Burgulary and Murder in Cardiganshire, 5 October 1894

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• Title	Burgulary and Murder in Cardiganshire, 5 October 1894
  Short Title	Burgulary and Murder in Cardiganshire
  Source ID	S155
  Text	October 5, 1894 BURGULARY AND MURDER IN CARDIGANSHIRE --------- SAILOR'S WIFE SUFFOCATED A SAILOR APPREHENDED --------- SINGULAR CIRCUMSTANCES If anyone well acquainted with Cardiganshire were asked to say which place in the county was most likely to produce a murder amongst its native populations he would without hesitation say that Borth was least likely. The little watering place lies on the shores of Cardigan Bay, scarcely troubled by the outside world except for a few months in the summer when visitors of the quietest and most retiring disposition visit it for the bracing ari and splendid sands. Its native population is largely composed of homely sea going folk who sleep in peace with open doors, and whose community of interest makes them unusually sympathetic with one another in sorrow and in joy. If it was said a week ago that one of their sea going folk could be found to take the life of another the idea would have been rcouted. That he should in cold blood take the life of a woman and a relative would have been deemed the wildest freak of a mad imagination. When, therefore the dead body of a sailor's wife was found in bed on Saturday morning last in her own house, so unsuspecting were the people who found her that they did not at first realize that she had met with a terrible death. Even when they saw her face smothered in a pillow, her disordered night garments, and half nude body lying athwart the bed they thought it the result of struggles which had their origin in natural causes. So disinclined were they to believe evil, thtat it was not until one or two days elapsed, and other facts began to throw a too horrible light on the discovery, that a deed might have been committed which would bring their little community unworthy prominence and cause a shudder to run throughout the county. The deceased was a woman who, as the saying goes, kept herself pretty much to herself, and in consequences of that had it her absence was not so conspicuous as it would otherwise have been. She was one of the most faithful members of Soar Methodist Chapel, a teacher in the Sunday School, a liberal and constant supporter of the causeand a regular attendant at all services, Sundays and weekdays. Her last evening alive was spent in her chapel. Her husband is a sober, steady, and hard working man, and both he and her were regarded as being among the most respectable and exemplary of the inhabitants of Borth. The poor woman was about 38 years of age, and was the younger daughter of the late Mr David Hughes, mariner, and brother of Mr Morgan Hughes, known throughout a large district, through having been engaged in pre-railway times in lime burning. Her mother was a native of Llanon, Cardiganshire, and is also dead. Her elder sister lives at Upper Borth, and is the wife of Thomas Richards the man accused of the murder of her sister-in-law. The elder sister has three children, but the younger, (the deceased) has none, though she has several relatives who live in the village. Mrs Rees, who lives next door, wife of the Capt. John Rees, well known as of the "Acorn," is an aunt on the father's side. Mrs Margaret Hughes, wife of the late Captain John Hughes, of the "Wave," is another aunt on the same side. One of Mrs Hughes's daughters, a first cousin of the deceased (Mrs Davies, widow of Mr John Davies) was among the first to see the deceased after her death. Mr Davies, her husband, was also one of those who go down to the sea in ships. Some years ago his ship foundered and he and all hands were lost. All the relatives of the deceased on the mother's side live in the neighbourhood of Llanon. The husband is engaged as a mariner on board a steamship, and is thought to be now on the coast of France. He had been informed of the death of his wife, but up the the present it is understood he has not been informed of the sad and dreadful circumstances attending it. He, too, is a native of Borth, and is son of the late David Davies, late of Glanywern, more familiarly known as "Dafydd Lawr," from his coming from the lower end of the county. He was at home on the Docks at Barry in South Wales. The accused, Thomas Richards, is also a mariner and a native of Borth. He is the son of Mr John Richards, a labourer, and married the elder sister of the deceased by whom he had three children - two sons and one daughter. He is about 42 years of age. He was brought up in Borth, and though not a total inoffensive man. He lived at Upper Borth, and has relatives in various parts of West Wales. The house where the muder was committed - for now there seems little doubt that murder has been committed - is situated on the south side of the main street running through Borth. It froms one of three cottages known as London Row, and adjoins the former Post Office in the western end of the village known as London House. The row formely consisted of three old-fashioned one storey cottages. A second storey has been added, but the two storeys do not exceed a height of much more than twenty feet, the windows are small, and the cottages have been whitewashed - walls and roof - and have anything but a modern appearance. The hosue in which the deceased lived was the end cottage of the row, the third from the former Post Office, and the nearest towards the Schoolroom and the Hotel and Railway Station. Though the exterior does not look exceptionally inviting, the interior was very cosy, and was furnished in such a way as to convince the visitor that the inhabitants were fairly well-to-do people. The house belonged to the father of the deceased. After his death, equal shares in it were given to the two sisters. The elder daughter, having been married, lived in a house at Upper Borth, and the deceased continued to occupy the house by herself afer her mother's death. Unfortunately, the little property, as is frequently happens, led to some ill-feeling between the sisters, and, curiously enough, supplied the first link in the chain of suspicion which led to the apprehension of Richards. Each sister wanted both shares in the house, and neither would sell. When the elder sister found the Bank of England note under the door, and subsequently received £40 by post, she jumped to the conclusion that her younger sister, by some puzzling legal process, had discovered a way of depriving her of her share, and consequently disclosed to her neighbours the fact of the receipt of the money. The house consists of four rooms, two on the ground floor, and two bedrooms above. The deceased, slept in the northernmost bedroom, or in the bedroom furthest away from the neighbour's house. It is said that screams were heard early on Friday morning by the neighbour, but it is considered improbable, inasmuch as the deceased was separated from her neighbour's room by a partition, a bedroom, and a thick wall partition. Nevertheless, neighbours say that loud sounds occurring in one house can be heard in the other, and that it is not altogether improbable that a shriek for life uttered by a woman in the dead of night could be heard. The first intimation of anything wrong which the people of Borth had, was received between four and five o'clock on Saturday afternoon, when the news was circulated that Mrs Mary Davies had been found dead in bed. At first there was not even the shadow of a rumour of foul play. Everybody knew that the poor woman was asthmatic, and it went about that she had partaken of skate, a fish which was at one time thrown away by Welsh fishermen, and is never regarded by them as being altogether wholesome. The last time the deceased had been seen alive was on Thursday evening when she attended service in Zoar C.M. Chapel. Her aunt, Mrs. Ann Rees, called upon the deceased after the service, and remained in the house with her between nine and ten at night. The last she saw of her neice was her standing on the doorstep of her own house, and heard her say, "Have you left a candle burning in your house so that you can see your way in?" None of the neighbours saw the deceased alive afterwards. At Borth, it appears, the majority of the inhabitants are supplied with water from the public reservoir by means of standpipes. Some few otehrs have private taps in their houses. Mrs Rees, it appears, has one of these private taps, and it was the custom for the deceased to go to the house in the early morning for water. Not receiving the usual visit on Friday morning, Mrs Rees, intending to go from home, went to see if any water was wanted, but finding the door closed, and no one apparrently about, she did not follow the matter up, but went away, subsequently left home, and did not return until the evening. On her return, she again made enquiry but could not ascertain whether Mrs Davies was in the house or out of it. This in some cases would have excited further search, but the deceased was known not to be a communicative woman, and it was also known that she sometimes went away from home to assist neighbours in needle work. On Friday morning, also, the milk boy called at the back door with the milk; but failed to make himself heard. It should be further explained in regard to the house that it immediately abuts on the street and around the end there is a passage leading from the street to the back, where there is an entrance leading in o low out-building and thence into the main portion of the house. The entrance is closed by adoor, which is secured by a sliding wooden bolt. When the milk boy got no response to his call he left the can with the milk in it near the back door and went on to serve other customers. When he returned, however, the can was still found to contain the milk, and while waiting for a reply to his repeated knocks he entertained himself by picking dirt from a small hole he observed in the back door just over the sliding bolt. Getting no reply he ulimtately left the house and went home. On the following (Saturday) morning, however, the nonappearance of the deceased began to wear a serious aspect. She was usually about at a comparatively early hour tidying up the front of the house and cleaning the doors and windows. But on Saturday morning she was nowhere to be seen, and the house was in quietness. The blind of her bedroom window had been drawn up but it was drawn up untidily and not straight. The neighbours soon began to congregate and talk about her whereabouts and ultimately it was resolved to get a ladder, and ascertain if she could be seen in her bedroom. A ladder was obtained, and John Pierce went to the window; but though the blind was up as described, he could not see clearly into the room owing, probably, to the smallness of the window. Captain Hugh Rees then procured a latch key from Mrs Martha Hughes, a neighbour, and succeeded in opening the door. Not finding the deceased in the lower rooms, Mrs Davies, her cousin, went upstairs followed by Captain Thomas Hughes and several of the neighbours. In the bedroom, lying across the bed, they found the dead body of the poor woman. There was evidence thtat garments, which but partially covered her body. She drawn up, and her face turned over towards the bolster. A pillow was lying over her head. Her face and arms were discoloured, and the bed clothes were under and about the body in such a way as to indicate that there had been a violent struggle for life. It did not enter the minds of anyone present that there had been foul play of any sort. When the police officer, P.C. Lewis Davies, who has recently been stationed at Borth, asked, on being called in, if anything had been found about the bed, the neighbours siniled at his suspicions. Her sister, the wife of the accused, was sent for, and was naturally overcome with grief at the sad occurrence. It was not till sometime after that the first idea of suspicion entered into the heads of anyone. In about an hour's time after the death was discovered, Mr Evan Griffith, the undertaker, was called in, and it was only when the female assistant was preparing the body for removal that it was ascertained that the body was partially entangled in the bed clothes, and that the wedding ring was msising from her finger. No marks were found upon the body, and there was no unusual appearance of any knind of indicate murder except the discoloration of the face and hands, which might have resulted, in the opinion of ordinary people, from death from asthma. As the sister was naturally greatly distressed, the neighbours thought the best thing they could do, the husband being at sea, was to send for her brother-in-law, the accused, who was known to be in this country, and they accordingly sent a telegraph message to him, urging him to come home. What made the people of Borth open their eyes to a suspicion of something wrong was the information brought on Sunday by a young man, Mr James Davies, a boatman, that Thomas Richards, the accused, had been seen in Aberystwyth. This information gave rise to all sorts of rumours; but to no definite idea of murder. On Monday the Inhabitants were rendered more suspicious by hearing rumours of a five-pound Bank of England note having been found within the doorway of the hosue at Upper Borth where the wife of the accused lived. This was followed by further information of the accused having been seen about Aberystwyth in the morning of Monday. Next there came the startling news that a box containing a comparatively large sum of money had been delivered by the postman to the house at Upper Borth. It was known that the accused could not have earned in the time he had been away so large a sum of money. The wife, as has been said, thought it was a surrepititious way on the part of her sister of depriving her share in the cottage. Then it was recognized that the deceased had only recently received her husband's earnings, and none of that money could be found in the house. Finally a gimlet was found in the vicinity of the house which was found to correspond with the hole made in the back door our of which the milk boy had been picking dirt; and it was ultimately ascertained that by inserting a penknife or sharp instrument through the hole, the wooden belt could be slipped back and access obtained to the interior of the house. In the meantime, information of the death had been conveyed to Mr John Evans, coroner for the Northern division of the county, and at first; no suspicion attended the death. The inquest was fixed for Monday, but afterwards postponed till Tuesday. By Monday afternoon the suspicions of the inhabitants had been aroused, and when the police officer went about to summon a jury, Mr Beynon and several others made it a condition of service on the jury that a medical man should first be called in to view the body. When Mrs Davies's death was discovered Dr Jones had been sent for by the neighbours - not by the police - and he hearing that death had taken place some time and that Mrs Davies suffered from asthma, did not attend. On Monday, however, he was summoned by the police, and went and examined the body in order to be able to give some idea of the cause of death at the inquest. What conclusion he arrived at Dr Jones properly declines to say until the adjourned inquest is held next Thursday. On Tuesday as inquest was opened at the National Schoolroom [MISSING] to the bank on the previous Friday morning and said he was James Davies from Borth, produced a deposit not, signed a receipt as James Davies, and obtained note, signed a receipt as James Davies, and obtained £62 11s 7d.; that on the same morning aman went to the Skinners' Arms and there asked the daughter to address a letter or him to Mary Davies, Borth, who is now dead, and also a cigar box to Mrs Richards, of Borth, your wife. He then said "Oh, dear I don't know what came over me." I stopped him and told him not to say anything unless he desired me to repeat it in evidence at the trial. He then said, "I wish to tell all as far as I can remember. I came t Aberystwyth by the last train on Thursday night ast, and went on to Borth. On my way I went into a field, caught a pony, and rode it. I left the pony near Borth. I went on to my sister-in-law's house and got in through the window which I opened with a gimlet. After I got in I lighted some matches and found some keys on top of the chest of drawers and took from one of them two notes. I then went upstais where my sister-in-law slept, who by that time had got out of bed and had lighted a candle. She was then screaming, and in order to prevent her I pushed her on the bed, and placed a pillow over her face. I never thought of killing her, and I only wanted to stop her from screaming. I did not know she was dead until you told me at Neath. I left the house through the front door and went on to Aberystwyth. On my way I went into a field, caught a pony, and rode it. I left the pony near Borth. I went on to my sister-in-law's house and got in through the window which I opened with a gimlet. After I got in I lighted some matches and found some keys on top of a chest of drawers. I opened the drawers and took from one of them tow notes. I then went upstairs where my sister-in-law slept, who by that time had got out of bed and had lighted a candle. She was then screaming, and in order to prevent her I pushed her on the bed, and placed a pillow over her face. I never thought of killing her, and I only wanted to stop her from screaming. I did not know she was dead until you told me at Neath. I left the house through the front door and went on to Aberystwyth. On my way I passed my own house and pushed the note under the door. I had been drinking very heavy, and did not know what I was doing. I ust have been head." That is all. After arriving at Aberystwyth I charged the prisoner in the cell with stealing from off the deceased's finger the wedding ring on the night of the 20th. I then cautioned him and he made no reply. On the 27th (Thursday) I examined the house previously occupied by the deceased, Mary Davies. I found a door leading into a small back kitchen and on it inside I found a wooden bolt which I now produce. On examining the door outside I foudn a hoel made almost through the joint opposite the bolt. I closed the door and bolted it, and requested P.C. Davies to push to try and open the door from the outside eitehr eith a knife or any other thing from the outside. He opened the door by using a penknife through the hole. I tooke the bolt and fasteners loose and found a hole in the bolt corresponding in size to the hole outside and to a hole made by the gimlet. I examined the door and the windows and could not find any traces of anyone having gone through. Prisoner, on being asked if he had any question, said - I have only one question. Not through the back door. It was through the window I went in. I never went through the back door at all. The Chief Constable - I don't say how you went in. I only say what I saw. The prisoner was then remanded until the following Saturday. ------------------ ADJOURNED INQUEST AT BORTH Yesterday morning, John Evans, Esq., opened the adjourned inquest into the death of Mrs Mary Davies, of London row, who is alleged to have been murdered on the night of the 20th September. The jury were the Rev. J.M. Griffiths, the Rev. J.D. Timothy, the Rev. J. Llewelyn, Picton-terrace; Messrs. W.T. Lewis, London House; John Ellis, White Lion; Abraham Davies, Glasywern; John Hughes, Glasfryn House, John Enos, Betlin House; John Benyon, Cambridge-place; Lewis Lewis, Glanrhyd; Hugh Hughes, Liverpool House; Evan Griffiths, Cambridge-place; John Jenkins, Florence-place; Hugh James, Glover House; David Williams, Picton-terrace; and William Hughes, Ardwyn Villa. Mr A.J. Hughes , Aberystwyth, appeared for the Public Prosecutor. The Prisoner was unrepresented. There was a large number of the people of Borth present in the Assembly Rooms, where the Inquest was held. Ann Rees was the first witness. She said, I live at Acorn House, Borth. Thomas Richards, mariner, was the man who chiefly built the back kitchen of No. 1 London-place. The deceased wore a thick ring similar to the one produced. Margaret Davies, Railway Crossing, also said Richards built the back premises and that deceased wore a ring like the one produced, but she was not sure it was that one. Mary Williams, Railway Crossing, said between four and five on Saturday, the 22nd September, she was sent to lay out the body of the deceased. Margaret Williams, Ocean Wave, and many others were in the room. She (Margaret Williams) was a cousin of the deceased. The body was then lying across the bed. The head was towards the wall, her back towards the post of the bed, her legs doubled up under her, lying on her left side. Was there anything over her hand? --- I saw nothing, sir. What cloths had she on? --- Only a night dress and a chemise. A flannel vest, chemise, and night dress were produced and identified. The night dress and chemise were old, patched, and ragged, and one of the garments was ripped up down the entire front. This, however, appears to have been done to get it off. The Coroner - Before washing the body did you notice anything? --- I noticed that her face was black, and I noticed a little mark on her hip. I thing it was the right, but I am not quite sure. Can you tell us the position of her hands were in? --- Her left arm and hand were rather under her. The right hand was closed and extended from the body. Did you remove the boister and pilllow or sheets? --- No. Did you notice anything? --- No sir. There was a little blood on the bolster, but I did notice any on her clothing or sheet. Did you notice her left hand, whether the wedding ring was missing? --- That was the first thing I noticed. Was tehre any ring of any kind on her hand? --- No, sir. I was well acquainted with Mary Davies, but had not noticed her ring. Margaret Williams, Ocean Wave, cousin of Mary Davies, the deceased, said she was present in the bedroom at London-place when Mary Williams went there. Her description of the position and condition of the body was quite accurate. She heard Mrs Williams say that there was no ring on the finger of deceased. Did not look herself. Did not know the ring. The garments and bed clothes were taken from London-place by P.C. Lewis Davies on Tuesday last. By a Juryman --- The deceased was in the habit of wearing two rings when she went out. P.C. Lewis, stationed at Borth, said that about four o'clock on Saturday, September 23nd, he went upstairs at London-place, and saw deceased lying across the bed with her head towards the back of the bed, and her feet outwards, facing towards the top of the bed. She was in her night garments. He took back the clothes in order to see the position in which she was lying and found her lower limbs in which she was lying and found her lower limbs bended; found that the left hand, which was underneath, was quite cold and that the face was rather dark. The bed clothes were behind her back and the bolster and pillow in front of her. Examined the bedroom and observed on the dressing table close by the room and observed on the dressing table close by the bed, some fumigating medicated paper and a saucer, and asked Mrs Margaret Davies what it was. ASked Mrs Davies if she had seen any bottles or anything. Did not observe anything else. The Coroner --- Do you produce a bunch of keys? --- Yes. Where didyou get them? --- From Mrs Margaret Davies, No. 2, London-place. I got them on Tuesday. Do you produce a gimlet? --- Yes. (Produced). Where did you get this? --- From Mr Richard Hughes, mariner, Upper Borth, at his house on Tuesday, the 25th. Do you also produce a letter signed James Davies? --- Yes. Where did you get this letter? --- From Mrs Margaret Davies on Tuesday morning. She opened it in my presence on Saturday evening. She asked me if she should do so, and I said she could in order to get the husband's address. (The letter was headed "Swansea, Thursday," addressed to deceased, and bearing post mark "The Docks, Swansea, September 20th, 1894.") Where did you first see this? --- At deceased's house on September 22nd, when it was opened in my presence by Mrs Margaret Davies. I received it from Mrs Davies in her own house on September 25th. Do you recognise deposit receipt? (produced) --- Yes, and the envelope now produced, addressed "Mrs Davies, No. 1, London-place, Borth," bearing post mark Aberystwyth, Septembeth 21st, 1894. Where did you frist see the envelope? With Mrs Margaret Davies at her house on the 22nd. The envelope was not opened. Received it open on the 25th from her and examined the contents. It was a deposit receipt for £200. The £5 Bank of England produced was first seen in the possession of Mrs Catherine Richards, at No. 2, London-place, Borth the wife of Thomas Richards, on Tuesday, the 25th, and took possession of it. Have you examined the back door of the kitchen? --- Yes, on Wednesday, the 26th, and found a gimlet hole opposite the centre of the bolt filled up by dirt. It was a fresh hole. The wooden bolt produced was the one he was speaking about. On the 27th, went to deceased's house in company with P.C. Phillips, and opened the door by slipping back the bolt by putting a penknife through the hole. John Richards, Sandon Villa, a lad between 11 and 12, son of accused, said he got up on Friday between six and seven o'clock, and when going to his work at Dr. Jones's noticed a paper under the door, and placed it on the kitchen table. Had never seen a bank note before and did not know what it was. Elizabeth Prosser, Board School House, said she was called into Sandon Villa by Mrs Catherine Williams who showed the bank note and asked what it was. She said that it was a £5 Bank of England note. Richard Hughes, Upper Borth, mariner, said he lived next door to Sandon Villa and first saw the gimlet on the window sill of Mrs Richard's back window which looked out into his garden. That was on Friday morning between seven and eight. Took it into his own house on the following Sunday evening about five o'clock and handed it to the police on Tuesday. Did you the night previous to Friday notice any noise about your house? --- Yes, between one and two in the night I heard noise of walking right round two houses which make one block both in front and back. I did not get up and did not see anyone. P.S. Davies, Aberystwyth, produced a small cigar box which he received on the 25th from David Hughes Richards, son of accused, at the house of Morgan Hughes, Borth. It contained an envelope addressed to Mrs Catherine Davies, Sandon Villa, with the Aberystwyth post mark, September 21st. It also contained the brown paper and 40 sovereigns in gold. Witness also produced a ball of string from Miss Ellis at the Skinner's Arms on the 25th September, which corresponds with the string around the box. Chief Constable Howell Evans, next gave evidence to the same effect that given at the Police Station on Saturday found in the report of the trial. He said and not between Neath and Swansea. On the 1st October, he added, the prisoner sent for him (witness) and said "I want to tell you ---" stopped him (witness) "You had better not tell me unless you want me to tell the magistrates." He said, "I wish to tell the magistrates that I found the ring on top of the chest of draws in the parlour where I found the keys, and took it from there and did not take it from Mary Davies's finger." On the 3rd (Wednesday) he had Richards placed among four, and took James Phillips to the yard who at once ploked him out as being the man he had seen at the Royal Oak. By the Rev Mr Timothy - The prisoner stated that he got in through the window. Is it possible for anyone to get in through the window? --- No I do not think it is. Captain Hugh Hughes In what condition was he in at Neath when you saw him? Did he appear to be drunk-droway? --- No he appeared to be quite sober. He looked brighter before he was charged with muder. He was downeast and did not look so bright afterwards. He had only been charged with robbery at Neath. By the Rev. J.M. Griffiths --- So far as I know the people called in for indentification purposes was not known to the witnesses. Dr Abraham Thomas, surgeon, Aberystwyth, said on Tuesday the 25th, in company with Dr Jones, of Borth, he made a post-mortem examination of the body of Mary Davies, then lying at London-place. The body was laid out in a shroud, with a twisted linen band round the waist, and a clod of eath on the stomach. On the removal of the linen the body presented marked changes of decomposition over sternum, abdomen, both groins and more especially the face and neck. A ruddy froth issued from the nostrils. The lips were swollen and of a purpllish black tint. Around left nipple were marks of old eczema and a short distance below a bruise about an inch long and three-quarters of an inch wide. On inner side of left thigh were two semi circular rows of what he considered to be bruises in size and position similar to impressions produced by fingers. They might have been produced by fingers. They might have been produced by flogers. The innermost circle were of pinkish colour, the outer of greenish tint. Those were all the external apperances he thought it necessary to mention. Was there something different in the rows to the other marks? --- The bruise on the nipple and on the thigh were different in character to other discolourations he had referred to. The other discolourations were uniform patches. These were isolated spots. The bruises were not great in extent, nor were they deep. Then will you go on the describe internal appearance? --- The lungs were large and bulky, not congested. The windpipe was stained a dark red colour due to post-mortem change. No pus in the tubes. If there had been an acute recent attack of asthma, would you expect the tubes congested and the presence of pus? --- Not necessarily. Asthma is a spasmodic disease. It is simply the action of the tubes. Medical men never yet had had an opportunity of seeing a case of asthma die. Asthmatical patients lived however bad they were from asthma. Have your ever known a case of a person dying from asthma? --- No. If a person died from asthma I should expect symptoms of asphyxia. Were those symptoms present or absent? --- The post mortem decompostion prevents my answering that question. The heart, continued Dr Abraham Thomas, was placid and empty with some natural fat around it. The brain was healthy as were also the internal organs of abdomen. Found no evidence of outrags, though the washing of the body and five days decomposition might have done away with such evidence. The valves of the hearth were healthy. Did you find any evidence of any disease which would account for the death. --- No. Having made these observations and heard the position in which the body was found and the statement of Thomas Richards what inference do you draw? --- The only inference I can draw is that suffocation may have been the cause of death. Did you find any signs which would be inconsistent with that? --- No signs which would be inconsistent. I beg to qualify that expression - no signs inconsistent - not marked enough to say that it was due to suffocation. Did you find any signs which you would expect to find in case of suffocation? --- Yes. Did you find any signs absolutely inconsistent? --- No signs inconsistent with that inference, but the signs were not marked enough tot give a positive opinion. I cannot give positive evidence that death was due to suffocation. Did you find some signs which you would expect to be present in a case of death from suffocation? --- Yes. Dr Thomas then went on to describe discolourations on garments and bed clothes, and said there was a large ruddish brown patch on the bolster. Dr John Jones, Borth, agreed with what Dr Thomas had said in his evidence. The Coroner --- Have you arrived at any conclusion as to the cause of death? --- No, I am not prepared to state the cause of death. Did you see any evidence of any disease which would account for death? --- No; it is quite consistent with suffocation. Your observations are quite consistent with death from suffocation? --- The post-mortem appearances are quite consistent with death from suffocation. Having made a post-mortem examination, and heard the evidence given to-day, what form of death do you say it was? --- Well, suffocation, but there were no positive indications of death from suffocation. May those evidences have been removed by post-mortem changes? --- Yes, some of them. The absence of that evidence might have been due to post-mortem changes? --- It would make it very difficult to decide some of them such as finding the trachae of a brownish-red colour, and it is found after post-mortem. Then post-mortem changes make it very difficult to speak positively? --- Yes. I wish to leave the bare statement that death was due to suffocation. That is most consistent with what I saw and with the evidence I have heard to-day. You say that the whole circumstances are more consistent with death from suffocation than with any other form of death, but there is no positive indication of death from suffocation? --- Yes. Can you suggest any other cause of death which would be consistent with all the circumstances than suffocation? --- No. The Court the adjourned until two o'clock. The Jury found that deceased died from assault by Richards and returned a verdict of Wilful Murder.

  
  

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