the housemaid, rose from her bed, and, having dressed herself, quitted
her bed-room. As she passed the door of the prisoner's room she knocked,
in order to awake him, and then proceeded down-stairs. The first
circumstance which she remarked was, that the warming-pan had been left
at her master's bed-room door, as if indicating that the valet had gone
to rest immediately after having attended upon his master, without
subsequently going below; but, upon her proceeding to the lower floors
of the house, she found everything in such a state of confusion, as to
excite a suspicion in her mind that thieves had entered the house with a
view to the commission of a robbery. She hurried through the
drawing-room, the parlour, and the passage on the ground-floor, and
there she found the furniture strewed about, the drawers and boxes open,
a bundle lying on the ground, as if ready packed up to be carried off,
while the street-door had been unfastened, and was only upon the latch.
A momentary examination of these matters was sufficient to excite alarm
in her mind, and, hurrying up-stairs again, she repaired to the cook to
inform her of what she had seen, by whose directions she at once
proceeded to the apartment of the valet. Ten minutes had scarcely
elapsed since she had before knocked at his door, and half-an-hour was
ordinarily occupied by him in dressing, but, to her surprise, she now
found him dressed and ready to descend. Hastily informing him of what
she had witnessed below, he accompanied her down stairs; and, upon his
seeing the state in which the lower part of the house appeared to be, he
exclaimed, "Oh, God! somebody has robbed us." Mancer now suggested the
propriety of their ascertaining whether anything had occurred to his
lordship, and they went together to his bedroom.
Immediately upon their entrance, Courvoisier proceeded to the window to
open the shutters, but Mancer, going to the bed-side, saw the pillow
saturated with blood, and his lordship lying in bed, quite dead, with
his throat frightfully cut. His face was covered with a towel or napkin,
but upon this being removed, his countenance was found to be perfectly
placid while the position of his body, undisturbed, and as if in a state
of repose, betokened the suddenness with which the death-stroke had been
inflicted. The woman suddenly screamed and ran out of the room, and,
rushing from the house, she obtained the aid of some neighbours and of
the police, by whom a surgeon was called in. Upon the entrance of these
persons, Courvoisier, whose conduct throughout the whole transaction was
of the most singular description, was found dreadfully agitated, leaning
on the bed where the body of his master lay; and although questions were
asked him, he made no answer, and took no part in the proceedings which
succeeded. The death of the deceased nobleman was too evidently the
result of violence from another hand to render a suggestion of suicide
possible. One gash only had been given, which extended to the very back
of the neck, and nearly severed the head from the body; and the absence
of any instrument by which such an act could have been committed, at
once negatived any supposition of that description.
In a few minutes Courvoisier appeared to recover from the agitation by
which he had been affected, and at his suggestion an intimation of the
dreadful occurrence was conveyed to the son of the deceased nobleman,
who resided in Belgrave-square. Upon his going down-stairs, he
immediately took Sarah Mancer into his pantry, and pointing to some
marks of violence which were perceptible upon the door, which was open,
remarked, "It was here they entered."
The police now took possession of the house, and the mysterious nature
of the transaction fully warranted them in the first step which they
took--the detention of the three servants. A minute examination of the
premises took place, the result of which was, a firm conviction on their
minds that the murder had been perpetrated by an inmate of the house,
and that a simulated robbery had been got up, for the purpose of raising
a belief that the diabolical crime which had been committed was the act
of a nocturnal plunderer and assassin. Upon the street door there were
no marks of violence perceptible, while the indentations which were
observable upon the door of the pantry had been so clearly produced from
within, instead of from without, as to leave no doubt of the truth of
their supposition. Their belief was further supported by the position of
the back part of the house and the contiguous dwellings. It was so
surrounded by buildings and high walls, as to render approach from that
quarter next to impossible; and a minute examination of the neighbouring
roofs of houses, &c., clearly negatived the suggestion that any person
had obtained access to the house of Lord William Russell by clambering
over any of them. In the house, the appearances were such as to indicate
that the work had not been done by any practised housebreaker or
marauder; and, furthermore, instruments were discovered, in the pantry
poker, and a chisel which was found in the drawing room, and which had
been known to be in the kitchen for some weeks before, which exactly
corresponded with the marks in the pantry door, and which, as they could
not have come into the possession of any stranger, must have been
employed by some person having access to, and being well acquainted
with, the premises.
The parcel which had been observed by the woman Mancer was examined, and
was found to contain many articles of his lordship's property. A cloth
cloak, which had been hanging up in the hall, was found rolled up, and
within it were his lordship's gold opera-glass, his gold toothpick, a
silver sugar-dredger, a pair of spectacles, a caddy spoon, and a thimble
belonging to the cook; but it was remarked, that the latter articles
were of a nature which a thief would rather have put into his pocket
than have packed up in so large a parcel; and although the drawers of
the sideboard in the parlour, and of the writing-desk in the
drawing-room, were pulled open, nothing was found to have been
extracted. In his lordship's bedroom a state of things presented itself
which tended to confirm the suspicions of the police, and to supply a
motive for the crime. His lordship had been in possession of a case
containing ivory _rouleau_ boxes, which are usually employed to contain
gold coin. The boxes belonging to his lordship would hold about five
hundred sovereigns, and it had been remarked by Courvoisier, that
although he was entrusted with the keys of his master's drawers and
trunks, his lordship would never permit him to go to this case. Upon
examination by the police, the _rouleau_ case was found to have been
opened, and the _rouleaux_ having been searched, fruitlessly for money,
they had been placed on one side. The jewel-box and the note-case of the
deceased had also been opened, and while from the former several
articles of small value had been taken, from the latter a 10_l._ note,
known to have been in the possession of his lordship, had been carried
off. A purse containing gold had also disappeared. The rushlight, which
had been lighted by the valet, according to his own statement, when his
lordship went to bed, was found to have been extinguished within about
an hour and a half after it had been left; his lordship's gold watch,
together with its appendages, had been removed; and, furthermore, an
attempt had been made to give an appearance to the room as if his
lordship had been attacked while reading in bed. A book which his
lordship was known to have been reading in the course of the evening,
"The Life of Sir Samuel Romilly," who, by a most remarkable
circumstance, came to his death by cutting his throat, was lying by his
bed-side, and near him was a wax-candle, burned down into the socket of
the candlestick, but placed in such a situation as that it would have
afforded no sufficient light to enable his lordship, in the position in
which his body was found, to read one word by its light. These
circumstances induced a strong suspicion against Courvoisier, and his
boxes were searched, but without anything being discovered tending to
fix upon him the guilt of the crime; but it was nevertheless thought
advisable that he should remain in custody, or under _surveillance_,
until an examination of the drains of the house should have been made.
For reasons of precaution, the women servants were also detained, and
the most active exertions were made by the police to discover evidence
which should lead to the discovery of the murderer. The commissioners of
police, and several members of the nobility were indefatigable in their
efforts to render assistance throughout the whole investigation, and
through their instrumentality some discoveries were made.
On Friday, the 8th of May, it was thought that a more comprehensive
search ought to be made through the house, and particularly in the
pantry, and some most important disclosures took place. Some appearances
were observed on the mortar and on the skirting-board of the room, which
induced a police-officer to remove them. He examined the floor, the
skirting, and the sink, and behind the skirting-board he found five gold
rings, most undoubtedly the property of his lordship. In the same place
were also found five pieces of gold coin and a piece of wax. Behind
another part of the skirting was found a Waterloo medal, which was known
to have been in the possession of his lordship, with a ribbon attached
to it; and there was also found the 10_l._ note which has been mentioned
before. The fact of the discovery of this note was a most important
feature in this case. If it had been removed from the note-case, in
which it had been placed, by any ordinary thief, it would undoubtedly
have been carried off by him. Found as it was, however, concealed within
the skirting-board of this pantry, it was taken as almost conclusive of
the guilt of the valet, because no hand but his could have placed it in
that position; for it is to be observed, that, from the moment of the
discovery of the murder, he was placed under surveillance, and could
not, therefore, have conveyed away anything from the house. A further
search was subsequently made, and a split gold ring, on which his
lordship kept his keys, and which had been attached to his watch by a
ribbon, was found; and then, on the evening of the next day, a locket
was taken from Courvoisier's pocket.
The discovery of this small article was one to which very great
attention was paid, and which formed a very singular feature in the
case. Upon it being taken from the pocket of the valet, he claimed it as
his own. It was well known amongst the family and domestics of the
deceased nobleman, that he had always carried a locket about him,
containing a small portion of the hair of his deceased lady. A short
time before his murder, he had missed this relic, to which he attached
great value, under circumstances of considerable mystery. He had been
staying at Richmond, accompanied by no other servant but his valet, and
during his sojourn there he occasionally went to Hampton, to visit his
relative, Lady Sarah Bailey. In the course of a conversation which he
had with her ladyship, he dropped the locket out of the case in which he
usually kept it, and quitted her ladyship's apartments, without having
discovered his loss, to attend divine service at the chapel of Hampton
Court. On his return the locket was presented to him, and he placed it
in his pocket, but from that moment he never saw it again. It was
missed, and the most diligent search was made for it, but in vain; and
his lordship, grieved at his loss, eventually returned to London without
having recovered this relic of his former affections. Upon the discovery
of a locket in the possession of Courvoisier, a presumption was raised
that it was that of his deceased master, with which it corresponded in
every particular; but, in obedience to his repeated asseverations that
it was his own, it was returned to him. On the next day, by a most
remarkable accident, the same locket, of the identity of which now no
doubt any longer remained, was found concealed in a small hole under the
hearth-stone in the pantry, the room in which Courvoisier remained. Upon
this the police thought fit to take him into custody, and he was
conveyed away from the house; and, after he had been taken off, still
further discoveries were made. On the 11th of May, a chased gold-key was
discovered; and, on Wednesday the 13th, it was determined to examine the
sink in the pantry. A part of the sink was covered with lead, and that
portion having been removed in the course of the investigation, it
occurred to the police-officer that there was something extraordinary in
the appearance of the lead. He turned it up, and there he found the
watch, which had been placed at the noble lord's bed-head on the night
of the murder, but which on the next morning was discovered to have been
removed.
These were the material facts adduced in evidence against Courvoisier
upon his various examinations before the magistrates; but strong as were
the suspicions excited against him, it was felt that there was still
good reason to believe that he would escape conviction. An experienced
attorney, Mr. Flower, was engaged to conduct his defence; and so strong
a feeling had been excited in his behalf, that a liberal subscription
was raised among the foreign servants in London to defray the expenses
of employing the necessary counsel to appear for him at his trial. Mr.
Hobler, an attorney, was engaged on behalf of the prosecution; and at
length, on Thursday, the 18th of June, the trial of the prisoner came on
at the Central Criminal Court, before Lord Chief Justice Tindal and Mr.
Baron Parke.
The court was then crowded with persons whom curiosity had drawn
together to procure a sight of the prisoner, and to hear the evidence
adduced against him; and, amongst the noble and distinguished
individuals present were, the Duke of Sussex, who remained during the
whole of the day, and appeared to take great interest in the
proceedings; the Countess of Charleville, Lady Burghersh, Lady Sondes,
Lady A. Lennox, Lady Granville Somerset, Lady Julia Lockwood, Lady
Bentinck; the Earls of Sheffield, Mansfield, Cavan, Clarendon, Lucan,
and Louth; Lords Rivers, Gardner, and A. Lennox; M. Dedel, the Dutch
ambassador; Marshal Saldanha, the Portuguese ambassador extraordinary;
Sir Gilbert Heathcote, Sir Stratford Canning, Sir W. Montagu, Colonel
Fox, Lord Frederick Gordon, Hon. Mr. Villiers, &c. As a proof that every
part of the court was brought into requisition, it may be mentioned,
that the prisoners' dock was filled with chairs, every one of which was
occupied.
Mr. Adolphus, Mr. Bodkin, and Mr. Chambers, appeared for the
prosecution. The prisoner was defended by Mr. C. Phillips and Mr.
Clarkson.
The prisoner, who was an alien, elected to be tried by a jury of
Englishmen; and the indictment having been read, he pleaded "Not
guilty."
Evidence in proof of the circumstances which we have detailed was then
produced, and the first day's proceedings had closed, when the new and
important testimony to which we have already referred, affording
conclusive proof of the guilt of the prisoner, was discovered.
In the course of the inquiries which had been made subsequently to the
murder, some articles of plate were found to have been removed from the
house of his lordship; but, after the minute examination of the house
which took place, there was good reason to believe that this portion of
the transaction had occurred long before, and not after, the murder. All
the efforts of the police to discover this stolen property had proved
ineffectual; and although large rewards had been offered for its
production, it was not until the evening of the first day's trial that
it was brought forward. An intimation was then conveyed to Mr. Hobler of
the fact of its being in the possession of Madame Piolaine, the keeper
of a French hotel in Leicester-place, Leicester-square; and upon its
being inspected by persons who were competent to speak to its identity,
they at once most positively proved that it was the same which had been
formerly in the possession of his lordship. The circumstance of this
most extraordinary discovery was directly notified to the prisoner's
attorney; and Courvoisier being by him consulted as to the truth of the
allegations made, he at once admitted his guilt. At this stage of the
proceedings, it was felt that such a confession placed the advocates who
had been employed on his behalf in a condition of the greatest
difficulty. For them to have thrown up their briefs would have been at
once to admit the uselessness of any efforts to save their client from
an ignominious death--a duty to the performance of which they had
pledged themselves; and it was therefore determined that they should
continue their defence of the prisoner, although the line of conduct
which it became proper to pursue was necessarily much altered by the
discovery which had been made to them. The instructions which they had
originally received, went to the extent of calling upon them to
endeavour to procure the implication of the female servants of his
lordship, and of the police, who were to be charged as their companions
and associates in crime in the murder of Lord Russell, and in a
conspiracy to secure the conviction and execution of the valet; but
although the former portion of this defence was of course deemed fit to
be withdrawn, a considerable degree of abuse was heaped upon the police
by Mr. C. Phillips in his speech for the defence of the prisoner, in
consequence of some improper conduct of which he alleged they had been
guilty, tending to prejudice his case, and even going to the length of
fabricating evidence to excite suspicion in the minds of the jury
against him.
To proceed, however, to the new evidence which had been obtained, we
shall, in order to make it more easily understood, lay it before our
readers in the terms in which it was produced at the trial at the end of
the second day's proceedings.
After being sworn, Charlotte Piolaine deposed as follows:--"My husband
keeps L'Hôtel de Dieppe, in Leicester-place, Leicester-square. I know
the prisoner at the bar. I knew him about four years ago. He came to our
hotel in the situation of waiter. I don't recollect that he gave me his
name, nor did I know it. We used to call him John in the hotel. French
is generally spoken in our hotel; and we called him Jean. He lived with
me as a servant for about a month or five weeks, not longer. I never saw
him since that time till about six weeks ago. He came to me at the Hôtel
de Dieppe on a Sunday morning. He merely asked me how I was, staid a
short time, and went away. I did not recognise him when he first came.
As it had been some time since I saw him, I could not recall his
features to memory. He said, 'Don't you remember me? I am Jean, who
lived with you some time ago.' He staid but a few moments and went away.
I asked him in the bar if he was in a situation, and he said 'Yes;' and
I said, 'I am very glad of it.' I saw him again on the Sunday week or
fortnight afterwards, I cannot remember which. He came in and asked me
how I was. It was in the evening, and he had a parcel in his hand--a
paper parcel. He asked me to take care of it till the Tuesday following,
and he would call for it. I said 'Certainly I would,' and he left it and
went away. I put up the parcel in a closet. I did not know at that time
what the parcel contained. It was a sort of brown paper parcel, about
eighteen inches long, and it was tied up and sealed. He did not call for
it on the Tuesday following, and I never saw him since until to-day. I
heard once or twice of the murder of Lord William Russell. The parcel
had certainly been left with me before I heard of the murder, but I did
not suppose it to be connected with that event. I took it out of the
closet for the first time yesterday morning. I kept it at the bottom of
the cupboard. I was induced to take it out in consequence of an account
which my cousin read in a French newspaper, and showed to me. I
communicated with my cousin, and with Mr. Gardine, for whom I sent. He
lives in King-street, Soho, and is a chaser and modeller, and I sent
also for Mr. Cumming. He is a solicitor, I believe, and is a very
intimate friend of ours. My cousin Vincent is my husband's partner in
the hotel. The parcel was opened in the presence of these persons. It
was never opened before from the moment it came into my possession. (Mr.
Cumming, who was subsequently examined, here produced the parcel, which
was about eighteen inches long by six wide.) That is the parcel, and
that is the paper that was on it. (The witness, by the direction of
counsel, opened the parcel.) It contains spoons and forks of silver, two
pairs of new stockings, a pair of gold auricles for assisting the
hearing, a pair of dirty socks, and an old flannel waistcoat and a
jacket. The jacket was wrapped round the other articles, and there is
also some tow or yarn which would have the effect of preventing the
plate from being felt or rattling. When we discovered these things, Mr.
Cumming immediately put it up again, having first put in an inventory
which he took down on paper, and which we all signed, and took it away.
He brought it here, I believe."
Louis Gardine: "I am a chaser and modeller, and live in King-street,
Soho. I know M. Piolaine, who keeps the Hôtel de Dieppe in
Leicester-place. I remember a man bringing a parcel to the hotel on a
Sunday, but I do not recollect the exact time. I was only a visitor, and
did not take much notice. The parcel was wrapped up in brown paper. I do
not know the man who brought it, and had not, to my knowledge, ever seen
him before. I cannot identify the prisoner as the man. I was fetched by
Mr. Vincent yesterday about some news that was in the paper, and I went
to the hotel. We went directly to Mr. Cumming in the city. We found him
there, and he came back with us to the hotel. A parcel was then
produced, and Mr. Cumming cut the string and opened it, and it was found
to contain some silver and some other articles; and a list was made out
of its contents."
Mr. Richard Cumming: "I am a solicitor, and carry on business in the Old
Jewry. In consequence of a communication I received from Gardine and
Joseph Vincent yesterday, I went with them to M. Piolaine's, in
Leicester-place; and a brown paper parcel was produced. I was consulted
as to the propriety of opening it, and it was ultimately opened by me. I
made out a list of the articles, which I now have, and fastened the
parcel up again. Before doing so I observed the crest on the spoons, and
proceeded to Ridgway's, the booksellers, where I learned that the crest,
a goat, was that of the Bedford family. I immediately proceeded to
Marlborough-street police-office, to seek the magistrates' advice and to
be relieved of the possession of the parcel. I had an interview with the
clerk to the magistrates, and in consequence of what transpired, I came
down to the Old Bailey in a cab. I arrived here about six o'clock, and
sent in a note to the solicitors for the prosecution, Mr. Wing and Mr.
Hobler, to whom I made a communication. The paper brought in some time
ago contains a portion of the contents of the brown paper parcel, but
having placed my initials upon it and the articles, I gave up the brown
paper and the remaining contents to an officer by direction of Mr.
Hobler. The paper produced is the covering of the parcel, and the
articles I produced were contained in it. On the back of the cover there
has been an address, which is nearly erased. Besides the spoons and
forks there was some ear apparatus, made of gold, in a box. I produce
the list signed by myself and the other parties. The articles consisted
of four silver table-spoons, four silver dessert-spoons, two silver
tea-spoons, four silver forks, one leather box containing two
instruments for the ears, two pairs of white stockings, with no mark on
them, one pair of white socks, each marked C 4, one flannel jacket,
another jacket which I have called a flannel jacket, and a small
quantity of tow or yarn."