THE VICTIM'S WATCH

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 29, 4 February 1939, Page 9 (Supplement)

THE VICTIM'S WATCH

By Alan Brock

SEVERAL murderers have owed their convictions to their carelessness in dealing with the watch of their victims, but certainly no one among the number has behaved quite so foolishly as did Thomas Henry Hocker, who was executed in April, 1845, for the murder of his friend, James Delarue, the music master. At six o'clock on the night of February 21, Delarue left his house in Whittlebury Street, Euston Square. A little more than an hour later his dead body was found, with the head battered in, in a field near Hampstead. The discovery was made by a police sergeant and a constable, who liP.d been told by a baker's roundsman that he had heard cries of "Murder." Leaving the constable by the body, the sergeant went off to fetch a stretcher. At about this time Hocker entered the bar of the "Swiss Cottage public house. He appeared agitated, and after a quick drink hurried out. He was seen a few minutes later, in tlie neighbourhood of the spot where tlie body was found, by a passer-by, who had heard the cries, and had been standing irresolute as to how to act. Making 110 reply to the man's inquiry as to whether he had Jieard the cries, Hocker hurried away. He did not go far, however. As the constable stood beside the body, Jlie heard' someone approaching, whistling cheerfully, and soon a man, whom he afterwards recognised as Hocker, joined him. There followed some minutes' conyersation between, them, during winch he calmly examined the body in tlie li"ht of the policeman's lantern, and left after presenting tlie officer .with a shilling. Ho next appeared at a house in Portland Place, whore a young woman of his acquaintance, Jane Philips, was staying with the caretaker, a Mrs.

Edwards. He explained the fact that the right cuff of hia shirt had been torn off and that his shirt front was splashed with blood by saying that he had had a fall, and also that ho had been fighting. He also showed the girl a watch, which he said he had purchased that afternoon in the city. Hocker arrived at his lodgings, near Primrose Hill, at two o'clock in«the morning, and went to bed, leaving the watch on the dressing table, where it was noticed by his brother, who shared tlio room with him, when he got up early to go to work. In answer to his brother's question, he said that lie had just redeemed the watch from pawn, an explanation that surprised the hearer, who knew that he. was out of work and very hard up* Three days later the lodgings were visited by the police, who found not v only the watch, which was definitely identified as the property of the murdered man, but a coat', minus a button found on the scene of the crime, and a pair of trousers stained at tlie knees with blood. His sole attempt at defence seems to have been a long and highly involved statement which Justice Coleridge permitted liim to read from the dock. After which proceeding, the jury required but 10 minutes to arrive at a verdict of "Guilty." A gold watch played its part also in another railway murder, tlio killing of Mr. Gold, by Percy Mapletor., better known as Lefroy. One June 27, 1881, the victim, a retired tradesman, 64 years of ago, left his house at Preston Park,' Brighton, as it was his custom to do each Monday. He travelled to London Bridge Station, visited a business in which he was interested, also his bank, and returned to the station, • where a ticket-collector saw him take a seat in an empty first-class compaitmcnt of the two o'clock train. Just as tlio train was about to start, a man was seen to enter the same compartment. —<£>

As the train was passing through Merstliam Tunnel, a passenger heard the reports of four shots, which, he afterwards explained, he took to be fog signals. At Preston Park, where tickets were collected, an inspector found alone in a blood-bespattered compartment an individual presenting a most alarming appearance. Dishevelled, covered with blood, his collar and tie missing, and apparently suffering from a wound on the head, Mapleton told the only story possible in the circumstances —that he had been attacked by one or both of two men who had been with him in the compartment when it left London Bridge, and had become insensible, remembering nothing more until the train arrived at Preston Park. He was helped from the carriage, when it was noticed that hanging from his shoo was a gold watch chain, to which, on examination, it was found, a gold watcli was attached. Having made a statement at Brighton Town Hall, Mapleton was escorted by two policemen to an address at Wallington, near Croydon. Here, on the excuse of changing his clothes, he was allowed to go indoors, while the officers waited for him outside. Their wait was a long one, as their cliargc walked straight out of the back door, and was not run to earth in lodgings at Stepney until nearly three weeks later. Meanwhile the body of Mr. Gold had been discovered by li platelayer, in Balcombo Tunnel. Death was duo to

multiple injuries, Including a bullet wound in tlio neck, knife wounds, as well as those caused by tlio fall from the train. Along the line were found a hat and collar, both subsequently identified as belonging to Mapleton, and Mr. Gold's hat and umbrella. The revolver was never found, although it was proved that on the day of the murder the prisoner had redeemed a revolver, which he had pawned for five shillings in the name of William Lee. Two gun-metal watches played an important part in bringing to justice Victor do Stamir, otherwise Staniirowski, for the murder of Captain Tiglie at Winkfield Lodge, Wimbledon Common. A maid entered the Captain's room with his morning tea, .to find him, clad in pyjamas and dressing-gown, lying in a pool of blood before the fireplace. He was a sufferer from chronic asthma, and for that, reason occupied a bedroom apart from his wife, where he was in the liablt of spending a considerable part of the night sitting up on a couch, beside which his body was found. Ho was removed to hospital, where lie died four days later, without regaining consciousness. Meanwhile, the police, under Chief Inspector Gougli, had l\ccn investigating the crime, which, it was evident, had been committed with a poker that had been brought up from tlio dining room and was found standing on tho couch.

This fact recalled to the inspector that in the case of robbery at a house in the immediate neighbourhood ten days before, tho criminal had, on entering possessed himself of a poker and had left it standing inside .the tradesmen's entrance, .by which he had escaped when disturbed, and also that therc*>had been marked similarities between that case and a series of burglaries that had recently taken place in the neighbourhood of Strcatham. Somo of the proceeds of these robberies had been purchased, quite in good faith, by a jeweller in Wardour Street, who .was able to give a very exact description of the seller. To him Gougli gave instructions that, should the man return on a similar errand, lie was to hand him over to the nearest policeman. It was an outside chance, as the property taken from Winkficld Lodge consisted of two gun-metal watches of little value, and a raincoat belonging to a pantry boy. However, the chance came off; a few days later the jeweller, when passing another shop in Wardour Street, saw the wanted man inside.' Waiting until he came out, he followed him to Oxford Street, where he gave him in charge to a police constable on point' duty. The arrested man, who was using the name Grey, was identified as a young Frenchman, Victor Stamirowski, who had lived in this country from early childhood. He had a long criminal record, and after enlisting in the British Army, in the name of de Stamir, had deserted. A letter in his pocket gave the address of his lodgings, and there a search brought to light both the gunmetal watches and tlic raincoat. He was executed at Wandsworth Prison in February, 191 S.