MURDER AT WINDSOR IN VICTORIA.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 9344, 18 March 1892, Page 2

MURDER AT WINDSOR IN VICTORIA.

IDDITIONAL PARTICULARS ABOUT WILLIAMS. \ ’ ULLER DETAILS AS TO FINDING \ BODIES. ! HIS MARRIAGE WITH MISS 1 MATHER. MURDERER’S PEDIGREE WILLIAMS’ COLONIAL CAREER. [PER PRESS ASSOCIATION ,\ London, March 17.—The discovery at iainhill lias caused intease excitement in Liverpool, and all sorts of wild rumors ire afloat about other crimes it is supposed lias committed. He is even said ;o be the veritable “ Jack tho Ripper ” of Whitechapel notoriety. About the time lie cemented the floor of die house at Raiuhill, Williams waß courting Miss Mather, and the police have iscertained that he bought four barrels of moment, paying for them in Miss Mather’s aamo. The house was called Denham Villa, and was situated in a lonely locality md his excuse was that lie wanted it for a Colonel Brooks, who. however, never put in [in' appearance. He paid six months’ rent in advance, and procured furniture for it from Liverpool. Whilst stopping at the house he tried to exclude all visitors from the premises, but in spite of bis efforts a woman and two or three children were observed to gain admittance.. Someone remarked upon this to'/Williams, but he was ready with an explanation, saying that the visitors were bis sister and her children, who bad gone away, but returned unexpectedly. Some time after this Williams complained to the landlord that the drainage of the villa was defective, and explained that lie had been repairing the floors, and had employed a plasterer to complete the work of cementing the hearth. This was followed by a complaint from the charwoman with regard to oh offensive, smell about the premises. Williams then left the house, and returned to the Commercial. Hotel, where he took up his abOdo, disposing of, the furniture at the villa for what it would bring. On the 'polico hearing of those circumstances they commenced to break up the floor in one of tho rooms of Denham Villa. They first broke through a casement of cemont, and then commenced ta dig into the ground. After digging for over an hour thoy wero met with a sickening smell, which almost compelled them to retreat from the vicinity. . When the broken piecos of £enient were cleared away a tablecloth and a woman’s .'apron were exposed to . view, and under.these they first discovered the bodies of a woman and two children wrapped in oilcloth and a .quantity of Turkish towelling. The woman was lying on her back between the two children, who were lying with their faces downwards. Further oxplorings revealed the bodies of a boy. and another girl buried at their mother’s feet. All the bodies wero buried in cement. The ages of the chi'dren were nine,'seven, and. five years, and 18 months respectively, while tho woman’s age was about 35 years. The children found under tile floor of

the house occupied by Williams in Barnhill, had Only their nightshirts on, but Tho woman was fully dressed, her clothes be : ng of. a particularly . rich character. . Her features wero rather dark, and she was apparently a half-caste. A ropo was. tied tightly round her body. Further details of Williams’ visit to Rainhill in July last are given in the London papers. It appears that when he arrived his clothes were dirty aud disarranged, and ho had overy appearanco of having travelled a long distance. He put up at tho Commercial Hotel in the village, and engaged a bedroom. Ho had very little luggage with him, Shortly after his arrival lie was visited by a lady whom he described as his sister. She only called on him once, and ho afterwards gave out that she had gone to Port S =id. Williams then rented Denham Villa, and the woman with the children was not seen afterward. It was during his stay at tho Commercial Hotel that ho got acquainted with Miss Mather, and ho then went and lodged with her parents. Ho seemed very flash of money for he entertained seventeen of 1 tho villagers at a banquet, during which ho announced that he intended to marry Mary Matlior. He showed his guests an amount of money he had in his possession, and displayed his diamonds and other articles of jewellery. On several subsequent occasions lie appeared in public in a military uniform. The marriage with Miss Mather took place, hurriedly, in August, and tho newly wedded couple left the village, very suddenly. Strong objection was taken to the marriage by the girl’s brother, but the oilier members of the family saw no reason why the union should not take place. Enquiries prosecuted by the police show that Frederick Dewing, alias Williams, was born near London. He served as a steward in various sailing ships during the early part of his life,-and Id 1881 married a woman named Slnry Jones at Birkenhead.* They had three children, Bertha Mary born in Sydney, and a boy named Sydney, born at sea. Williams returned to England in 1890, and a baby named Liella was horn at Birkenhead, The Bodies found at Rainhill are those of tho wife and children. A copybook found in The liouso bears the name of Bertha Dewing. It lias been ascertained that another woman is missing, who was dust seen in Williams company in 1890. ; DowiDg, Under the assumed none of Harry Lawson;, an Australian farmer, lodged with Mrs Matheson, of Beverley, and married her daughter in May of that year. Ho gavo her a large quantity of jewellery, hut afterward decamped and eventually doserted her at Hull, at tho end of the honeymoon. Ho took away with him the jewellery ho had given her. The articles had been obtained from local tradesmen under false pretences, and a warrant was issued against Lawson, who was arrested in Uruguay, in South America, and extradited to Hull, where lie was imprisoned on.tho charge for nine, months. During tho proceedings it came oht he had been already married at Birkenhead. Williams was released last July. Many robberies occurred in the vicinity of Rainliil! and St Helens last year. From tho position in which the bodies were found, it,is supposed the.cement was poured on them wot. The polico are now digging in tho pantry, which also bears signs of being newly coujonted. It is believed tho heavy luggage Williams is known to have sent away contained the blood-stained clothes of his victims. It is supposed the murdors were committed on August 10th, a few days after Denham Villa was rented. Melbourne, March 18.— Williams is now known to the polico under the names of Deeming, Lawson, Drew or Dranin, and Bailoy. He first disappeared from Sydney in October, 1887, and is then supposed to have gone to England. He again returned to Sydney betsveen that and the present dates. Ho then alleged that his wife and children had died in South Africa of intermittent fover. FURTHER DETAILS OF MELBOURNE TRAGEDY. From our Australian newspaper files we extract tho following particulars of the Melbourne tragedy A brick house in Andrcw-street, Windsor, a suburb of Melbourne, No. 57, had ■ been vacant for some time. 0a March 3

a lady called to see the owner, Mr Stamford, butcher, of High-street, to ask the terms of the place, as she desired to rent it. He told her the amount of the rent, and being satisfied thus far, she expressed a desire to be shown over the house. The owner complied, and as they were going through the rooms the lady detected a Btrong odour as of decaying matter, and called Mr Stamford's . attention to it. He.passed it off, but his agent, Mr Connop, subsequently finding it so fearful as to indicate that something must bo wrong, and, tracing it to a bedroom fireplace, sent for the police. They opened up the fireplace, and there in the space of 2ft by 18in, found the nude body of a woman of middle age huddled together in a shocking manner and built in under the hearth-stone and masonry. It was apparent that murder had been committed, the skull being smashed in, and it was also apparent that the crime had remained thus hidden for over two months. The body was re moved to the morgue. '■ The house, as stated, is No 57, Andrewstreet,. Windsor, a street lined on bothsidos by villas of moderate pretensions and desirable residences, The house is of brick, single-fronted, and detached. For some time prior to Christmas last the house was empty, or only occupied for brief, periods. But about a week or so prior to Christmas a tenant turned lip in the porson pf a stranger, who went to Mr Stamford and expressed a desire tp take the place. Ho gave no name, but his appearance was in his favor, and he declared his ability and willingness to pay his rent in advance. The bargain was at once struck, and though he was referred to the agent iio said that Mr Stamford could give him a receipt for the week’s rent, whieli he paid in advance. Mr Stamford did so, and took no further notice of the man that day. Ou. ll;e n. xt day, however, he appeared at the butchor’s shop again with a small paper bag, in which-ho said he had cement to plaster up holes ho complained of. Several days later lie went to tho agent, Mr Connop, and said, “ I won ! t take that house atter all; it’s overrun with cockroaches. I’ll pay you another.week’s rent in advance, however, as it is about duo, and you can tako a week’s notice.” Up. to this tme he had not taken any furniture into the house, and of this and other matters connected with it, Mr Stamford says “ I could not makohiih out at all. lie was a bit curious, and made several different statements. He told me he was an engineer’s tool-maker, who had booncarrying on’ his business in Sydney, and had decided, because Victoria was a colony in which a protective tariff prevailed as against New South Wales and Its free trade, to set up business here. 'He said, ‘I am taking the house really be'oro I want it, because I haven’t anyone to put in it as yet. lam awaiting the arrival of a lady who is coming here as my housekeeper, so I shan’t fetch my furniture from Sydney till she come3.’ These remarks he put in with many others, which wore upon matters of ordinary conversation, and on anothor . occasion ho told tho clerk in the employ of .the agent that it was his. sister who was going to act as his housekeeper. Before ; tho expiry of the second week,' for which he had paid in advance, ho went to. the agent; und paid for four further weeks more in advance. Ho was reminded jokingly of tho cockroaches, of which ho had previously complained. ‘Oh, that’s all right,” ho replied, “I think I can settle them. I’ll get something to kill them easily enough now I come to think of it.’ Ho had a further conversation with mo, in which ho said, “ I ought to mato a good tenant, because I am a practical man. You see, when anything goes wrong with the plaster or tho fittings, I, being an engineer, cau easily put it right.’ ” Mr Alfred Spoddiug, a young man residing in the house mljoiniug 57, Andrew-street, saw a female in company of the missing man. Ho describes her as a woman somewhat under the height of her companion, well, :if somewhat showily, dressed, with light brown hair, and apparently about 35 years of ago. On more than one occasion ho saw both leave tho house; on one occasion dressed as if bent on a visit to one of tho theatres in the city, . Occupation of the house, if ever it was contemplated by tho murderer, was set about in a curious fashion. Towards the latter part of December, a lorry containing a number of hampers and boxes was one evening seen outsido tbo house- On the afternoon of tho following day all tho things wore removed again, but where or by whom cannot at present be ascertained. This one fact stands clear that the murderer’s intentions were deliberate, that he had fully premeditated his crime, that he took every possible precaution to destroy the slightest clue that might lead to his apprehension, and, fearing detection from the identification of tho clothes of the murdered woman, -was careful to take them aw-ay with him.

The po ice, on being commiinicalod with, began their examination in tho bedroom, removing the slab covering the fireplace. Under it, within a space 18 inches in l ngtli by 2ffeet in breadth, a body, literally buried in cement, was disclosed to view To enable them to secure a view of the features of tho victim it was necessary to use tho pick to remove tho comout, which adhered in concrete form to every portion of the body. It was .then seen that the body was that of a woman, and, as far as could be judged from tho decomposed and disfigured features, it was thought that tho deceased was a woman about 35 years of age, rather under tho medium height, and of slender proportions, The deceased rested on her left sido, hor right hand across her breast while her left clasped her throat. Tho body was doubled up. Sho bad been struck behind by some heavy instrument,- a fearful wound being stilt observable, while some injury, the precise character of r which could not bo understood, had boon inflicted on the nock. The body had been built in in a compact form with tho brickwork, tho hobs having'‘first been taken down, and then built up again. In so exact aDd workmanlike a manner was the whole thing performed that none but an expert workman could have carried out the project. Tho body of tho murdered woman has been interred in tlvo Melbourne goneral cemetery. The coffin plate had placed’on it tho name “ Emily Williams," and a lady has obtained porufission to send a wreath of flowers to mark the grave.