Broadsides; Chapbooks; Street literature -- Great Britain
Mary Nott was tried at the Old Bailey, for the wilful murder of
the Count de Greffiere de Laval, a French emigrant. It appeared in
evidence, that she had the care of a house, which was let out in
lodgings, in Monmouth court, Whitcomb street, the front room on the
first floor of which was occupied by the count. The lodger in the room
adjoining, not hearing the count as usual, had, for several mornings,
enquired after him; when the prisoner said she supposed he was gone
into the country with a French man and woman who used to call on
him, but had not been there since his absence, for she had not seen
him; that the key was not in his door, and, upon looking through the
keyhole, she observed the room was just as she left it.--To another
witness, who had called to see the count, she said that he had gone out
very early that morning, and that she did not expect him home until it
was late. Some doubts, however, arising from his absence, a ladder was
procured, perfectly with the consent of the prisoner, to look into the
room of the deceased; and upon the person’s calling out that there was
a man upon the bed, she cried out, that she would not have remained
there last night if she had known there was a man dead in the house;
and upon which she, in fact, alarmed the neighbourhood. A smith was
sent for, and the door forced open: the deceased was found lying on
the bed with all his clothes on but his coat; he was wrapped up in the
bedclothes, and pillows covered his head: there was a great deal of
blood in the room, a wound was observed in the neck, and the body was
nearly in a state of putrefaction. A woman, who lived in an opposite
house, and who had observed the prisoner shut one of the windows, which
prevented her seeing into the prisoner’s room, on the day the murder
was supposed to have been committed, went up with her at the time the
door was opened, and observing his right hand pocket was turned out,
said, “He has been robbed;” to which the prisoner instantly replied,
“He did it himself;” upon this witness made a similar remark that he
must have been murdered, she again said, “He did it himself;” and upon
her noticing a wash-hand basin with some water in it tinged with blood,
as if some person had wrinsed their hands therein, the prisoner said,
“It is not strange, not strange at all; what do you come here to raise
suspicion for?” Another neighbour had heard a scream about two o’clock
on that day, but could not say whence it came. The deceased was seen
coming toward home between twelve and one o’clock, and as the lodger
in the next room went home as early as five, the supposition was that
the murder had been committed in that time. The surgeon who examined
the body swore positively there was no wound in the side of the
deceased, but that the raised skin, supposed to be such, was from the
putrefaction; nor would he undertake to say what was the cause of his
death, although a considerable quantity of blood might have issued from
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account