WRONG COAT CLUE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20490, 15 February 1930, Page 2 (Supplement)

WRONG COAT CLUE.

INNOCENT MEN IN PRISON.

FIANCEE'S UNLUCKY PART.

STORY OF AN HEIRLOOM.

Ono of tho most remarkable cases of wrongful conviction in tho history of British criminal law is recalled by the will, lately 'published, of Mr. Charles Peicy, solicitor, of Alnwick, Northumberland, and onco Conservative M.P. for Tyitemouth and North Shields.

In his will, Mr. Percy left as an heirloom to.his son, Mr. Hugh James Percy, solicitor, of Alnwick, an eagle gold seal. This was a vital clue in the case, in which Mr. Percy (sen.) played a leading part. The case was that of the Erdingham burglary, and attempted murder,~;in 1879. Two innocent men were sentenced to penal servitude for life, and had served seven years before the real culprits wero discovered. ,

Particularly remarkable wero a number of coincidences which helped to fasten the guilt on the two victims. ' As a result of their vindication four constables wero for conspiracy secure tlio conviction of innocent men. Through lack of evidence, however, a verdict of not guilty was returned. Erdlingham is a small village near Alnwick. On the night of February 7, 1879, tho vicarage was broken into. Mr. Buckle, tho 77-jear old vicar, was roused by his daughter, and, in spite of his years, rushed downstairs with a sword to defend his possessions.

Vicar and Daughter Wounded. The vicar surprised two men in the drawing room, one of whom dashed past him and escaped. Tho other fired a shotgun, seriously wounding both tho courageous old vicar and his daughter. Tho assailant then jumped through the drawing room window 011 to a garden Police investigations commenced, and various clues woro found. These included a chisel used to priso open tho doors, a pi*eeo of newspaper found outside tho dining room, and various footprints in the grounds. Tho-two men, who were afterwards found, to bo first guilty and then innocent, woro then arrested. They were both poachers, and wore named Brannagan and Murphy. They had been absent from their homes during tho night, and tho police built up a strong case against them. Murphy's liancee, a girl named Agnes Simm, whom ho married after his release, played a luckless part in tho case. She was asked by tho police for his clothes./ She had, however, found some blood and fur in tho pockets of the coat lie had worn, and, thinking to help him, gave tho police a coat belonging to his brOther-in-]£\\Y, a man named Rcdpath.

An Amazing Coincidence. By 1 an amazing coincidence there was in a pocket of this coat a piece of newspaper which fitted exactly with the piece found in the vicarage. In addition, Redpath was induced to identify tho chisel as his property, though, in fact, it was not. Two still nioro amazing coincidences followed :, Plaster casts made of the footprints found in the vicarago corresponded with the boots and clogs of tho prisoners. A piece of fustian cloth discovered under the drawing room window a month after the burglary fitted exactly iuto a hole in Brannagan's trouMurphy and Brannagan, in spito of their protests of innocence, were found guilty and sentenced. It was seven years afterwards that it came to. tho knowledge of Mr. Percy,,then "a "yoUng solicitor in Alnwick, that a certain George Edgell had also been " out" on the night of the burglary. • Inquiries followedand it was. iouud.-.tbat. ;aiiQthc;iv man, named Richardson, was constantly in the company of Edgell. Eventually •Edgßll was .taxed wtth ..the crime apd made, a confession. Richardson, a desperate character, had been his accomplice. An Invaluable Ljnk in the Case. Tho " eaglo gold seal" was an invaluable piece of evidence at the fresh trial. It had been attached to Miss Buckle's gold watch, which had been carried _ oil bv Richardson. The watch ho threw into the Tyne, but he sold tho seal to a jeweller, who gave evidence against him Brannagan and Murphy were released and awarded £BOO each as compensation. They returned to Northumberland, where thev lived afterwards. A further romantic'touch was added to tho case through both men adopting trades they had learned m prison, Brannagan becoming a wheelwright and Murphy a baker. Edgell and Richardson were each sentenced to live years' penal servitude. . Inspector Harkes, who was in chaigc of the "police investigations leading to the first trial, died before the truth was revealed. According, however, to Major Arthur Griffiths, in his book, " Mysteries of Police and Crime," "it was stated authoritatively that Harkes admitted that he had-been wrong, but it was too lato to recall the mistake."