NEW SOUTH WALES. SUPPOSED MURDER AT GLADESVILLE.

West Coast Times, Issue 908, 20 August 1868, Page 3

NEW SOUTH WALES. SUPPOSED MURDER AT GLADESVILLE.

[FROM THE SYDNEY MOBKIXG HEBALD.] An inquest was held on 23rd July, at GladesviUe, before Dr W. Brown, Coroner for tli9 district, upon the body of a woman named Mary Potter, whoso halfburnt remains wero discovered at tho residence of Joseph Eandall, under cirenmstances of a suspicious nature, as will bo seen by the following epitome of the ?vidence. — John Curl ton, broom-maker, of lunter's H ill, stated that, on Wednesday morning last, as ho was on his way to work he called in to see Joseph Randall ; ho found the sitting-room apparently deserted, but on one side of tho fireplace lay a dark mass burning, and the lire was running up the s^a') walls of Use lious" ; lie did not at first 1 oeogniso tho d.irk m>^s as a human form, but went into IJan'kU's room, and found him (Ranchi!)) lying on the ground ; witness with some riiflicully roused Randall, and told him the liouic was on fire ; Randall replied, " Let the house burn — will you make a fire ?" Witness then asked where deceased was, knowing her to be Jiving with Eandall ; Eandall said ho didn't know, but was induced to go into the other room to put out the fire ; witness pointed to the " thing" he hnd before noticed on the ground, and asked what it was; Eandall turned ifc over, and witness then saw it waß a human body, EanclnU said, "This is Mary, by God! This is the girl

I love so well." — "William Samuel, constable, deposed to being called in by Eandall. Examined the body. Found a cut over the left eyebrow about half an inch long, and the mark of a blow over the left ear. The head was much swollen. The bruise appeared to extend from the left ear to tho left eyebrow. The floor was strewn with chairs and forms in great confusion. There were broom handles, also axes and tomahawks. On examining one of the broom handles which lay at tho door witness found the skin of the palm of the woman's right hand sticking to it. The broom handle appears to have been recently cut. On searching Randall's bedroom a sword (produced) was found standing by his bedside. On the edge of the sword, which was rusty, and about half-way between the point and handle, there was a fresh mark like blood, and apparently of recent origin. By tho side of the corpse there was a stretcher or sofa, which appeared to have been burnt at the head. There were some rags lying under the sofa, and between it and the fireplace, which appeared as though recently burned. There appeared to have been no fire in the fireplace for some time. Witness then returned to the police station and apprehended Joseph Randall on suspicion of having caused the death of deceased with whom hehadcohabitedabout three weeks. — Michael Roach, laborer, Ryde, deposed: Yesterday, about halfpast one in the afternoon. I was going home from my work. I overtook Joseph Randall. I asked him how he was getting on. He said '"Very bad," and that his old woman got burned to death. I asked him how it was he did not take her off the fire. Ho said he was not able, he was too drunk. He also said, "I am getting an old man, and it' I was to be hanged I think I'd die game." Have known

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Randall a long time. He was much addicted to drink. When he made the observations about hanging I had not referred to the subject. He was drunk at this time, — George Wilson, farmer, Gladesville, stated : On Tuesday evening he and a friend visited RanduE, and gave him a bottle of grog, which he (witness) owed him. Whilst at Randall's saw a woman moving about. Randall took a small quantity of grog, and put the rest aivay. Witness thought the appearance of the woman strange, and asked Randall what was the matter with her. Hereplied, " that she was wrong in the head, or mad, and that he was obliged to watch her for fear she should put an end to her life." When Randajl said this deceased appeared to strike him, and he put her down on the sofa, whilst doing this he said she was a quiet, good soul. Witness left about ten. At At this time Randall was in his shirt, which witness did not notice to be torn. There was very little fire in the place — not enough to light a pipe without trouble. Neither witness nor his friend had anything to eat in the house. — Alexander Jackson accompanied last witness on the night in question, ;>nd gave corroborative evidence. Senior-sergeant Kelly, of the Parramattapolice force,deposed as follows: Between eleven and twelve o'clock to-day I saw Joseph Randall. I said to him, " You are in custody on suspicion of having murdered the woman you lived with — I want you to tell me what you know about the matter." I then gave him the usual caution. He made the following staiemant, which I took down in writing : " About twelve o'clock on Tuesday night last, a man named Wilson and another man came to my place. Wilson bought a bottle of gin. I got up and let the men in and gave them something to eat. I and the two men and Mary Potter drank the bottle of gin. I told Wilson not to give Mary Potter.any gin, as she was not right in her head if she got drunk, but Wilson gave her two drinks of gin out of a cup. I do not know whether it was gin or old torn ; I went to bed ; I don't know whether the two men left before ; I was drunk ; before the two men left I saw Mary Potter sitting before the fire ; a man earned Black Jack called yesterday and said he smelt smoke ; I then saw Mary dead and came away to report it to the constable, and did not take time to put on a clean shirt ; deceased was living with me five weeks, and I never had an angry word with her ; I saw no more of her <rom the time she sat by the fire until I saw her dead in the morning. That is all I know about it." Witness affirmed this statement to have been a voluntary one — Dr. R. C. Rutter, of Parramatta, stated as follows : I have this day examined the body shown to me as that of Mary Potter ; I found the whole surface burned and charred ; there was a slight laceration on the right eyebrow, which did not perforate the periosteum ; there was a slight wound on the back of the right ear, and a large contusion on the posterior and superior part of the occipital bone ; on removing the calvareum I found an enormous bulging of the membrane of the brain,' immediately beneath the contusion, which, upon opening, dicharged about three ounces of fluid blood ; on further examination of the braiu I also found upwards of two ounces of water in the ventricles ; I opened the chest andJbund the lungs veiy much congested — not diseased ; the rest of the body was healthy; I consider the \ cause of death effusion of blood on the brain, the result of an injury either by some broad instrument, or a fall on the back of the head. There was no smell of spirits in the stomach.— Constable Samuel recalled : The shirt worn by Joseph Randall was the same as he had on when in the watch-house, and was torn, as now before he was taken in charge. Randall admitted that the shirt was the same he had on on Tuesday night last. — The jury returned a verdict of wilful murder.

Impoetakt Captttbe. — The Muswellbrook correspondent of the " Maitland Mercury" reports the capture of a man, named William Moran, alias Monghal, alias CuWer, alias " Billy the Drover," under a charge of suspicion of murder, committed at Ten-Mile .Rush, Young, on 26th February, 1867. The prisoner has been " wanted " since the year 1863. The arrest was made under the following circumstances, which all will admit reflect great credit on our district police. Last Saturday night, Sergeant Thompson, in company with constable Fitzalan, proceeded in search of prisoner out to the Wybong Creek, some distance beyond the Bull's Head Inn. They reached the place on which they had suspicions at daylight on Sunday morning, and at once proceeded to search, but under very great difficulty, having to watch two habitations at one and the same time, about three hundred yard's apart; they, however, surmounted this difficulty — sergeant Thompson keeping a sharp look-out at one place, whilst Fitzalan proceeded through a pine scrub to search the other. As he approached the house the dogs set up barking, which must have alarmed the prisoner, as he rushed out and round to . the back of the premises with marvellous alacrity, but not too fa^t to escape the vigilant eye of the constable, who galloped his horse up to the house, where he was met by another man, in his shirt, to whom he made known his object, and then without delay pursued Moran, whom he espied in the bed of a creek, covered with dead leaves. After repeated calls to surrender, which were unheeded, Fitzalan jumped his horse over the precipice (a distance in the perpendicular of sixteen feet; and into the creek ; the man then rushed into a lot of fallen timber, hotly {rarsued by his determined captor; no ess than four times was he run out of the creek before he would leave it. After being forced to do so, a very exciting chase ensued between the constable and Moran through the fallen timber with which the place was covered; he was, however, eventually captured, being completely exhausted. Had Fitzalan been able to make the sergeant hear, the chase would not have lasted so long; this he was prevented from doing by the incessant din kept up by the dogs, consequently the sergeant did not appear upon the scene till near about its close. At the time of his capture the prisoner had on neither hat nor boots, and is said to have run like a deer. He was hadcuffed at once, and taken on to the Bull's Head Inn to breakfast, and from thence to the Brook. We believe he is to have a hearing tomorrow, and will then, probably, be remanded to Young. To say t!he very least, great credit is due to sergeant Thompson and constable Fitzalan, who have been indefatigable in their endeavors to make this arrest, having on previous occasions been out several nights in search of the same man. The capture also having been effected without bloodshed (though Fitzalan fired his revolver,

but only with a view of intimidating), shows the -wisdom of supplying the police with good horses, for had the constable been on an inferior animal he would without doubt have been reduced to the necessity of crippling, or perhaps killing, his prisoner in the endeavour to execute his duty. We are glad to say the superintendent sees this necessit}', and never purchases any but good and suitable horses. We should certainly like to hear of our police meeting •' Thunderbolt " with the splendid horses they now ride, instead of the broken-down " screws" formerly iv use.