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THE CHINGFORD MURDER. examination of the accused,Jonathan Gayden, aged 49, no home, labourer, was charged on his own confession, at the Waltham Abbey Petty Sessions, before Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton and Messre. G. Alccrck, R B. Colvin, and J. Parnel, with the wilful naurder of Miss Mary White, of ChingfordnA th6JyearJ1?57- *»*• R°bert Martin, of Woodford, conducted the prosecution on the part of the relatives of the deceased.Mr. Martin, in stating the case for the prosecution, briefly recapitulated the facts already made public, and in addition stated the deceased was 72 years ofage. The murder was discovered by a niece of Mr. small, who reached the house at about noon on the day of the murder. When the deceased was found it was evident that she had first been knocked on the head with a stick, and that afterwards her throat wasC4Mri fir‘?/.1?^ues^,waf on the body, and a verdict of Wilful murder was recorded against Jonathan(rayden, and at the same time a warrant was issued by Waltham magistrates for his apprehension. In spite of great efforts made to arrest Gayden, he had ! ®luded fcfae variance of the police, and it was only on Saturday last that, of his own accord, he gave himselfinto custody on the charge which was before the Bench.Henry Matthews, a constable in the West Sussex Constabulary, stationed at Horsham, said that about half-past one last Saturday morning, he was on duty in the Brighton-road when the prisoner asked him the way to the police-station, and stated that he wished to give himself up for the murder.Superintendent Henderson, West Sussex Police, who received the prisoner at the Horsham Station, deposed to the prisoner confessing the crime to him. The prisoner told him that he had been out in India working on board ship as a sailor.Inspector Todman, of the N division, Waltha_, handed in the following statement made to him by the prisoner'at Horsham Station: ** Horsham, Sept. 6, 1879,7 p.m.-—I, Jonathan Gayden, now in custody at Horsham-Police-station, say I lived with my father at Church-hill, Walthamstow, twenty years since. I came to^ Horsham on the 5th, and told a constable that I wished to give myself into custody for killing a woman of the name of Small, at Chingford Hatch, on a Sunday morning, during the absence of Mr. and Mrs. Small at church, about twenty years since. I was in Chelmsford Gaol for eighteen months for horse stealing, and committed the murder directly after coming out.—It. Todman, Inspector.”Mr. John Small, a retired farmer, residing at Chingford Hatch, said in 1857 he was occupying a farm at the foot of Friday-hill, Chingford. Miss Mary White, who was his wife’s sister, lived with himself and wife for over twenty years up to the time of her death. She was murdered on Sunday, the 21st of June, 1857. Witness was away from home at church. The deceased was the only person in the house at the time of the murder. Witness had known the prisoner Jonathan Gayden ever since he was a lad, for he used to call at witness s home with messages to his parents. The last time he saw him was about two years before the murder, on the top of a haystack. The prisoner’sparents used to live at Hincks Green. Last Sunday witness recognised the prisoner, who was amongst ten or a dozen men at Woodford Police-station. On the day of the murder witness lost a suit of clothes, some old coins, a watch, and other articles.James Wills, a gardener, of Woodford, said that on the day of the murder he was standing on the bigbridge at Chingford, opposite Mr. Small’s farm, and atHe pi was c on »Tu prod i gaol, makit man, gaveThe ttation put tlt;to sa«murdYThbeenAffaisomegardikno*wouldingthePowEurlt;•ym] a fac the nen hero grou Rotl damabout half-past ten o’clock in the morning the prisoner passed over the bridge on the opposite side of the road.He knew the prisoner well, having worked with him for two years at Hall-end. Prisoner did not speak, but witness saw him go up to Mr. Small’s gate, leading to a footpath, and come away from it again on the opposite side. He then lost sight of the prisoner close against the gate.Detective Quinney, of the N division, said that when conveying the prisoner to the House of Detention he said, “ I talked with the woman at Mr. Small’s back door, knocked her down, and then cut her throat with a pocket-knife.”At this stage of the proceedings, on the application of Mr. Martin, the prisoner was remanded.The statement made by the man Jonathan Gayden respecting the murder of Miss Mary White, at Chingford, some twenty-two year3 ago, is causing the greatest possible excitement in the neighbourhood. The. accounts in the papers referring to the matter have brought many people forward. Two persons who were acquainted with Miss White, and who knew the prisoner well, saw Gayden, and they swear to him as the man against whom a verdict of “ Wilful murder ” was returned for the murder of the unfortunate lady. The prisoner, who was removed to the House of Detention on Tuesday night, still declares that all he has stated is true. When asked what prompted him to commit the murder, he replied that he supposed it was the devil. He further stated that he knew the time Mr. Small and his family went to church. He went to the back gate and knocked at the door of the farmhouse. The deceased opened it. He at once attacked her, and having knocked her down, took out a pocketthroknife, the blade of which he drew across herShe died instantly. The prisoner further states that.....dehe pulled the body inside the door, which he closed, and then took what property he wanted. He had been m constant fear of being taken, although he had wandered thousands of miles. An intimation has been received from the Treasury to the effect that a gentleman from that department would conduct the prosecution for the Crown.discoveredthe large bills offering a reward for the prisoner’s apprehension. It is dated June 27,1857, and readsthus: “^£100 reward will be paid to any person giving such information as will lead to the apprehension and conviction of Jonathan Gayden, against whom a coroner’s jury have returned a verdict of wilful murder for the murder of Mary White, at Chingford, Essex, on Sunday, June 21,1857.” Then follows a description of the prisoner, and a promise of free pardon to any accomplice not being the actual murderer. Gayden appears to have picked the lady’s pocket after cutting her throat. The only money she possessed was 21s., which the prisoner took. The old lady had arranged to go out on the following day of the murder to visit some friends, and the money stolen from her pocket had been obtained to pay her expenses. The most important Diece of evidence againstthe prisoner will be that respecting the knife with wbicn the murder was committed. It was found inthe house covered with blood, and a warder of the Springfield Gaol, Chelmsford, swears to it as one he gave to Gayden on the 18th of June, 1857* three days prior to the murder of Miss White. The knife was found in a washing basin, and the prisoner had apparently been endeavouring to wash the blood off it, when he is supposed to have been disturbed, and left it in the water. The prisoner is now in the House of Detention, and states that since he has made the confession his mind is at rest.HE-EXAMINATION.Jonathan Gayden, who was charged, on his own confession, with the murder of Miss Mary White, at Chingford Hatch, twenty-two years ago*! was again brought up, on remand, before Sir T. Fowell Buxton, and Messrs. Alcock, Colvin, Parnell, and Bury, county magistrates for Essex. Mr. Lewis, coroner for Essex,who was the first witness examined, said he held aninquest on the 22nd of June and the 3rd of July, 1857, on the body of Miss “White, when a verdict of “ Wilful murder against some person or persons unknown ” was returned. The deceased ladv was 70 years of age, and, having viewed the body, he saw that her throat had been cut, and that there were marks of violence on the forehead. James Sutde, a labourer, resident at the time at Walthamstow, stated that he saw the prisoner on the day of the murder about a mile from the house in which Miss “White lived, and spoke to him, upon which Gayden replied, “ You need not say that you have seen me.” Henry Duggles, sawyer, of Walthamstow, also proved seeing the prisoner on the morning of the murder about a mile from the house, and he said to him—“ Hulloa, Gayden , is that you ? How long have you been out of prison ? ” The prisoner replied,ft About a week. You need not say that you have seen me” Mrs. Selina Sapsford, of Chingford, described the state the body was found in, and said that the house was ransacked, and that sheToffteriitheGotStAsayianhavpollconsen!peoinaltlioI coirof 1Passhofroilioiwit! to itheThlt;wiqugolalt;thlt;isAtciouna a ciasp-xmte m a bowl covered witb blood. Thomas Holden, letter-carrier, but at the time of thestationed at Chingford, _ ________identity of the prisoner. He had, he said, appre i—i-f__ horse-stealing, to which the pnsonei;hlt;pleaded guilty, and was sent from the Old Bailey to Chelmsford Gaol for the offence. George Locke, formerly a police-sergeant engaged in the case, gave corroborative evidence, but would not swear to the prisoner’s identity. Mr. Charles Hooper Nicholas, deputy-governor of Chelmsford Gaol since 1853, proved having bad a man named Jonathan Gayden in Chelmsford Gaol eighteen months for horse-stealing.
Newspaper Details
London Mid Surrey Times Kingston Express and Richmond Herald
London, Middlesex, GB
Sat, Sep 20, 1879
Page 6
Full Page
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USA 05 Jan 2020
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