A LUCKY ALIBI.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIV, Issue 149, 20 December 1907, Page 7

A LUCKY ALIBI.

CAWIDEN TOWN MURDER. ■V^OOD ACQUITTED. THE VALUE OF TRUTH. By Tclegrnph.— Pi-ess Association.— Copyright. LONDON, 19th December. A crowd of ten thousand persons outside the Old Bailey acclaimed the acquittal of Bobert Wood, the young artist accused of the murder of tho ■'woman Emily Dimmock at Camden Tovsm. An alibi was proved. Two witnesses testified that Uiey saw Dimmock with a man who -was not Wood after midnight on the aiight of tho crime. Relatives of tho accused man gave evidence that he slept at home, while a neighbour stated that he saw Wood enter his home towards midnight. Wcstcott, a railway man, testified that he himself was the man wl&om M'Kowan, a carman, mistook in- St. Paul'sroad, towards 5 o'clock in the mornjng, for the prisoner. Wood gave evidence in his own behalf, and stated that he had lied, not wishing to bo dragged into the case lest his friends should know that he associated with women like Dimmock. Mr. Justice Grantham, while summing up favourably to the prisoner,, emphasised the fact that the evidence was entirely circumstantial. It was one of the most remarkable criminal trials that had taken place in England, and was certainly the most remarkable of his time. There was no direct evidence against Wood; but the latter had led a double life, was untruthful, and had endeavoured to get others to lie for him. He had lied throughout, his conduct giving point to such evidence as there was against him. The jury was absent fifteen minutes. NEWSPAPER COMMENTS. ANOTHER UNSOLVED MYSTERY. (Received December 20, 7.40 a.m.) LONDON, 19th December. Newspaper comments on tho Wood case arc agreed on the utterly squalid aspects of the case, interest, it is said, chiefly centred in the methods of detecting criminals. The prosecution in ! this instance was based on doubtful identification, and there was no suggestion of a motive. The Daily Telegraph states :— "The I prosecution offered practically no evij dence which was not cither adequately I rebutted or did not emanate from peoI pie whose character was open to grave ! reproach." The paper adds : "Another i unsolved mystery lias bean added to Lou- ! don's disquietingly long list." From the outset the police were at sea. After some dr>lay there occurred to them the idea of publishing in the papers facsimiles of postcards found in the murdered woman's rooms. The result was that tho writing ,was identified as that of Wood, who had been seen in the woman's company on several occasions, and he was arrested. From the first he protested his innocence, but what made the case look somewhat black against him was thg testimony of his sweetheart to tho effect that he had asked her to state that he was out walking with her on the nighb of the murder, when, as a matter of fact, such was not the case. A clairvoyant who came to the assistance of the policej statod tho murderer of tho i woman was on his way to Australia. ;