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THE DOLGELLEY MURDER.

THE INQUEST.

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

THE INQUEST. On Wednesday morning, August 1, the adjourned in- quest was held in the magistrates' room of the County Hall, into the death of Sarah Hughes, before Griffith Jones Williams, Esq., coroner, and a jury composed of Messrs. W. R. Williams, R. Wynne Williams, W. Davies, Wm. Owen, R. Hughes, W. Hughes, John Williams Thos. Richards, Richard Jones, Edward Ellis, Robert Ellis Lloyd, R. P. Roberts, J. B. Mee, and Thomas Roberts. Mr. Clough, solicitor, was present on behalf of the pro- secution, and Mr. W. R. Davies on prisoner's behalf. The prisoner was not present. The evidence taken at the enquiry before the magis- trates was then put to the witnesses, and confirmed by them. When Mr. Superintendent Hughes was giving his evi- dence as to the finding of the implements, Mr. W. R. Davies said as they added to the heinousness of the crime and had not been shown to have been connected with it, they ought to have been excluded. The Coroner said they had been included in the other enquiry, and he would include them in this. Their bear- intr upon the case would have to be tried by another jury. The only additional evidence was that given by P.C. Vaughan. It was as follows :— Mr. Griffith Jones Williams, the coroner, said-Did you find anything recently after the 18th June?—P.C. Vaughan Yes. Did you go on Monday to the garden where the sup- posed grave was ?—Yes, sir. Was anyone else with you?—Ye: sir: P.C. Hughes, P.C. Cadwaladr Jones, and P.C. George Arthur. Did you dig deeper then than on any other formsr oc- casion?—Yes; I think I did. I did not know how far they went on the former occasion. Were any of the officers present on the occasion when the grave was formerly opened ?—No, sir. What did you find on digging?—An umbrella. I found it near the side in the middle part of the grave, on the left hand side nearest the hedge. Have you shown that umbrella to the sister of the de- ceased ?—I have, sir. How was not that umbrella found on a former occasion ? —I cannot say. The Chief Constable—It was at the very bottom. What was the depth ?—About two feet, or two and a half feet. The Coroner—Why, it has been said that the grave was opened deeper than that on the former occasion. How did you find it ?■—The umbrella was very wet and greasy, and also smelt very badly. There was a great deal of blood in the middle part of the grave. How was it that it was not discovered on a former occasion ?—I cannot say. The Chief Constable ?—It was only examined once be- fore, and then it was very wet. Mr. Wynne Williams—Was there any water in the grave when you last saw it ?—It was quite dry then. There was no spring there on that occasion. Mr. W. R. Williams—Was there any salt in the grave? I could not say there was anything there of that sort. There was a very bad smell there. One man tried to dig there, but he could not stand it. The Coroner—Did you find any hair in the grave?— Yes, I think George Arthur picked some up. There was not much found. Mr. W. R. Williams—There is a question arising here, Mr. Coroner, as to whether the officer knows whether what he saw in the grave was blood or not ? The Coroner- Y 011 can ask him. Mr. R. Wynne Williams.—What made you think it was blood'!—Because it turned the colour of the soil. About a bucketful of soil was quite different at that spot from what it was in other places. I cleared the grave quite out, and another officer broke the clay with a stick in order to see if he could find anything else. Margaret Hughes, the sister of the deceased, was then called and reiterated the statements she made before the magistrates. Mr. Wynne Williams—Had she an umbrella when she started from home?—Yes. The Coroner—Do you believe it to be your sister's um- brella? Witness (looking at the top of the handle) I think it is. It had been repaired. (After looking at the inside of the umbrella): I believe it is. Mr. W. R. Williams—Did you know your sister's busi- ness in Dolgelley that evening ?—No, I do not. Dr. Edward Jones, after repeating his former evidence, said a piece of one of the limbs and some of the internal organs of the deceased were still missing. Mr. W. R. Williams—Can you give some opinion accounting for the blood having been found in the centre of the Grave ?—The blood might have been there in con- sequence of the cutting up of the body, because the great vessels of the body had been severed. The great vessels in the neck and from the heart were cut, and that might account for the blood in the grave. Mr. W. R. Williams—We have no evidence to show how this woman went towards the prisoner's house. The Coroner—You have this evidence that her body was found there. Mr. W. R. Williams—That is absolutely certain. Mr. W. R. Williams—That I suppose you will have to know presently? The Coroner—Well, the evidence is now closed. Addressing the jury, the Coroner said—Gentlemen of the jury, we have now arrived at the end of the most painful enquiry I ever recollect to have taken place in this or any other county in North Wales. That, no doubt, a very hideous crime has been committed there cannot be a question. I will not detain you by making any lengthy observations upon the evidence in this enquiry, but I will simply leave in your hands three questions. Now, in the first place, I shall simply call your attention to one fact, and that is, that youhave had it in evidence that the prisoner was at work at a place called Coedmwsoglog. You have it also in evidence that the deceased Sarah Hughes was also there in service, and that on the Saturday 0 prior to the Monday, the 4th of June, she left, and that on that Monday the accused, Cadwaladr Jones, came from Dinas Mawddwy fair. You have it very clearly proved that she left home on Monday, the 4th June, about six o'clock in the evening, that she came to the town of Dolgelley, that she was seen by two persons in the town, and that she was met a little this side of the Ship Mill by a girl who re- sided near the Arran Bridge, a witness who speaks positively as to her identity, saying expressly that beyond doubt the person was Sarah Hughes. and that she was going on her way home to Brithdir. From that time up to the discovery of the body the deceased has not been seen alive at all by any person. That was perfectly clear. Now we come to the important part of the case. Several pieces of a human body are discovered in various parts of the river Arran in this town on, I think, the 18th or the 16th of July last. These pieces are all put together, taken by different members of the police force of this county, and placed in the dead house of the Dolgelley workhouse. They are there viewed by the jury, by you and myself, and at the same time the sister of the deceased, Margaret Hughes, is called in to inspect the body. She identifies it as the body of her sister by means of the stocking being upon one foot and the boot. There are also portions of the dress of the deceased, which Margaret Hughes clearly identifies as the portions of the dress of her sister which she had on on the very day she left home at six o'clock on the Monday evening, the very last day she was seen alive by anybody. Now we will come, in the first place, to the conduct of the prisoner. The police have some clue-have some suspicion—that Cadwaladr Jones of Park had something to do with the disposal of the body of this unfortunate woman. They go to the place at four or five o'clock in the morning. At six o'clock Cadwaladr Jones comes out of the house. He is addressed by Superintendent Hughes in the way he has described to you upon which he says he should like to see Inspector Jones—that he had something to communi- cate to him. He goes upstairs after Inspector Jones, does communicate with him, and does tell him what that officer has related to you. After having been cautioned by Inspector Jones, Cadwaladr Jones rep eats it not only in the presence of Inspector Jones, but also in the presence of P.C. Cadwaladr Jones, and lie also makes similar observations—or observations pretty much to the same effect-to Superintendent Hughes. Having done that, they go to the cowhouse to make a search. Whilst in that cowhouse and whilst the officers are about to search, the prisoner makes an observation to one of the police- to Richard Vaughan, the policeman—telling him what you are searching for is not there a pig has been there. It is to be found in that corner," upon which he (Richard Vaughan) goes to the corner, and he picks up a sack con- cealed under some stones. This sack contains a sleeve which has been identified by Margaret Hughes as a portion of her sister's clothing.— Sergeant Hugh Williams also tells you that there was a greasy matter attached to the sleeve, and that the inside of the sack contained something of a similar de- scription, which may account for the adhesion of the sleeve to the inside of the sack. After having been to the cowhouse, they proceed towards the river, and, when between 100 and 200 yards away from the house, the pri- soner says, It is no use going further. What you are looking for is to be found in this enclosed piece of ground." The police go with the prisoner to this piece of ground, and there are found two buttons and the skin of a human hand, which was taken out of a dog's mouth, and there were other indications to which you will give whatever weight you think proper; and afterwards (the day before yesterday) that umbrella which has been pro- duced was found. That umbrella Margaret Hughes says she believes to be the property of her sister. She also tells you, in answer to one of the jurymen-a very proper question to put—that her sister had that umbrella with her on the evening of the 4th June,%when she left home and when she was last seen. The pieces of the body are found in different places in the river. The evidence of the medical men goes to prove that they form one and the same body; the shoe being on one foot as well as the stocking, also being identified by the sister of the deceased. I do not know whether you conceive anything stronger in the shape of evidence of identity than that. Now, gentlemen, I wish to make no further comments on the evidence, but shall put to you these questions :-First of all, in your minds are you satisfied that the body on view was the body of Sarah Hughes? On that point you have the evidence of the sister. Now, the next question is, perhaps, a painful one. In deciding it, however, you must not allow your feelings to be carried away. You must favour no one; you must fear no one; but you must decide the question boldly and fearlessly and to the best of your ability. Now, did any person or persons kill Sarah Hughes ? If so, it would be wilful murder on the part of the person who did kill her. That is the great question for you to consider in this case. Are you satisfied within your own minds that CadwalMr Jones, of Park, who is now confined in the gaol at Dolgelley, is the person who did commit the wilful murder of Sarah Hughes ? Having satisfied your minds that she was Sarah Hughes, you must next satisfy your minds that Cadwaladr Jones committed this act. If so, there cannot be any doubt as to the result of your de- liberations. It is clearly wilful murder but it is for you to say whether he committed it with his own hand. I will not make any further comment on the case, but leave it in your hands. I hope to God that you will never have occasion to sit in judgment in such another case in the county of Merioneth or anywhere else. At the close of the Coroner's summing-up the room was cleared of all buMhe jury. As the coroner was leaving the room a juryman asked him what was the difference in law between murder and manslaughter. The Coroner—Don't trouble your minds with any dis- tinction of that kind. If he did kill the woman malice is implied.- The jury twice sent for the Coroner to consult with him during their deliberations, which lasted three-quarters of an hour, and it was understood that some of them were very averse to returning a verdict of wilful murder against the accused. At length they intimated that they were agreed, and, in answer to the coroner, the foreman said their verdict was that Cadwaladr Jones murdered Sarah Hughes.—The jury appended their names to the verdict of wilful murder, and the proceedings terminated. We have been requested to publish a contradiction of the assertions in a correspondent's letter respecting the inactivity of the Dolgelley police in the matter of the Pare murder. The request is readily accorded, for taking the members of the Welsh police forces altogether, they have been generally found to contain men of average intelli- gence, as truthful as most men, and assiduous and cautious in the discharge of their often unpleasant duty in a way that often wins admiration. In fact, the assertion of a London professional thief, that a policeman's evidence ought to be divided by six, and the remainder taken as doubtful, would not, as a rule, be well applied to the testimony of the Welsh police officers. It is true that a .period of about six weeks elapsed between the date when the unfortunate woman was missed and the apprehension of the supposed murderer, but then it should be remembered that up until the finding of the body very good evidence existed to induce the police to believe that she had gone away to Llanidloes or to South Wales. Indeed, the fact that the deceased, on leaving home, had put on two petticoats and other addi- tional clothing very properly led the police to the con- clusion that she had left home for one of the places men- tioned but, whilst making inquiries in those directions, the police were on the alert for information from any other source. It should also be borne in mind that the police had to proceed with much caution, for if they made one or two groundless apprehen- sions they would not only have incurred well- deserved censure, but have doubtlessly caused the real murderer, whoever he might have been, to leave the country. As has been before stated, if the police had harkened to advice pressed upon them by the public, some of the most respectable people in the district would have been wrongfully taken into custody. When, for instance, the deceased's clothing was found, the marks of clay and dirt upon it were declared to be the marks of dog biscuits (among which it was determined the body had been lying), "and we know," added these people, "who keep dog biscuits." If that advice had been taken," say the police, one of the most respectable of persons in the parish would have been apprehended." The reticence of the deceased's family in the matter was singular. The police had, therefore, to weave out their chain of evi- dence by themselves, the links of which, it is believed, began with the fact that the deceased had worked at Coedmwsoglog with the prisoner, and ended by the find- ing of some of her remains near his house. It appears the girl's father had, with a gang of quarrymen, searched the river Arran from almost its source to Dolgelley, but when questioned particularly as to why he should have searched there more than anywhere else, he replied that he had no special reason, "He only did it as he was coming along that way." The police were thus thrown off their scent, and this will perhaps account for some of the time which elapsed between the loss of the woman and the apprehension of the prisoner. At last a stray remark dropped from the father, and confirmed the suspicion which the police entertained of the prisoner's connection with the affair. To this point it appears Inspector Jones and the other officers of the Dolgelley police had arrived on the night immediately preceding the appre- hension, but it is not certain whether or not any definite plan had been proposed or entertained at that time. The matter, which is much commented upon in Dolgelley, seems to stand in this way. Inspector Jones and his Dolgelley colleagues completed the links of evidence which warranted them ill suspecting the occupier of Pare; but Superin- tendent Hughes, of Towyn, and Sergeant Williams, of Corwen, having heard what Inspector Jones and others had to say, planned the scheme of apprehension, and, indeed, carried it into execution. This division of praise appears to be a fair one, if there is any praise at all due in this unfortunate case. The assertion that Inspector Jones was not on the spot until three-quarters of an hour after the information was given him as to the finding of a human arm in the river Arran, on the face of it is ap- parently incorrect. That a police officer of his long experience, knowing that a body had been missing for a long time, and the suspicions entertained by him and hundreds of others respecting it, should remain in his house three-quarters of an hour before going to the place is incredible. The statement to the contrary is much more probable. Inspector Jones, it appears, was at Typren tenminutes or aquarterof an hour afterhavingbeen informed of the discovery. Indeed, he would doubtless have been on the spot in a much shorter time, had not the vague- ness of his information led him to go to the bridge spanning the Wnion before going to the Arran. As to the police being careful not to wet their feet in finding the remains, it was enough work for them to remain on the bank: and receive the pieces of the body as they were found, prevent their loss, and give directions to the crowd of people, who were only too willing to enter the water. The public, in criticising the action of the police, should remember that they are a body of men who are not infallible, and who have unpleasant but necessary duty to perform, which oftentimes require the encouragement, if not actual co- operation, of the general public to enable to discharge it efficiently. A tramp, by the name of John Davies, called upon P.C. Henry Roberts, of Machynlleth, and told him that on coming from Dolgelley on Friday, 27th July, he found a woman's hat in a pool of water on the road side. He I went to it, pulled it out, and found in it a woman's hair net and long black hair. P.C. Roberts communi- cated to the Corris policeman, P.C. Ashton, who went to the pool, which is called Llynbach, and there he found the hat and other things mentioned by the tramp. The pool is six miles from Dolgelley along the road and about two miles and a half or three miles from Pare. A tradition is told of the pool in which the giantess Idris plays a part, and the giant Idris is said to have pulled the enormous stone which is now seen on the side of the road from his shoe. The pool is said to be bottomless, and it is also remarked in the neighbourhood that if a piece of timber were put into the water in two years it would be found in the great lake at Talyllyn.

LLANFIH ANGEL-AR-ARTH. 1

LAMPETER.

BALA.

THE CATTLE PLAGUE COMMITTEE.

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