CHRONICLE. 



37 



depositions before two magistrates, 

 eleven 3'ears since, but Thrower, 

 the prisoner, was never heard ot", 

 and supposed to be dead. At the 

 time of the general alarm at the 

 horrid murders of the Marr and 

 Williamson families, Mr, Arch- 

 deacon Oldershaw, a magistrate, 

 was observing to Mr. Fox, in com- 

 mon conversation, that a murder 

 resembling those, occurred at Crat- 

 field 19 jears ago ; and in mention- 

 ing his taking the deposition of 

 Heads, he observed Thrower was 

 suspected, but he never was found. 

 Now Mr. Fox had a legacy to pay 

 Thrower's wife, which could not 

 be done without her husband's 

 signature, and through this inci- 

 dent the prisoner was taken into 

 custod}^ as well as Heads, both of 

 whom had been transported. 



Heads, in his evidence, told the 

 same story he had done eleven 

 years ago, of the prisoner's confes- 

 sion ; and a person proved having 

 heard a female shriek on the night 

 of the murder, and that he saw a 

 man run from the house. The 

 body of the young woman was 

 proved to have been found in the 

 garden, which corroborated Head's 

 story. There being other strong 

 circumstanstial evidence, the pri- 

 soner was found guilty, and or- 

 dered for execution on Monday at 

 Ipswich, and afterwards his body 

 to be dissected. 



John Smith, aged 39, and Eliza- 

 beth his wife, aged 27, were in- 

 dicted for the wilful murder of 

 Mary Ann Smith, daughter of the 

 male prisoner, at Cookley, in the 

 county of Suffolk, by starving, 

 beating, and exposing her three 

 successive nights in a shed, in the 

 month of December last, by which 

 her icct became mortifivd, dc. 



It appeared in evidence, that the 

 male prisoner had three children 

 by a former wife, who died about 

 three years ago, and he married 

 the female prisoner on the Sth of 

 last November; and that from the 

 10th of December until the 11th 

 of February, 1812, when the eldest 

 of the three children, the subject 

 of this indictment, died, the tor- 

 tures administered to them vvere 

 too horrible even for description. 



Previous to his marriage with 

 the female prisoner, the three 

 children were admired by every 

 one for their cleanliness and 

 healthy appearance, and the male 

 prisoner was marked for his pa- 

 rental kindness and affection to- 

 wards his offspring. 



Lucy Smith, sister of the male 

 prisoner, proved that on the 4th of 

 February, the male prisoner called 

 on her in tears, and said his eldest 

 child was dying. Witness found 

 two of the once-healthy children 

 sitting by the fire in a state so 

 completely emaciated, that they 

 appeared indifferent to any objects. 

 On going up stairs a shocking ob- 

 ject presented itself in the persoa 

 of the eldest child, in bed, who 

 was unable to stir from her emaci- 

 ated state, and she v/as the picture 

 of death. The poor child called 

 out " Aunt, aunt, don't leave me." 

 Witness challenged them with 

 starving the children, and they 

 agreed that they had not much 

 drink. It also appeared afterwards 

 that the child's feet were in a 

 state of mortification, from having 

 been exposed three nights in an 

 outhouse, by the unnatural father. 

 She was also much bruised about 

 the neck and body by beatings ; 

 and her father confessed having 

 hung her up to a beam by the mid- 

 dle, 



