THE MURDERS NEAR LEATHERHEAD.
Ever since the perpetration of the murders at Fetcham, considerable suspicion has been attached to a man named William Page, alias Cobler Will, the paramour of Mary Ayres, the grand-daughter of John Akehurst, who was so inhumanly murdered on the night of the 13th of October. Although every exertion has been made since the murders to discover the retreat of the above individuals, no intelligence whatever was learnt respecting them until Saturday morning last, when it appears Mary Ayres went into the shop of a tobacconist at Weybridge, and having asked to be supplied with half an ounce of tobacco, commenced of her own accord to converse on the subject of the late murders to the person who served her. “Why,” said she, “I have heard lately, that John Akehurst and his housekeeper, Elizabeth Haynes, have been murdered at Fetcham.”—“Yes,” said the shopkeeper, “and a dreadful murder it has been.” She replied, “Then John Akehurst was my grandfather, and the man that I live with is the person who is suspected of having committed the murders.” She then said, “My name is Mary Ayres, and I am now going towards Oakshot, where my father and mother live, to show them and the world that I am innocent.” The tobacconist allowed her to depart; but soon after she had left Weybridge, she was met by a constable named Watson, who, it appears, had gained previous information of the road she had taken. When the constable first saw her she was walking along the road, smoking a pipe of tobacco. He did not immediately pretend to know who she was at the time. Being in a gig, he drove the horse up alongside her, he asked her whither she was going; she replied, without hesitation, that she was going to Oakshot to see her father and mother. The constable then asked her whether she should like to have a lift along the road? “Ay,” said she, “and thank you too.” She then stepped into the chaise, and the constable, desirous of ascertaining whether she would give any account of herself during the fair at Leatherhead, that took place on the 11th of October, asked her whether she had been there; she said she had not, but that on the very day the above fair commenced she was present at one that took place in Hampshire, upwards of 60 miles from Leatherhead. The constable then inquired her name; she, without the slightest embarrassment, replied, “My name is Mary Ayres; and having heard the report of my grand-father, John Akehurst, and his housekeeper, Elizabeth Haynes, being murdered in their cottage at Fetcham, and that Will Page and I were suspected of being the murderers, I am now on my way to my father’s house, and intend to go to Fetcham before the Justices to clear myself of the charge.” “Who is Will Page?” asked the constable. “Why (said she), he is the man I have been living with, and he is as innocent of the charge as I am.” “Why is he not with you, then? Inquired the constable. She said, she left him behind at Weybridge, in their tent, and that the following day (Sunday) he was to join her at Oakshot, and they intended to proceed together, and clear themselves in the face of the world. Watson then said, “I am a constable, and am going over to Fetcham, have you any objection to accompany me there?” “Not the least in the world,” answered Mary Ayres; “I shall go wherever you like to take me, conscious of my innocence.” Watson then drove on to Fetcham, to the residence of J. Hankey, Esq., where an examination of this woman took place before that gentleman, the Rev J.G. Bolland, and the Rev Mr Heberden, to all of whom every praise is due, for their unwearied exertions in bringing to light the perpetrators of these inhuman murders. The examination took place at a late hour on Saturday night. Mary Ayres is rather a well-looking woman, above the middle stature, with an expression of countenance approaching that of the Gipsy tribe. She was dressed in a brown cloak, and wore a cottage-shaped black beaver bonnet, with boots laced up in front.
In the presence of the Magistrates she did not evince the least dread, but answered the questions put to her without the slightest hesitation; indeed, her general demeanour during the time she was before the above named gentlemen, showed that she was under no apprehension as to the result of the inquiry.
Mr Bolland then commenced the examination, and put the following questions to her:—
Mr Bolland—You are the grand-daughter of John Akehurst, who was murdered lately in his cottage at Fetcham?
—“Yes, Sir, I am,” said she.
Mr Bolland then warned her, in the usual manner, not to answer any questions which would tend to criminate herself, as on a future occasion they might be brought forward as evidence against her. This caution he thought it necessary to give her previous to her entering into and giving an account of herself from the commencement of Leatherhead fair, up to the present period.
Mary Ayres curtseyed, and thanked the magistrates, intimating that she had nothing to conceal; she was anxious, she said, to clear herself of the charge of having any participation in so horrible a crime as the murder of her own flesh and blood, meaning her grandfather. She here solemnly asseverated, that she was as innocent of the crime as the child unborn.
Mr Bolland—Where were you on the 11th of October, the day on which Leatherhead fair began?
Mary Ayres, having taken a short time to recollect herself, said, “On the 11th October, I was at Weyhill fair, in Hampshire, along with Will Page.”
How long ago is it since you saw your parents at Oakshot?—The last time I saw them was in the latter end of September.
Who was with you at the time? Will Page was along with me.
Where did you go from thence?—We went from thence to Catherine-hill fair, which was held on the 2d of October. After the fair was over we went to Basingstoke, from thence across to Petersfield fair; after that we proceeded to Winchester, and as it was then drawing near the time for Weyhill fair, we then began our journey in that direction, and arrived at Andover the day previous to Weyhill fair, which we entered on the 11th of October.
Mr Bolland—Can you bring forward any persons to prove they had seen you at the fair you speak of?—Yes, Sir, there is a man named Bignold, who travelled with Will Page and myself; he is in the neighbourhood of Fetcham now, and will prove what I have stated to be correct. There were also two Irishmen in our company during the whole time we stayed at Weyhill; those men could be easily found to prove the fact.
What have you been doing since the conclusion of Weyhill fair?—Why we packed up, and came on the road towards home, and on the way called at several other minor fairs in our route.
Mr Bolland—When did you hear the report of your grandfather and his housekeeper having been murdered?—We did not hear of them until within the last week or so.
Mr Bolland, as well as the other magistrates, expressed considerable surprise at the circumstance, and asked whether or not, soon after leaving Weyhill, she did not hear any persons speak on the subject of the murders that had been committed near Leatherhead?
Mary Ayres accounted for the circumstance of not hearing of the murders, by saying that neither herself nor Will Page were in the habit of having scarcely any intercourse with the people of the towns which they passed through; they gained a livelihood by travelling about the country as “trampers,” and always slept, ate, and drank in their own tent, which they pitched at some distance from any town. As for reading or seeing a newspaper, they scarcely knew what it meant.
Mr Bolland asked her the name of the place where she first heard the report of the murders?—She replied that it was at a village not many miles from Weybridge. On hearing it, they hastened forward to that place; and on their arrival she went into a tobacconist’s shop, and told the shopkeeper that her name was Mary Ayres, and of the suspicion that was attached to herself and Will Page, as being the perpetrators of the murders.
Mr Hankey—Where did you leave Page? How is it that he did not come forward with you?—Mary Ayres replied that Page was now in his tent at Weybridge; that he directed her to go on to Oakshot, and promised to meet her the following day at that place; adding, that he would carry the tent and the whole of their baggage, and be with her in the afternoon at Oakshot. She then went on to describe the manner in which Watson, the constable, met her on the road to Weybridge, as already detailed.
The magistrates here sent a messenger over to the Bell public-house, where the man named Bignold before alluded to was in waiting. Bignold (on his arrival) swore that he was in company with Mary Ayres and Wm. Page from the commencement to the conclusion of Weyhill fair; that he afterwards travelled with them to other fairs on their way back into Surrey, and added, that none of them heard of the murders of her grandfather and Elizabeth Haynes until their arrival within a short distance of Weybridge. He concluded his evidence by saying, that it was impossible for any one to assert with truth that Mary Ayres had been seen in the neighbourhood of Leatherhead during the fair at that place. This young man seemed to give his evidence with a great deal of candour and fairness. It appears that he follows the trade of a shoemaker, the same business that Will Page, alias Will the Cobler, now pursues, and that they have been tramping about the country together.
At this stage of the investigation, messengers were despatched for the purpose of bringing forward a man named Smith, who, it will be recollected, had asserted, soon after the murders were perpetrated, that he had seen Mary Ayres at Leatherhead fair. This man, on being confronted with the woman, having closely examined her features and dress on the present occasion, and having been asked by Mr Bolland whether he was still of the same opinion as to her identity, replied that he was still convinced that she was the person whom he had seen in the fair. On uttering his firm belief as to her identity, Mary Ayres expressed considerable indignation against the man, and with a look of anger scowled at him, and said he had asserted a gross falsehood, and accused him of uttering that which he knew was false, for the purpose of getting money.
Mr Bolland here very closely questioned Smith on the points which he had asserted. The worthy magistrate asked him what length of time he had a knowledge of her person before he had seen her at the fair? Smith, by his answers, seemed to have had a very slight knowledge of her, for he could not positively swear that he had ever seen her before the time he had asserted at the fair.
The magistrates all concurred in the opinion that Smith must have been mistaken with regard to the identity of the woman. They then directed Mary Ayres to be taken to the Bull public-house, with orders that she was not to be permitted to hold any communication, particularly with William Page, in the event of his arrival in the course of the night.
On the day following (Sunday), a constable having been sent to take Page into custody, met that individual on the road from Weybridge, coming towards town (where it will be remembered, according to Mary Ayres’s account, he was to meet her), and apprehended him. Page did not evince any agitation on apprehension; but, on the contrary, said, that he was most happy to go any where, or before any persons, to vindicate his character from the imputation that now attached to it. He, therefore, most willingly accompanied the constable to the residence of Mr Hankey, where he underwent an examination before the above named-magistrates. His account perfectly agreed with that of Mary Ayres, and he fervently called God to witness that he was innocent of being concerned in the murders. During the time occupied in his examination, Mary Ayres was in custody at the Bell, and therefore had no opportunity of having any communication with him whatever. He gave the magistrates a more minute detail of his journey and occupation, from the time he left Oakshot, in the latter end of September, until Weyhill-fair, than Mary Ayres; and added, that there were hundreds of people that saw them there during the whole of the time. He then observed to the magistrates that he was most willing to give himself up into custody, and to remain in prison until the business was sifted to the bottom, and the real murderers discovered.
Mr Bolland (to Page)—How long ago is it since you were at Leatherhead fair?—Page said that he had not been there since last October 12 months, and requested that if any persons were now present who asserted such a circumstance, that he should be most anxious to be confronted with them, in order to convince the magistrates that there was no truth in the assertion.
Several individuals who were present at Leatherhead fair, and were in attendance on the present occasion, were now asked whether they had seen Page or Ayres in the fair? No person, however, came forward to prove that important fact, except Smith, who still adhered to his former statement respecting the identity of Mary Ayres; but he could not take upon himself to swear that he had ever seen Page until the present occasion.
The bundles belonging to Page were then ordered to be examined, but there was nothing found except some of their old clothes, their bedding, and the shoemaker’s tools which he used in his business.
The magistrates consulted together for a short time, and expressed their opinion that there was no evidence to warrant them in detaining either of the parties.
Page—I shall be always on the spot, gentlemen, if I am wanted; and depend upon it I shall use all my endeavours in looking after the murderers.
Page and Ayres were accordingly discharged, both of them intimating that they intended to proceed to Oakshot to see the father and mother of the latter.
The murders therefore remain precisely in the same state of mystery as previously to the apprehension of the suspected persons who were discharged on the present occasion.
The magistrates are determined not to relax their exertions in tracing the murderers, and, aided by the officers of Union-hall, it is confidently hoped they will, ere long, accomplish so desirable an object, and speedily bring to justice the perpetrators of the offence.
RE-APPREHENSION OF M. AYRES AND W. PAGE
Watson having again searched the property of Will and Mary Ayres, found a gown and other articles, which he considered important as far as they confirmed the evidence of Smith. He therefore took Will and Mary Ayres on Monday night again into custody, and had them locked up in the cage at Weybridge. Yesterday they were brought back again to Fetcham, and were allowed to sit in the parlour at the Bell public-house. The father and mother of Mary Ayres were with them, and they repeatedly said to her, “Oh Mary, I hope thee beest innocent.” “That I am, by God,” she exclaimed, “and that lying rascal, Smith, would hang me if he could.” She added, “Why, father, this is my birth-day; I am 22 this day.” The old man replied, “Good God, so thee beest, and I always said that thee didst not do the murder.” The mother of the girl said, “They say the constable has found something amongst your things, Mary, that will get you into trouble?” Mary Ayres answered, “Never mind, mother, they cannot hang me, find what they woull, for I committed no murder.”
RE-EXAMINATION OF WM. PAGE AND MARY AYRES.
Fetcham, Tuesday evening, Seven o’clock.
The second examination of William Page, alias “Cobler Will,” and Mary Ayres, has terminated in the committal of the former to Horsemonger-lane Gaol, and in the discharge of the latter, upon condition of her appearing again om a future day. The following are the particulars of the investigation before the Rev. Mr. Bolland, which took place, this evening, at the Bell Tavern, the house where the Jury sat on the bodies of the murdered persons:— Mr Watson, the constable of Weybridge, was examined. He stated, that he had searched the travelling-baggage, apparel, &c. belonging to the prisoners, and found a considerable quantity of leather, and a variety of working tools used by Will in his business of shoemaking; he also found a velveteen jacket, a flannel jacket, and a pair of trowsers, which had spots of blood on them. He produced the articles, and the magistrates examined them. He further stated that he found a gown, amongst other article of wearing apparel belonging to Mary Ayres, which appeared to him to have marks of blood on it. This he produced to the magistrate, who inspected it. Witness also produced a silver tea-spoon, and two pint pots, the marks upon which had been obliterated.
Cobler Will exclaimed, that it was all stuff about there being marks of blood on the clothes; so help him God, he and Mary were innocent of the murder, and the clothes had been spotted in consequence of their having been put on the sore back of a poor donkey.
The Rev. Mr. Bolland expressed much doubt if the marks on the apparel were caused by human blood.
Cobler Will complained of the treatment of Watson, the constable, at a public-house at Weybridge, on Monday night. He said that he and Mary Ayres were locked up in the round-house, without having any food supplied them, and they were kept there all night.
Watson replied, that having discovered new, and what he conceived to be important evidence against the prisoners, he went to the public-house to take them into custody; and Will swore the most horrid oaths, that no cursed petty constable should take him and starve him to death; and when he (Watson) attempted to secure him, he rushed upon him in a most furious manner, and almost strangled him, by twisting his neckerchief.
Cobler Will: (With an oath) I wasn’t going to be starved to death by a rascal like you; poor Mary is as innocent as a child unborn.
Smith, who had previously stated that he saw Mary Ayres at Leatherhead fair, was re-examined, and he persisted in his former statement.
The Rev. Mr. Bolland did not seem to give much credit to this witness’s evidence, and he observed that it was very strange, if Mary Ayres was at the fair both days, that only one individual in the town, where she was so well known, should be able to speak to that fact; and as she had surrendered heself, and had confirmed her statement that she was at Weyhill fair at the time of the murder, by the testimony of Bignold, he did not think, upon such evidence as had been given against her, he should be warranted in committing her.
A question was put to the prisoner Page, alias Cobler Will, relative to a case of highway robbery and horse-stealing. In reply, he used the most disgusting language; he told the magistrate he might be cursed, and find them out. He was asked by what means ha and Mary Ayres had obtained a subsistence for sometime? He replied that sometimes he made shoes and sold them, sometimes he attended fairs, and sometimes Mary prostituted herself to get a few shillings, and they managed as well as they could,fo almost all must live by some means or other. He did not care a curse what they did with him, and they might hang him the next minute.
The magistrate told Cobler Will to discontinue the use of such abominable language; and having consulted with Grossmith, the officer of Union Hall, upon the subject of some evidence which had been obtained against the prisoner, concerning a felony which had been committed in Hampshire, he (the magistrate) said, that he had made up his mind to commit Cobler Will to Horsemonger-lane Gaol for re-examination on a future day.
Mary Ayres was asked if she would attend at the next examination. She stated her willingness to come forward at any time.
Watson, the constable, stated, that he would keep possession of a horse and donkey, and the other property which he had seized belonging to Cobler Will.
Cobler Will swore that Watson wanted to steal the property; but the whole of it belonged to Mary Ayres, and had been bought with money pf hers, and ought, as she had been discharged, to be delivered up to her.
Watson said something about expences which he had incurred in apprehending the prisoners, and said that the horse was Cobler Will’s, and not Mary Ayres’s. He knew of whom Cobler Will had bought the horse, and he thought that he ought to keep possession of it.
The Rev. Mr. Bolland said, that from the admission of Watson, it appeared that the horse had been fairly obtained by the prisoner, and he thought it ought not to be detained.
Watson did not concur with the opinion of the Magistrate, and ventured to expostulate in no very moderate or polite terms against giving up the property; but the Magistrate insisted upon the constable returning it to Mary Ayres.
A warrant of commitment was made out against Cobler Will, and given to Grossmith, who conveyed him in a chaise to Horsemoger-lane Gaol, where he arrived at ten o’clock at night. He will be examined again in a few days.
FROM A CORRESPONDENT
Some days prior to the examination of William Page, alias “Cobler Will,” who was suspected of having been implicated in the murders recently perpetrated at Fetcham, information was received at Union-hall Police office, that he had been concerned in the crime of horse-stealing, to a considerable extent, in Hampshire, besides being implicated in the commission of various felonies in the county of Surrey. The magistrates of the above office, acting upon the alleged facts, with respect to the charges against Page, immediately directed on of the officers belonging to that establishment to proceed forthwith to Fetcham, or whither he had gone subsequent to the investigation that had taken place before Mr. Bolland, on Monday last, and take him into custody.—Grossmith, the officer, accordingly left town on Tuesday morning, and, on his arrival at Fetcham, had an interview with the above-named magistrate, to whom he made known the business upon which he had come. Mr. Bolland accompanied the officer to the Bell public-house, where Page and Mary Ayres had taken up their abode since their arrival in that part of the country. Grossmith, on seeing the man he wanted, and having been previously informed that those who apprehended him had not examined his clothes, in order to discover whether he had in his possession any article that was likely to implicate him in the murders, commenced that task, observing to Page that he must submit to have his pockets, as well as the whole of his baggage, thoroughly searched. Page, in an angry tone, said, that it was a hard case that he should be liable to be pulled about, and have his pockets turned inside out by a police officer, after having undergone an examination on a charge of which he was proved to be innocent, and the result of which led to his final discharge only a day or two before. Grossmith, however, insisted upon the performance of that very important part of his duty; and at length, after some resistance on the part of Page, took from his small-clothes pocket a very ancient silver watch, with the maker’s name (Sampson, London) engraved on the inside of the case.
Mr. Bolland, on the discovery of this watch, asked Page whether he was inclined to give any account of the manner in which he had become possessed of the article? Page, in a morose tone, at first refused to disclose where he had got it; but upon Grossmith pressing him, by observing, that if he had come honestly by it, assuredly he could have no scruples in answering the question, Page then, with an oath, said, that “Poll prostituted herself for it, and that was the way I got it.” It may be necessary to state here, that Page is a most abandoned and profligate character, having been chiefly supported by Mary Ayres since they cohabited together, by the wages of her prostitution. The fellow having indulged for some time in language of the most obscene description before the magistrate, Grossmith threatened to place the handcuffs upon him if he did not desist; upon which Watson, the constable of Weybridge, who took him into custody on Sunday, and who was in attendance on the present occasion, observed, “This is the way in which he has behaved all along to me.” Watson had no sooner uttered the words, than Page, who seemed to be a most violent fellow, doubling up his fist, and running towards him, notwithstanding the presence of the magistrate and several other persons, gave him a blow in the face that capsized and laid him at the foot of the table. Grossmith seeing Page bent upon mischief, was under the necessity of handcuffing him, to preserve any thing like decorum. On further search of his person, a silver teaspoon was taken from his waistcoat pocket, the initials and marks on which appeared to have been recently erased. Grossmith, who is a very intelligent officer, finding that there was considerable mystery attached to the prisoner’s conduct, he often having refused to give a satisfactory account of the possession of the spoon, proceeded to examine one of his bundles, the remainder having been left behind, either at Oakshot or Weybridge, and in it found a garment belonging to the woman which had spots of blood on the upper part of it. On Page being questioned as to the cause of the marks, he accounted for them, by saying that they arose in consequence of its having been thrown over their donkey, whose back was cut, and bled a good deal. Some spots, that had a good deal the appearance of blood, were also visible on a waistcoat belonging to him, which he attributed to the same cause. Under all the circumstances, Mr. Bolland remanded the prisoner for further examination, and he wa accordingly given over into the custody of Grossmith, who conveyed him to town, and lodged him in Horsemonger-lane Gaol.