COURT. Q. Was the back parlour a room occupied by the prisoner? A. That was the room occupied by him.
MR. BEST. Q. Who occupied the other rooms? A. A person of the name of Cowper occupied the front parlour — he had been there about a week — a young man named Levick also lived in the house; he left on the following Saturday — there was no other person living there — I think Cowper served in a china-ware shop, but I don’t know exactly; the other man used to drive a coal cart, his employer is a coal and coke merchant — I am sure there was no man of the name of Shirley there — I have seen a young man of that name there once or twice whilst Mullins was there.
MR. PARRY. Q. Who was he? did you know anything about him? A. I did not know much about him — I believe his father is a calenderer, a calico glazer, or something of that sort, not a plasterer — he is about twentyfive or twenty-six years of age — Mullins did not sleep at home regularly — I believe he once told me that his work laid over at Stepney, it was his habit to go out on a Monday and return on Saturday night — his wife and children were most of the time at home — I believe Mrs. Mullins used to go oat washing.
STEPHEN THORNTON (re-examined). I found this boot in the dust-hole described by Mrs. Cooper at the house 12, Orford-street, Marlborough-road, Chelsea — I gave instructions for a piece of the landing to be cut out on the second-floor of the house 9, Grove-road — it was done and I produce it — Sergeant Tanner actually cut it out — there is a foot mark of blood on it, of the left boot of a man, coming from the room.
WILLIAM THOMAS (re-examined). I was present when the piece of wood was cut out of the landing — this is the piece, it was taken from the landing on the second-floor; the top of the house.
STEPHEN THORNTON (re-examined). The marks on it are marks of blood — I had to wash the boot, it was in a very filthy state, it laid about two feet in the ashes — I have made a comparison of the boot with the marks on this piece of the landing — there are two nails near the too that seem to correspond exactly, and there is a licking up of the blood in the centre of the boot which appears to me a hole that would gather up the blood and leave the impression that appears to be left on that board — there is a double row of nails on the left side of the boot, and there are two nails more especially very prominent in the boot as there is on the board; if you turn the boot on to the impression you will see the two nails speak of — in washing the boot a great portion of the heel fell off; it was in a filthy state — all manner of filth had been thrown into the dust-hole.
Cross-examined. Q. Did you put this pencil mark round the impression? A. No; I think Dr. Gill did it — I had seen the marks repeatedly — these two nails in the shoe were strong in my mind — it was that which made me bring the boot away having an idea of what such an impression would leave in the warm blood — Tanner cut the mark out — a board was previously nailed over it by one of the officers — I saw it nailed over with instructions that it should be preserved.
RICHARD TANNER (re-examined). The piece of wood which Thornton has produced is in the same state that it was when it was first observed at the house, with the exception of the pencil mark round it, that was made by Dr. Gill in my presence — I cut it out myself — I understand the terms billycock and wide-awake to mean the same thing — in London they are generally called wide-awakes, in Staffordshire and those parts, I have heard they are called billy-cocks.
MR. BEST. Q. I believe you were not at the house the first time the footmark was discovered? A. I was the first detective at the house, Dillon was there before me, it was pointed out to me by inspector Kerrison.
WALTER KERRISON (Police-inspector). I produce a knife which I found in the pocket of the deceased — I searched her pockets in the morning — I saw Dillon find a ring; this is it (produced) it was found between the mattress and the bed — I observed some marks of blood on the landing of the room — I called Dr. Gill’s attention to them — this is the piece of board that was cut out of that landing — with the exception of the pencil mark, it is in the same state as when I first observed it — I found nothing in the old lady’s pockets but this knife — I found no money or anything of the kind.
DR. GILL (re-examined). I have examined this boot with a powerful magnifying glass — I found one hair between the welt and the sole in this broken side, the best part of it was packed within the boot; I found another hair on the surface, and a third here — I am of opinion that they were human hairs — I think I can produce them now — part of them were cut up to put under the microscope, and part of them Dr. Letheby cut up.
COURT. Q. Do you say that they are certainly human hairs? A. Certainly — I ascertained that, by means of the microscope — my experience enables me to say that they are human hairs — I could tell what colour they were — they were much the same colour as Mrs. Emsley’s hair — I had some of her hair in my possession to compare the two — I compared the hairs with what I actually took from her head — they appeared to correspond in colour.
MR. SERJEANT PARRY. Q. You cannot of course say more than that? A. No one could say more than that — human hair is used for plaster and mortar; there is no doubt of that — I examined the pencil case that has been produced — I saw a spot on it which I imagined to be blood — it was on the edge — I asked Dr. Ansell to examine it with me, and we examined it together under the microscope — in my judgment that spot was blood — a microscope is an infallible test as far as regards the proof of blood — it is believed to be so.
MR. BEST. Q. You cannot tell whether that blood was human blood or not, I believe? A. Certainly not.
MR. SERJEANT PARRY. Q. Unfortunately at present there is no test by which you can detect human blood from other blood, is there? A. No.
COURT. Q. Where is the mark you speak of? A. Along the line of the opening of the pencil case; between that and the head.
ROBERT WENT (Policeman, K 160). After the discovery of the murder I searched the coal cellar at the house, 9, Grove-road — in the coal cellar under the coal, I found a tin box — it was wrapped up in part of a handkerchief — I found in the box 16l. 2s. in silver, and 32l. in gold.
JAMES WRIGHT. I am an estate and house agent — I cany on my business in Bow-road — I called on Mrs. Emsley about some paper-hangings on Saturday, the 11th, to the best of my knowledge; the Saturday previous to the murder — I saw her in the evening about 6 o’clock — I remained with her, I dare say, an hour; not looking at the papers all the time — I went up stairs — when I first went in the passage, the charwoman who has been examined, opened the door — that was the last time I saw the old lady — there was another person in the house at the time — I saw a person sitting on the stairs — that was the person whom I saw at the Coroner’s jury — his name is Mullins — I see him here now — it is the prisoner.
Cross-examined. Q. Where do you live? — in the neighbourhood? A. About two hundred yards from the place — I was not at the house at all on Tuesday, the 14th, I am quite positive — I do not know a man of the name of Stevenson — I am quite positive that I never entered the house after the Saturday — not at all in the afternoon of Tuesday — that I am quite positive of.
MR. SERJEANT PARRY. Q. Is there any pretence for suggesting that you were ever near the house after the Saturday? A. Not any — I know the old lady before — I had done several things for her.
ELIZABETH FUKE. I am married, and live at 17 1/2, James-street, Commercial-road, East — that house belonged to the late Mrs. Emsley — I was tenant of a house of hers at No. 14, in that street — I know the prisoner — I remember hearing of this murder — he came to my house a few days before 13th August, to set a copper — that was, I believe, about twelve days before 13th August — when he came, he said Mrs. Elmsley was a miserable old wretch; that she sent men about to do work, but she did not always find them in materials to do it with — I asked him what he required and he said some cement — I asked him what quantity, he said, “About a peck” — I gave him the money and he went for it, and when he ret
urned he further said that he had been at her house that morning; that she was sitting down to breakfast which he would not have sat down to himself, she would not even allow herself as much as a farthing’s worth of milk to put in her tea; she was drinking it without, but I need not take any notice of it to her; it was a great pity such a miserable old wretch should be allowed to live.
Cross-examined. Q. Was that alluding to her penurious habits, and mode of life? you did not think he was going to murder her, from that? A. No; I believed it was in allusion to her penurious habits.
The following Witnesses were called for the Defence.
MARY MULLINS On 13th August last, I resided with my mother, at 12, Orford- street, Chelsea — my father lived at Barnsley-street at that time — two of my brothers, James and Thomas, lived at home with my mother — there was another, John, he used to be down with my father; he sometimes used to come up to mother’s — I have seen this pencil-case with my brother James, in June and July, in his possession — I do not know, where my brother James is now — he is a sailor — I saw it in June last — I have seen it several times since at my mother’s house, in August, and about a fortnight before my father was taken — I have had frequent opportunities of observing it — I have had it in my hand several times — I believe this to be the pencilcase I have seen with my brother.
Cross-examined by MR. SERJEANT PARRY. Q. When did you first hear of the murder? A. I can’t exactly say the day of the month — it was on Saturday — I read of it in the papers — I was in a situation at 9, Sloane-terraee, Chelsea, with Mr. Gibson — I have seen Mrs. Emsley once or twice — I know that my father worked for her — I had not seen my father before I heard of the murder — I saw him on the Saturday night, that was after the murder; I was dismissed the same day by Mr. Gibson from his service; on the Monday after my father was taken — he was taken on the Sunday — it was in September that I was dismissed — I was dismissed from my situation because my master read of it in the paper — that was all — I swear that — that is all the reason I can give — he told me I had better go, as my father had been taken, as he did not like to have me in the house.
Q. Was nothing said about removing a stone in the kitchen? A. Yes; I dropped a shilling there — the reason I was dismissed was not because I had been found removing a stone in the kitchen, and been supposed to be hiding something — it was after that, when I was paid my wages, when master told me to go — mistress paid me in the kitchen, and I dropped a shilling down by the side of the fire-place — there was a little girl came in, she saw me removing the stone — I told her to hold the candle while I removed it; she told my master after I had left — the removal of the stone was not the cause of my being dismissed — I found the shilling — no one was present when I found it — the little girl who held the light did not see me pick it up; she was called away — the bell rang for her to go up stairs — I did not find the shilling in anybody’s presence — I was not dismissed for removing the stone because it was supposed I was hiding something — the master, when I took the papers up in the morning, read of it in the newspapers — he did not tell me for an hour after, for one of the young ladies was ill, and he was afraid it might disturb them, so he called me out, and told me to meet him in Sloane-street; and he asked me if I had heard about my father; he said he had seen it in the newspapers, and it was very bad, and he wished me to leave — I had got the stone up before the little girl came into the kitchen — I called her to hold the candle for me — she was accidentally called away, and did not see me find the shilling; I did not tell her not to say anything about it — I did not tell her I would give her sixpence if she did not say anything about it — I can’t say exactly what time in the day it was that this stone was being removed, a little after 2 o’clock, I think — I was dismissed on the Monday after my father was taken; about 4 o’clock I think it was; between 3 and 4 o’clock — I was lifting the stone about 2 o’clock, and I was dismissed between 3 and 4 o’clock — it was after the master had told me to leave, that I was lifting the stone; I had to get my clothes and things — I last saw my brother James in July, or the beginning of August; in July I think it was — I had not seen him for some time before the murder; he did not leave home since the murder; he left some time before — I have seen this pencil-case with my brother James — I have two other brothers, John and Thomas — John used to sleep sometimes at my mother’s, sometimes down at my father’s; both of them, John and Thomas, slept sometimes in my mother’s room, and sometimes with my father — my father used to come home very seldom; only on the Saturday — he was not in the habit of sleeping with us; only on Saturday night or Sunday — my brother went down in the country, and he heard of my brother coming home from sea, and came to see him, and he remained at home till some time after my brother came home from sea — my brother came home from sea in May — in August John and Thomas were living generally with my mother — Thomas was in a situation at a green-grocer’s, in Marlborough-road, Chelsea — he was an errand-boy — he used to go there regularly every day, and slept at home — when I was out of a situation I used to sleep at home — I went to see my father on the Saturday after the murder, because I was anxious to hear about it; I was anxious to hear about Mrs. Emsley, seeing it in the papers — he did not send or come to me, I went to him, to my mother’s — I was paid 12l. a year by Mr. Gibson — I can’t say exactly how much it was that I received on the Monday when I was dismissed — it was not so much as a pound — it was 17s. or 18s. I am not sure which — I was only there for a short time — the slab that I was removing, was in the back kitchen, by the side of the fire-place; there was a hole by the side of the fender — Mr. Gibson’s is a large house.
THOMAS MULLINS. I live at No. 1, Rose-court, East Smithfield — I am about sixteen years old — I work at light labouring — I have once assisted my father in his trade — I have been to see him in Barnsley- street — I stayed with him there — I remember Monday, 13th August last — I was staying with him in Barnsley-street that day, at No. 33 — my brother John was staying with him besides me — I was doing nothing that day — I was at home all day — my father was out at work — I remember what time he came home that evening from his work, it was about a quarter-past 7 — he stayed in the house after that, and did not go out any more after that — he slept there — he slept in a little bed by himself, and I and my brother slept together in the same room — I got up in the morning about half-past 7 — my father, after he got up, went and water-washed the passage ceiling, and stopped the nail holes — he was at work doing that till about 12 o’clock; he then came in and had his dinner about 12, and went out about half-past 12 — I did not go with him — I do not know this boot at all — I have never seen it — I never saw my father with a boot like that — I clean my father’s boots sometimes — I know what a billy-cock hat is — I never saw my father wear one of those — one generally hears it called by that name — it is a round hat — it is the same thing as a wide-awake — he had not a brown wide-awake on the Monday evening at all, he had his hat.
Cross-examined by MR. SERJEANT PARKY. Q. When did you last see your brother James? A. About three mouths ago from this time as near as I can judge — I perfectly remember the time of the murder; he was then at home.
Q. When did he leave home? A. Oh, he was not at home; I made a mistake — I said just now that he was at home — he left home about three or four weeks before the supposed murder.
Q. If you knew that, what made you tell me that he was at home? A. I bethought myself; it ran in my mind — I have been spoken to about whether my brother was at home or not at the time of the murder — it has not been very much spoken of in our family whether he was at home or not — I have heard it spoken of, because some persons asked me — I made a mistake when I said that he was at home — he never wore a wide-awake hat — there was not such a thing as a wide-awake hat in the family — he went to sea — I do not know where he is — he went in the “Mechanic” — I don’t know where for; N
ew York — I was not in work at the time of the murder — I have worked in the Marlborough-road — I was not working there in August — I can swear I was with my father on the 13th — I was not at work at a green-grocer’s in Marlborough-road in August — Yes, I dare say I was; the very day I left I came down to my father’s.
COURT. Q. Were you at work in Marlborough-road at a green-grocer’s in the month of August? A. I do not know; I don’t recollect.
MR. SERJEANT PARRY. Q. Just now you said the very day you left you came down to your father’s? A. I came down to my father’s — it was on a Sunday morning that I left, and I came down on Monday to my father’s — I can’t answer whether I was at work at this green-grocer’s on Sunday, 12th August — I have done work since 13th August, at Mr. Pinnock’s — I have only been there one day, that is all the work I can recollect that I have done since 13th August — that is all that I have done since 13th August — I do recollect — before the 12th August I was at work at a green-grocer’s in Marlborough-road, all that part of August up to the 12th — Pinnock is the name of the green-grocer — I was also at work for him two Saturdays ago — that is all the work I have done — I had been at work for him about six months before, and I have done one job for him since — I was dismissed — I was not sent away — I left myself, of my own accord — I did not have any other situation — I was not sent away, I am quite sure — I am quite sure I left on 12th August — I did not go with my father on the 13th — I was at Barasley-street all day on 13th August — I was there about 12 o’clock in the day time — no one went with me, only myself; that was all — my brother John was down in the room in Barnsley-street — I slept at home on the Sunday night with my father, in Orford-street — that was on the Sunday night — my father was at home on the Sunday — he left home on the Monday morning about six o’clock — no one went with him — I went to Barnsley-street at 12 o’clock in the day — I did nothing there all day — I went there to see my father, and to see how he got on with his work — that was not the reason I gave up my situation — I did not shut myself in the room all day — my brother John was there when I got there — he and I were in the room all day together; at 12 o’clock we were — I went out, but I was not long out — my brother did not go with me; he stayed in — he had slept in Barnsley-street the night before, by himself — he is older than I — I did not know that from him; I knew it by myself — I was there with him — no, not the night before; I was there all the day with him, and he slept there — I know he slept there on the Sunday night, because I went home, and my brother did not sleep with me, and when I went down there on the Monday morning he was there — I slept with my mother in Orford-street on the Sunday night — my brother John was not there — he slept at Barnsley- street — he was not doing any work at that time — he was not in work at all, neither of us — he was looking after work, he went there being near the docks — I went out for about a quarter of an hour — I have no remembrance what time of the day that was — it was about the middle of the day — I dined that day in Barnsley-street, with my father and brother — I am sure my father dined there; we had some bread and meat for dinner — we dined about one o’clock — my father came home to have his dinner — I don’t recollect at what time he came home to his dinner — there was no table in the room when I was there — there was one chair — there was no bed forme to lie on — I and my brother did not sleep on the bare floor — there were some canes there on the floor, that they make chairs of — they were on the bed and we took them off the bed and put them on the floor — the bed is a mere tressel with a sacking; my father slept there — that is the little bed I spoke of just now — my father remained in after coming home about a quarter to 7 — we had our supper afterwards — I had some bread and tea for supper — my brother and I went to bed at 9 o’clock — I did not go to sleep — I was not awake all night — we did not go to sleep till my father got into bed — I went to sleep about 12 o’clock — I went to bed about 9 and went to sleep about 12 — I could not go to sleep — I do not know what time my father went to sleep — he went to bed at the same time we did — I could not go to sleep till my father came to bed — he came to bed at 9 o’clock.
Delphi Complete Works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Illustrated) Page 1102