MURDER WILL OUT.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 17, 16 December 1863, Page 5 (Supplement)

MURDER WILL OUT.

(From the Tii'tcs.) A man has been tried and convie'eu a! Maidstor.e of a iv.urder committed and discovered under circumstances which, it' murderer nnd victim had been in a higher rank of life, would probably have made the crime notorious through the coun'ry. The reputation, if we iv. iy c.iil il so, of a murder is oficn due to something foreijrn of itself, to some firtuUous occurrence, orof some, relation of the panics to each other or society. In this case these were of the humblest and least romantic Mass ; the, perpetrator of the deed was a laborer, the murdered man a. poor petty tradesman. The event will doubtless soon ho forgotten except in the near nci«,'hburhoot], but the details arc hardly less extraordinary than those of crimes which are remembered after a lapse of a century. The prisoner, Alfred Kldridjrp, a laliorer, 3.°> years old. was indicted for the uurder of Jiichard Sfeed on the !2nd of May last. Steed kept a small shop, at which the prisoner had dealt, and incurred a debt of a few shillings, for which Steed hai] .sued him in the County Court. It appears that at th.it time, which was three months befoie the murder, the prisoner had uttered threats a^ain-st the deceased. Nothing.

'however, enme of thfem immediately ; the prisoner t'nan;i;fei tn pay' the money, and 'the 1 men were to all appearance reconciled About? o'clock en tf)>eveninn- of the 2nd of May, the decease^', who hn<) lei'b his houses with a 'small' sum of'rain.ey in his pocket, was proved to h:ive met the prisoner hy dinner* =it a public house. The prisoner asked him if lie was going; home, nnd on his reply ing ih.it: he \v;ts, Eld ridge said he would go with him. Tlvy were seen to •:o aivay conversing in a friendly niannor, and were also noticed, on their way oy it man who w;n in his yarrlen. Steed wns never seen again until fie wa«« found, ahout ;i quarter past. 8 o' lock, in the agonies of dciiih. His skull was beaten in, his features were undistinguishuhie from his face heinq; crushed anrl stamped info a shapeless mass, his brain was protruding from the fractured bonr ; he was taken homr, where lie almost iminediafelv breatbec] his last. It' was evident that his skull had heen cut open v»it!i some heavy instrument, and that then 'he had be n stamporl upon with heavy boots and kit for dead. In fact the mark of the boot nails were on the face. Suspicion -it once fell on the prisniior, iitid the next day.he was apprehended and the house searched. The superintendent of police asked for I he boits the. prisoner wore on the previous day. They were produced, and seemed to have marks of blood upon them, hut the}" had Ix-cn probably -wetted and then dried, for they were: quite hard. On closer examination a singular and damning pi^nt; of evidence whs discovered. o\\ ilie- hoots, whir.h weio heavily armed with iron nails and heels,- were human hairs sticking in the mud which still remained upon the soles. " The hair was dark brown, and there was tit least, one hair sluck on the boot." The hairs corresponded e::a<: t .lv wiih the hair of the (licensed, who was an elderly Tiiiin. \u iuldition to lhis > there were spots on the prisoner's tnnisers, and lie had on a pair of e'ean stocking, those he must have worn the day before being nowhere io i)e found. On beiny; '<|iiestioued as to the events of the previous evening, he Strive an neconnt of what pissed, which wa* iinprob-ilde in itself, and w.-.s coniradieted by a witness at the trial. He said he had Irft tin; rlc-cttiiscd at acei-tain sj>nt and liomp by hiinsot f a particular way Tlut was a vei'v cirenitotis ot)i>. ;in 1 there was no reason why he "should li-ir^ chosen it. Moi cover a witm-si s'.'-me that he had seen him and the deceased pa-s by a spot which, i f the pi loner's htory were true, he had nol been near. The aid of science was thon (vil'led in to te-.t the evtiiewee that had been coHvcteil Cr.eir i^dy ati-1 the tir'ero-<co|)e luir! { > ! ■i % <• < 3 tlu-ir wonUei !'nl pun in bringitig tiie ni'trdeivr to _ji!sti':i:. L>r Taylor stvned tlvit he hid e.x.nr.ir.ed the tronscr-; and found nuinei'o'.is si)n;|| spots upon them. These wen; tes'.eil in t! c tiMial way, also examined by the microscope, and they were di-:;..virud lo be Idood. Of this there co-.ii:l 1.c.: no iliuibt. Im:*. the bcots did not i'lij-n !.-!•) .-ucli clrar i-videncD They had m.-ti k-< )u-M-;i.;d liko blr or], l)';;i, ,-is ;i<) '■ c.ia^lum '' or ••clot" could he fr.nii'!, it w,>s impossible, to >peaic witli cc. to.'tit v. Hut on the oth-)- band, the waybill:.- cTib.e bimr.s would account J'or tlie appeaiMr.cc presenf(d. A re-/ fibre was in one of the stains, ano'lhT was siill slicking to the boot, and \v;i< c"v:i:ni ned in Culll t by in -ims of a lens. 'I li -so fibres cone-] on -ied with t\><i'ib:os if a i'-,'d cDv.il'orler worn by :l\e di-ceasi.-d on the eveuinij oi' ihe mur.ler. B>r Tav'or h-td, fnitln'Miiore, oxarsiincd tlie hair oi the boot uiicro-eopicaliy, and ■" s:iinc o! t!i, 'in in his opinion, \veiv decidedly liiiinni li.-iir-;, thotrgh orn> i;!' tliem w.is tlnnbt'ul He Ind e-nnp-ircd !h;: hair 'l:us f.«uuil on the bout wiih tha Kkeu !'V.)--i :li.-> lu^i.l. .-:rn! flpi-ycon-L-.-iiiiiK'u'J, as i:.'! 1 ;k lie could jud^»a. ijuii'eeily 'ihis evidence was c rrohavnii'il by aiiolhcr seivMitil'.c witne--. l)r Parry, who «;i< able to -tat.c that "lie had exiimined in parliculrir h stot on the t i^ht le^-, and found tliere corpulscle^, or globules which corresponded exactly ;n character with those of human blood." Indned, thei-e hardly fvi'i- v/ns s'U'iitirtc e\i !f!icc more jiosirjve and trust won h -,-. ';'!•'' remainina; evidence principally ]-i'mi';il t> .some admi-sii>ns s:ii-.l to have been made by t!u j)risoner, and, if the v i:ne->.'s are to be believed, there sceais little ciotiii'; that lip in stih-tance eonfessnl iii.-i {j.uiit. lint, piittiii"; this aside th- ease was o!ie (if eit cuuistantiiil evidence, atid I: iron CSiiiniii-ll made tin' usual rem.-irl::-, and uave lite i:-itia! eaiuion to tl'.e jiir\-. 'i'ho previous <jua>ri I, the* piMjio-al of the pri-cir r that they should walk home together, the circumstance that, they were s-ct'U to^t-ther t'.t a p-iiit:t on the road which ihe piisoivr denied liavin;.v jin-sed. ihe tiud.M"; of tiie dyiii,^ man «itl:i-n a very shott {tine r.ftenvanN, tlio d sappear.-uice of i);i; [M-i.-:)iK-r'.s stiiv.hinL'-H, tile >!u'e of h'.s bo<j!>, the !;l.»cd spots nil t II 0 ti'Or.sel's, the I liujr.'in Itiir and the particles of led ( woollen siicki-n<; on the boots, and, niore- - over, the fact that the money et the dfcciSL-d remained in his pocket, tk'.v. indieatinv; .some other motive for the crii-ne th.-m rehbery — r.H tlieec tilings. tliou.i,'!i ftiline; uirier the description o-' circtim^tanti.il evidence, make up a ca^e mure convi uciiiu;' limn <uiy that can be fnuued by cltftct tt^ciinony. 'i'lie .soi'-n---lilic m.^n, as th:. 1 Jud^e remarke-d. ctid not so imic-ii brin«- new c\ i idi i nce of their oun as confirm by rigid- examination' that of the uuinstructed witnesses, t\nd for ib.ai: reason the ease may be looked epnr, us bcine, •n\\ the more .satisfactorily proved. Seldom i has a fouler nmrder been committed, or one in dealing wita which it was more ; essential thai justice should not miscarry. The. jury deserve. 1 evol-y eomnioiulal iotl lot nut allowing fanciful doubts to impel them j lo an actjuil'ial, or a perverse, view oi the ] can: to reduce the crime to manslaughter. To the.- stupid and ferocious natures ol bad men of the prisoner's class the idea that an act committed in a lonely country place, far from any human eye, will never be brought borne to them is most ant to occur, nnd lhis singular case of a foul (tad wonderfully proved against the doer will be. a salutary warning.