but she was not sure whether it was on Thursday fortnight or the
Wednesday that she saw the Italian boy in Nova Scotia Gardens. She
could not describe his clothes, but remembered that he wore a brown
hairy cap. She had seen the boy before that day; he was standing
opposite Birdcage Walk, and had a box or cage slung over his neck by a
sling. The cap which he had on was brown, hairy, and rough. She did not
perceive how the shade of it was lined, because the boy had his back
towards her. She never saw him since that day.
JOSEPH HIGGINS, a police constable of the F division, No. 35, was then
sworn, and his former evidence having been read over, he stated in
addition, that on Saturday last Mr. Thomas directed James Waddy and
him to proceed to Bishop's residence, in Nova Scotia Gardens, for the
purpose of digging up the garden. They went accordingly, and having
tried the ground with an iron spit, it struck against some spongy
substance in the earth, on the west side of the garden, and at a
distance of about five yards from the door of the dwelling-house. They
dug up the earth, and found a jacket, a pair of trowsers, and a little
boy's shirt. Part of the suspenders, which were composed of yellow
calico, were attached to the trowsers, some of the button-holes of
which were broken. About a yard farther, the iron rod again struck upon
something soft, which proved to be a blue jacket, or short coat, a pair
of grey trowsers, and a striped waistcoat.
Mr. CORDER.--Did you perceive anything particular on the waistcoat?
WITNESS.--I perceived marks of blood on the collar, both inside
and outside. I found in the pocket of the waistcoat a piece of a
small-tooth comb; and I also found an old shirt, which was torn down
the centre.
Mr. HARMER.--You swear that the shirt was torn, as it now appears, when
you dug it up?
WITNESS.--I do.
Mr. MINSHULL.--Look again at the waistcoat, and say, whether those
marks of blood were on the neck part when you took it from the ground?
WITNESS.--They were. They had more the appearance of blood when I took
the waistcoat from the ground than now. I took particular notice of the
marks; the colour appeared to be deeper, and the blood more fresh than
now.
Mr. HALLS, having examined the waistcoat, observed, that it appeared to
have been made for a grown-up person, and it had been taken in at the
back, in order to make it fit to whosoever it last belonged.
Mr. THOMAS observed, that the waistcoat had been taken in with coarse
worsted, and in a very rough manner.
Mr. MINSHULL said, that the fact of the waistcoat having been made for
a man was important, and it might be the means of bringing forward the
person to whom it originally belonged.
JAMES WADDY was then sworn, and stated, that he was a gardener and
labourer, and assisted the last witness in digging up the garden. They
began at twelve o'clock on Saturday, and kept on until four, when they
came to a narrow border, close to the palings, and about five yards
from the door of the house. The witness here identified the child's
dress which had been first discovered.
Dr. ROBINSON.--How deep were they buried in the ground?
WITNESS.--About a foot deep. Having found these things, the last
witness tried the ground again, and dug up the grey trowsers,
waistcoat, and shirt, which have been produced. They were made into a
bundle, and were wrapped up in the grey trowsers.
Mr. CORDER.--Had you any particular reason for trying the part of the
ground where the articles were found?
WITNESS.--Yes; our suspicions were raised in consequence of seeing some
ashes spread over the place, and also on perceiving that the ground was
loose.
Mr. MINSHULL to the prisoners.--Have you any questions to ask either of
the last witnesses?
BISHOP.--Nothing particular now.
Mr. THOMAS was the next witness examined. He stated that he went
yesterday (Sunday) to Bishop's house, for the purpose of making a more
rigid search. On examining the front parlour, he found among a heap of
old clothes and dirty linen, the cap which he now produced.
Mr. HALLS.--In what part of the room did you find this cap?
Mr. THOMAS.--In a corner, where there was a heap of soiled linen and
children's dresses.
Mrs. KING was recalled, and the blue coat last found submitted to her
view.
Mr. MINSHULL.--Was that such a coat as the Italian boy had on, whom you
saw in Nova Scotia gardens, on the day you have already mentioned?
WITNESS.--The coat is to all appearance exactly like the coat which
the boy had on, but there is no mark about it to enable me to swear
positively that it is the same coat.
Mr. MINSHULL.--You are not called upon to swear so positively to it,
but only to the best of your knowledge and belief.
WITNESS.--All I can say is, that the coat is exactly like, as far as
regards colour, size, and shape, and it has every appearance of the
coat which the boy had on, when I saw him on Thursday.
JOHN KING, son of the last witness, was then recalled, and the fur cap
produced by Mr. Thomas, having been placed in his hands, he was asked
if it was like the one which the Italian boy had on, whom he saw near
Bishop's house.
WITNESS.--It looks exactly like the cap which the Italian boy had on.
MARGARET KING, sister to the last witness, having also examined the
cap, gave precisely similar testimony.
Mr. CORDER sworn and examined. I was present at the examination of the
body of the deceased, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon of Saturday last,
and I feel quite sure that the body so disinterred was that of the
Italian boy, upon which a coroner's inquest had been held: this body
was shown on Saturday in my presence to the witness Brun.
AUGUSTINE BRUN was then called forward, and Joseph Parragalli was sworn
to interpret his evidence truly. He stated that he knew a boy named
Carlo Ferrair or Ferrari, and that he brought him to this country two
years ago, from Piedmont. He was a Savoyard. Witness took him from his
parents. His father's name was Joseph Ferrari. Witness had the boy for
nine or ten months, and then bound him over to another person for two
years and one month. The last time the witness saw the boy alive, was
about fifteen months ago. This was after he had been bound, and he then
went with his new master towards Bristol, and witness left town in
another direction. The boy, who was about fifteen, lodged about that
time at the house of Mr. Elliott, No. 2, Charles-street, Drury-lane.
Witness saw the dead body of a boy on Saturday, _but he could not
identify the face_. The hair, colour of the eyes, and also the size
of the body, corresponded with the description of the boy whom he had
named. The _tout ensemble_ agreed.
Mr. MINSHULL.--Ask the witness, whether he can swear, to the best of
his knowledge and belief, that the body which he saw was that of Carlo
Ferrari?
The interpreter having put the question, the witness replied, that 'The
features were so disfigured by decay, that _he could not swear that the
face was the same_.'
Mr. THOMAS desired the interpreter to ask, whether the witness
remembered any warts on the left hand of the boy, Carlo Ferrari.
The interpreter answered, that 'The marks of identity on the hand were
also obliterated by the green colour which it had assumed.'
Mr. CORDER said, that although the witness had properly given his
evidence with so much caution, he appeared to be satisfied in his own
mind of the identity of the body, for almost ever since he saw it he
had been crying.
JOSEPH PARRAGALLI, the interpreter, was then sworn, and stated, that he
remembered a boy named Carlo Ferrari, who lived with his master about
eighteen months ago, at No. 2, Charles-street, Drury-lane. Witness
examined the body of the deceased before the inquest took place, and
was quite positive that it was the boy, Carlo Ferrari, whom he had so
known. Witness saw him alive in the Quadrant, about twenty yards from
the County Fire Office, about a month or five weeks ago. It was a very
wet day, and the poor boy looked cold and miserable. He had his cage
suspended from his neck. Witness had seen him about a week before in
Portland-place, and spoke to him then. He could not, however, describe
the boy's dress on either occasion, which he accounted for by saying,
he was too much occupied with his own business to observe it. The box
which the boy used to carry was divided into a cage, which used to turn
round with the mice in it, and they slept in the box part.
Dr. ROBINSON.--What opportunity had you for taking such particular
notice of the boy, as to be able to identify him after death?
WITNESS.--I was present when the boy was bound over by the last witness
to his new master, and had, besides, other opportunities of knowing
the boy, for I was constantly at the house of his master. [It will be
remembered, that when before the coroner, the Parragallis positively
depose, that they do not know the name of the boy whom they saw in the
Quadrant, and in Oxford-street. By what means they subsequently and so
suddenly attained to the knowledge of it, so as to be able positively
to swear, that the boy whom they saw in the Quadrant was an Italian,
whose name they knew to be Carlo Ferrari, appears rather enigmatical,
and is one of those contradictory circumstances, by which this most
extraordinary case is distinguished.--Ed.]
In answer to another question, the witness gave it as his opinion, that
the fur of the cap produced was _English_, but that the leaf was of
_French_ manufacture. When the boy first came to this country, he wore
a cap, the leaf of which was similar to that of the cap now produced.
The evidence having arrived at this stage, Mr. CORDER said it was not
intended to proceed further in the case that day.
Mr. MINSHULL then asked the prisoners if they wished to say anything.
BISHOP shook his head, saying, he had nothing to say then. The other
prisoners also declined saying anything.
They were then about to be removed from the bar, when Mr. Thomas begged
leave, before the prisoners were remanded, to request that Bishop and
Williams might be placed at the bar alone, as he meant to charge them
with another murder.
Mr. MINSHULL.--Is it your wish, Mr. Thomas, that the other two
prisoners should be removed from the bar before you make your charge?
Mr. THOMAS.--I am willing to make my charge in the presence of all
four; but I have no wish that May and Shields should remain.
Mr. MINSHULL then directed Dodd, the jailer, to remove May and Shields,
and leave Bishop and Williams at the bar.
Mr. THOMAS was then sworn, and stated, that he felt it his duty, as
a public officer, to charge John Bishop and James Williams, alias
Head, with the murder of another boy, whose name, for the present, was
unknown. He was in possession of some evidence at present, and expected
much more.
Mr. BURNABY, the clerk, asked Mr. Thomas, if he meant to produce any
evidence now before the magistrates, in support of the charge against
the prisoners at the bar?
Mr. THOMAS replied in the negative, and said, he meant to charge the
prisoners generally for the present, reserving the evidence which he
had now in his possession, and that which he expected to receive, for a
future opportunity.
Mr. MINSHULL observed, that Mr. Thomas acted very properly, and
directed the charge to be taken in general terms, as he wished it. The
charge having been written down accordingly,
Mr. MINSHULL asked the prisoners if they wished to say anything
touching this charge.
BISHOP answered, 'Nothing.'
Mr. MINSHULL then informed the prisoners that they would be brought
forward for re-examination on this and the other charge, on the
following Friday.
The prisoners were then removed in custody, strongly guarded.
On the day following the above examination, Mr. Corder applied to Mr.
Minshull for the purpose of obtaining an order to liberate Sarah Bishop
and Rhoda Head, alias Williams, who had been in custody for some days,
charged with being accessories after the fact in the murder of the
Italian boy. Mr. Corder observed, that as yet there was no evidence
whatever against either of the women, and as they might be wanted by
their husbands to procure them the means of defence, should their trial
come on at the ensuing Old Bailey sessions, he considered that it would
be but an act of humanity to release them from custody, particularly as
there was no evidence to warrant their detention.
Mr. BURNABY, the clerk, said, that Mr. Thomas, upon whose charge the
prisoners were detained, was desirous that they should not be liberated
until after the trial; and as facts might arise between this and the
sessions tending to fix the women with a guilty knowledge of the
murder, it would, perhaps, be the better way to detain them for the
present.
Mr. MINSHULL agreed in the propriety of detaining the female prisoners,
at least until Friday next, when their husbands would undergo another
examination. Besides, where were they to go if they were now liberated?
The police were in possession of the house in which they had resided,
and would, no doubt, retain it as long as there was any chance of
procuring additional evidence.
The female prisoners, who had been brought from prison for the purpose
of undergoing an examination, were then ordered to be placed at the
bar; and on their appearance there,
Mr. MINSHULL told them, that he was in hopes he might have discharged
them; but from what had been suggested, he felt it his duty to retain
them until Friday, when they would be again brought forward.
The prisoners were then conveyed from the bar.
Two of Bishop's children were taken from the workhouse, where they had
been placed on the apprehension of their mother, and lodged in the
station house at Covent Garden, with a view to their giving evidence in
the case, one of them, a little boy, having told another boy, before
the murder was discovered, that he had some nice little white mice at
home, and that his father had broken up their cage to light the fire.
From the tender age of the children, however, it was determined not
to make witnesses of them; and they were accordingly sent back to the
workhouse at Bethnal Green.
When Higgins, the police constable, was engaged in digging up the
garden-ground on Saturday, Bishop's eldest son, a boy about twelve
years old, was present; and when the officer looked suspiciously
towards the raised pathway, beneath which, it will be remembered, the
clothes were discovered, the little fellow told him to be cautious how
he dug there, as the cesspool was under that part of the ground; and if
he (Higgins) attempted to remove the earth, he would be sure to fall
into it. This fact which was stated by the constable would lead to the
belief that the child was aware of the clothes having been buried where
they were subsequently found.
It is not improbable that the concealment of the articles took place
immediately after Bishop and his associates were taken into custody.
It now became a subject of serious deliberation whether the case, as
it now stood against the prisoners, with whatever evidence might arise
in the interim, should be sent to the ensuing Old Bailey sessions,
commencing the 1st of December, or whether it might not be advisable
to await the issue of the second charge of murder which Mr. Thomas
preferred against the prisoners, Bishop and Williams.
Mr. MINSHULL was in favour of keeping the case open for the reception
of fresh evidence; and the Recorder of London waited upon Mr. Minshull
to request that a case of such public importance might not be sent to
the Old Bailey unless the evidence was as complete as circumstances
would allow. The same anxiety was also, we understand, expressed at the
Home Office.
The exertions of the police officers were now leading them to the
discovery of another murder committed by the horrid wretches, Bishop
and Williams; and which, perhaps, never would have been detected, but
for the discovery of the murder of the Italian boy.
It will be remembered, that in consequence of the strict search which
Mr. Thomas caused to be made at the residence of Bishop, a quantity
of human flesh, together with the scalp of a woman's head, to which a
considerable portion of long brown hair was attached, were found in
the privy. It was at first conjectured that these were portions of
a subject which Bishop had procured from a churchyard, and that the
limbs had been sold to the surgeons separately,--a practice by no means
uncommon. Recent events, however, having raised a strong suspicion that
the residence of Bishop has been the scene of more than one murder, Mr.
Thomas, acting upon that impression, went yesterday (Wednesday 23rd)
to Bishop's house, with the view of making a still further search, and
appeared before Mr. Halls on the same day at Bow-street to communicate
the result.
Mr. Thomas was accompanied by two females, mother and daughter, who
lived in the neighbourhood of Bishop's house. The mother had stated
to him, that about three weeks ago a daughter of hers had disappeared
in the most sudden and mysterious manner, and under circumstances
altogether unaccountable. She had taken tea with her mother and sister
on the evening of her disappearance, and went out to execute some
trifling errand. Her return was therefore expected every minute; but
from that time to the present she had neither been seen nor heard of.
There had been no previous quarrel to account for her absence; and her
relatives were under the dreadful impression that she had been waylaid
and murdered.
Mr. THOMAS added, that in consequence of his having made further
discoveries that morning, in the house adjoining to Bishop's residence,
the mother and sister of the missing young woman, who were now present,
called upon him at the station-house, and upon showing them the hair
which was previously found in the privy, they both of them declared it
to be similar to that of the young woman, whose absence had given rise
to such dreadful apprehensions.
Mr. THOMAS then called forward the mother and daughter, and asked
the latter to describe her sister's hair. She replied, that it was
of a dark brown colour, very long, and that it closely resembled her
mother's hair.
Mr. THOMAS then drew the attention of Mr. Halls to the mother's hair,
and observed, that it was exactly like the hair which had been found
in the manner before described. He then added, from inquiries he had
previously made, he was enabled to prove, that about the time when
the young woman was first missed from her home, Bishop had sold two
subjects, one of them the body of a young female, at Guy's Hospital.
Having been engaged, however, at the time he ascertained this fact, in
the case of the Italian boy, he did not feel it necessary to make any
particular inquiries respecting the two bodies he had mentioned, but
he should now feel it his duty to cause such inquiries to be made.
Mr. HALLS observed, that the circumstances stated by Mr. Thomas had
certainly a very suspicious appearance, and he told both mother and
daughter, that they might rest assured that every means would be taken
by Mr. Thomas to sift the matter to the utmost. The inquiry could not
be in better hands.
Mr. THOMAS said it was not without good reason he had prayed for the
detention of Bishop's wife and sister, for he considered it quite
impossible that they could have been ignorant of what was passing in
the house.
Mr. HALLS said he fully agreed in the propriety of detaining both women
in custody, and he was quite sure that Mr. Minshull would not part with
them until the latest moment that their detention might be necessary.
Mr. THOMAS then observed, that he had that morning deemed it expedient
to examine the house immediately adjoining to that in which Bishop had
lived, which had been empty for a considerable time, and until a week
of Bishop's apprehension. The result was, that a woman's gown, shawl, a
pair of stays, chemise, and a pair of stockings were discovered in the
privy.
Mr. HALLS asked if the mother and daughter had seen the articles.
The mother replied, that she went to the place for the purpose of
seeing them, in order to ascertain if they were her daughter's clothes,
but she was not allowed a sight of them.
Mr. THOMAS said, he would furnish her with a written order to inspect
the clothes, and at Mr. Halls' suggestion, he added, that he would send
a constable with her, to ensure her and her daughter an immediate view
of the articles.
Mr. HALLS then asked a question as to the situation of Bishop's house,
observing, that he understood it lay in a very lonely situation.
Mr. THOMAS replied, that Bishop's house formed one of what he might
almost call a colony of cottages, but although placed in the immediate
neighbourhood of each other, they were each divided by a low wooden
paling, enclosing a small space of garden ground, attached to the
separate dwellings. Bishop and Williams resided together in the same
house, for the last eighteen months, and as the house contained but
three rooms altogether, and those were very small, he was quite
convinced that all who were inmates in the house must have been aware
of what was passing in it. Besides, as he had before stated, Bishop and
Williams had the use of the adjoining cottage, and as the discovery
he had made that morning proved they had taken advantage of the
circumstance, in order more effectually to carry on their abominable
traffic, there was no doubt of their having chosen this very situation
expressly for the purpose.
Mr. HALLS asked if the garden adjoining Bishop's had been dug up?
Mr. THOMAS replied, that he had left some of his men engaged in turning
up the ground; but Bishop and Williams might have had access to nearly
fifty enclosed gardens besides that, as they had only to step across
some low palings to get from one to the other.
Mr. HALLS observed, that it would be well to search the gardens of
some of the other cottages, and he supposed the persons who owned that
ground would have no objection.
Mr. THOMAS replied, that it would be an easy matter to do so, for the
poor people who lived in the adjoining cottages were so panic-struck
with the recent discoveries, that many of them had left, and others
were following the example.
Mr. THOMAS soon after retired, for the purpose of sending a constable
with the mother and sister of the girl who is missing, in order that
they might obtain an immediate inspection of the articles of clothing
which were found in the manner described.
The clothes were accordingly inspected by the parties, who at once
declared that they were not the same which the missing girl had on
when she disappeared. The following is an accurate description of the
articles found, and their appearance justifies the belief, that to
whatever unfortunate woman they belonged, they had been violently torn
from her body, either immediately after death or in a struggle with her
murderers. A camlet cloak, a plaid gown torn up in front, a flannel
petticoat also torn up in front, with two large patches of blood near
the top, a shift torn up in front, a pair of stays cut up in front in
a zigzag manner, and laced in the back in the usual way, an old muslin
half handkerchief, a pair of black worsted stockings very coarse, black
cloth pockets, a pair of female's shoes, the tops made of black twilled
silk, and a pincushion of scarlet cloth.
These articles were found made up into a bundle. The garden ground was
partly turned up, but nothing discovered. The house, it would appear,
had been occupied by the prisoner Williams, before he married Bishop's
sister.
On Friday, the 25th, the prisoners, Bishop, May, Shields, and Williams,
were brought to the office, in Bow-street, for the purpose of being
finally examined on the charge of murdering Carlo Ferrari, the Italian
boy. Long before the hour appointed for the examination to commence,
the street in front of the office was nearly blockaded by crowds of
persons; and as the prisoners alighted from the van, at ten o'clock
in the morning, they were again assailed by the groans and hisses of
hundreds. The bench was crowded with magistrates, and the office itself
was filled in every part.
At twelve o'clock the prisoners were brought in, guarded by a strong
body of constables, and placed in front of the dock.
Mr. MINSHULL having intimated that he meant to confine the examination
exclusively to the murder of the Italian boy,
Mr. CORDER said, he intended to produce five or six additional
witnesses, for the purpose of strengthening the case, and completing
the chain of evidence already made out at the previous examination. He
then called