The Chronicles of Crime or The New Newgate Calendar. v. 2/2: being a series of memoirs and anecdotes of notorious characters who have outraged the laws of Great Britain from the earliest period to 1841Pelham, Camden
History
The Chronicles of Crime or The New Newgate Calendar. v. 2/2: being a series of memoirs and anecdotes of notorious characters who have outraged the laws of Great Britain from the earliest period to 1841
Pelham, Camden
Crime -- Great Britain; Criminals -- Great Britain; Newgate (Prison : London, England)
Another box of Hussey's was brought, soon after the murders, to a Mrs.
Goddard, who resided at Deptford; and as this woman's suspicions were
excited by some inquiries made after Hussey, she opened the box, and
found in it property she supposed to have belonged to the late Mr. Bird.
Officers were sent for, and on searching the trunk, they found a silver
wine-strainer, a soup-spoon, two shirts, three pair of sheets; a white
jean jacket, stained with blood in several places, especially about the
right-hand pocket; a pair of gaiters made of drab cloth, with blood upon
the buttons of them; a piece of new shirting, which was very bloody, and
a glazed hat. In the same trunk were found several articles of silver
plate, which proved to have been Mr. Bird's property. It was remarkable
that this trunk was only corded, not locked, and that Hussey never
called to inquire after it from the time it had been deposited with Mrs.
Goddard.
From Deptford the officers proceeded to Mrs. Godwin's house, at Peckham,
where, in addition to the watches, they found in the box five one-pound
Bank of England notes, and two two-pound notes, all marked with Mr.
Bird's initials. In the same box they found Hussey's discharge from the
East India Company's Service, which contained a description of his
person.
In consequence of these discoveries, no doubt remained but that Hussey
had been the principal, if not the only, perpetrator of the foul
murders. Diligent inquiry was accordingly made after him; but it was
found that he had absconded. More than twenty of the most active
metropolitan officers were despatched in every direction to look for
him, and large rewards were offered for his apprehension; but it was not
until after a considerable time had elapsed that he was taken into
custody at Deddington, in Oxfordshire, by a publican named Poulton, who
had read the advertisement, and on seeing him recognised him as
resembling the person described as the murderer. It appears that Poulton
had read the advertisement, and his attention was arrested by his seeing
the prisoner walk past his house one evening at about nine o'clock, and
suspecting that he was the murderer, he called a neighbour, and they
followed him. Having walked after him for some distance, they became
assured of the truth of their suspicions, and Poulton went up to him,
and said he must go with him, as he had strong suspicion he was the man
advertised. The prisoner after some hesitation, confessed his name was
Charles Hussey; and on his being searched, a watch and a pocket-book,
with a ring in it, part of the property stolen from the late Mr. Bird's
house, were found. The prisoner denied any knowledge of the murders or
robbery, but admitted that the articles found belonged to him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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