peculiar conduct of the man of late points to the presumption that his mind bad become deranged. One neighbour stated that he had " got it into his head " that he and his wife would be taken to the workhouse, to which he hail a great objection, and others state that during the last week or so, he had behaved more roughly than usual towards his wife. There seems no reason to doubt, from the condition in which the razor was found, with the cord round the handle and the blade secured, that he had premeditated the murder. Hannah Goulder, who was the first neighbour attracted to the house after the occurrence, says that she saw the old man as he was taking the razor from his own throat, and on asking, " What have you done?" he replied with violent language. " tfa We heard at the hospital, some time after the mans adnussits, that he was is a very precarious state.