Blandford, Wimborne and Poole Telegram. — 1875-03-12 (Blandford, Dorset, England)

THE PURFLEET MURDER. CROWN COURT.—(Before the LORD CHIEF JusriCa.) Chelmsford, March 5,6, and 8. Richard Coates. 21, a soldier of the Royal Artillery, wag charged on the coroners, inquisition with the murder of Alice Baughan, at West Turrock, on the 9th of December last The prisoner had not been examined before the magistrates, and this departure from the ordinary practice gave rise to some inconvenience, and was the subject of unfavourable comment on several occasions in the course of the trial, both from the learned Judge and the counsel for the prisoner. Mr. Croome and Mr. H. Tindal Atkinson prosecuted; hfr. Whitman Wood and Mr. Fulton were retained by the Sheriff to defend the prisoner. It appeared from the opening statement that the prisoner was the schoolmaster of the soldiers children's school at Purfieet, and on the 9th of last December there were six children attending the school, of whom the deceased Alice Baughan, a little girl under six years old, was one. Shortly after three o'clock the child, who had been learning her lessons on the prisoner's knee, asked leave to go out, and about five minutes after she had left the prisoner alai. went out, find about twenty minutes past three a scream .vas heard proceeding from tile children s closet. About half-past three the prisoner returned to the schoolroom and dismissed the children. He inquired if Alice Baughan had returned, and as she had not he desired her brother to take her hat and cloak home. At this time his appearance was remarked by one of the children and two of his comrades. He looked scared, red in the face, and as though he had been drinking. No search was made for the missing child before seven o clock in the evening, and as the result of inquiries then made the prisoner was put under arrest. His trousers and jacket bore marks of having been sponged or washed, but there were no marks of blood on either. On his great coat was found one long hair cor responding with the hair of the deceased child. and there were two or three slight marks of blood near and on his bed and on his shirt. On the following morning the bodt of the missing child was found lying close to the paling of the barrack-yard, immediately outside of which the river flows. The body was inside the yard; the skull was fractured, and the face much bruised, while severe injuries on other parts of the body left no doubt that an outrage of a most revolting nature had been perpetrated. The facts as above detailed were proved by the several witnesses, and Dr. Tidy gave evidence as to his analysis of the various marks on the clothes of the prisoner and of the deceased child. In the opinion of the surgeon who first examined the body, death resulted from the injuries caused by the violence of the outrage which had undoubtedly been committed. The injuries on the skull and face were possibly caused by contact with the ground or the palings of the barrack-yard in an unsuccessful attempt to throw the body over into the river. In view of the impossibility of concluding the case much before midnigh ,on Saturday., at the conclusion of the case for the prosecution the trial was adjourned, and the jury were again locked up, with permission, on their request, to go together to any place of worship they could agree upon. On Monday, after being ahsent for nearly an hour, the jury returned into court and found the prisoner Guilty of 'Wilful Murder." Mr. Avery, the Clerk of Arraigns, then put the usual formal question to the prisoner, whether he had anything to say why he should not receive judgement of death according to law? The prisoner, in a firm and collected manner, replied, "No, Sir, except that I am not guilty, but if I am to die, God's will be done." The Lord Chief Justice having put on the black cap, addressed the prisoner, and said that, after a very long and patient inquiry, the jury had found him guilty, and whatever he might gay to the contrary, no one who had heard the evidence could doubt that the verdict was a just one. There could be no doubt that he had deprived this poor child of life in order to gratify his abominable and unmanly lust, and the jury, after attentive consideration of all the facts, had found him guilty of the crime of wilful murder. By that verdict his life was forfeited, and he exhorted him to appeal to the only Power from whom he could obtain pardon for the great crime of which he had been guilty. The learned judge then passed sentence of death in the usual form. . . .  "-The pmoner, who exhibited extraordinary calmness and self-possession during the whole proceedings, then shook hands with several of his comrades, and said to one of thetu, "Tell mother and father that I am not afraid to die, and that I shall die as a soldier should die." The jury, who had been locked up since Friday, were then discharged from further attendance.  During January and Febuary 64 suicides were recorded In Paris._ . _ .  A London tobacconist Bias been fined IEIOO for selling adulterated cavendish tobacco. Mr. aladstone in answer to a request that he should attend the public meeting to be held in the Greenwich Lecture-hall, March 17th, to demand the total and immediate abolition of the income tax, has sent to Dr. W. C. Bennett, who will act as a chairman on the occasion, a letter to be read to the meeting. GOLD FROM THE j'