HIDEOUS HEREFORD MURDER

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 88, 15 April 1899, Page 3

HIDEOUS HEREFORD MURDER

WITNESSES TOO FRIGHTENED TO

INTERFERE.

A brutal crime was perpetrated at Hertford on Thursday, March 9, the circumstances of. which were somewhat extraordinary.

It appears that a young labourer named John Smith, aged about 18, was turned out;of a common lodging-house ; (where he had been staying on account of'misconduct. This was on Wednesday night. Smith,; who had -enlisted in the Militia, was seen in conversation at TruhdeWs yard,Railway-st.,Hertford,with a married woman named Mercy Nicholls, .living at Ware. This was in the early hours of Thursday morning. Shortly after-the two had been seen together piercing cries of 'Murder' and 'Police' were heard coming from the yard. No one, however,troubled, to go into the yard. The quarter of the town in which the yard is : situated is a squalid One, and in spite of the' cries ' no policeman appeared on the scene for considerable time. The cries, which were very distressing to .hear, went on for nearly a couple of hours until about half-past three in the morning,, when some of the residents of the district summoned up

SUFFICIENT COURAGE and showed sufficient curiosity to look out of their windows to see what was. the matter. At about a quarter to four Mr Burton, a shoemaker and town councillor, heard someone crying, 'Help me, help me,' followed by moaning. Looking from his window, he saw what he took to be a drunken man lying in the gutter. But on renewed cries of 'Police* and 'Murder' being raised he recognised a woman's voice. It was subsequently discovered that the cries had come from" the woman Nicholls, whom Smith, it is alleged, had : attacked with a pocketknife about four inches long,- stabbing her all over the face and neck, and -tearing her clothes until she. was rendered almost nude. She was found lying bleeding on the. ground, and from what she was able to say it appearecf that Smith attacked her repeatedly. After- resting for ten minutes or so Smith would.drag the woman about on the ground. Once he set her on her legs, but being too weak to stand she fell, and Smith kicked her several times.. He was seen to walk up and down the pavement flourishing' a knife and shouting, 'Left; left, left. If I only had my gun.' Then he added; 'I would shoot her.' At about half-past three Smith went to. the house of Mrs Davies in Railway-street, and when she asked what he wanted said, 'Will you

LEND ME AN AXE, please, to chop this woman's head-off.' Mrs Davies replied, 'I have no axe.* In answer, Smith said, 'The Prince of Wales has no money; it's'the Queen that's got it all.'

At last at about .4. o'clock a man named Wright informed the police, and at about this time a lamplighter named Papper, .while going his round, was confronted by Smith, who held him with the word, 'Halt! who'goes there? Papper replied, 'Good morning,' and Smith walked on laughing. The woman was then lying quite naked and helpless.' Papper' walked away and met a friend of his named Edwards, to whom he told the story. Edwards at once went to the polfce station and reported the occurrence, this being ths second time that the matter: had been notified to the police. At 6 o'clock the police officers appeared on-the scene, some five hours after the woman's cries attracted the attention of the residents of Railway-street. .

When the police got there they disco*vered the woman'

LYING IN A POOL OP BLOOD, and an examination showed that' no fewer than 59 wounds had been inflicted. She was removed at once in an unconscious state to the infirmary, where she died at 'ten minutes to ten on Thursday morning.

In the meantime her assailant.had gone to the common lodging-house from which he had. been previously turned out. In the kitchen of this establishment another lodger spoke to him of; the shock-' Ing discovery in. Railway-street, and Smith replied, 'I did it.' This confession was at once reported to Mr* Fisher, the landlord of the house, who went Immediately to the police station and gave information. Five officers'then went to the

lodging-house and arrested Smith. At j the prisoner is a man rather below the I average height, and not in any sense o.' pugilistic appeai-ance, his arrest by fiv< constables caused considerable amusement to.the many spectators.

Later in the day the prisoner was taker before a magistrate and formally charged with the wilful murder of the de* ceased. He appeared quite indifferent, and showed a sullen demeanour.

He was remanded for a week, and wib be brought up at St. Albans, when the case will be fully gone into. •

The coroner, Mr Sworder, opened an inquest on the body of Mercy Nicholls, the murdered woman, at the Hertford Infirmary. Only evidence of identification was given, and the inquiry was adjourned for a fortnight to enable the police to complete their inquirie sinto the circum* stances connected with the crime.