Distressing Circumstance AT LIVERPOOL.

Auckland Chronicle and New Zealand Colonist, Volume 2, Issue 19, 13 December 1843, Page 4

Distressing Circumstance AT LIVERPOOL.

Examination and Committal of Mr, Jenner, for Shooting his wife and son.} Yesterday morning, at an early hour, n report was, circulated through this town that Mr. William Jen-j ner, cotton broker, of Portland-place, Rosconimon=! street, bad shot his wife and one of his ions. The current statement was, that Mr. Jenner bad arisen! at an early hour, and finding his wife in the lower ' part of the house had shot her through the head: with a double=barrell pistol, of which kind of; weapon he had armed himself with no less than four ; that, leaving Lis wife lying insensible in her blood, he proceeded to the sleeping room of hw two sons.one of whom he also shot through the head, while the other made his escape and gave the alarm. Report likewise attributed the fearful event to frenzy or temporary insauity, brought on by losses and the dread of reducing his wife and children to: a state of poverty. It was known that the unfor*' tunate buy at whom Mr. Jenner had fired was dead, 1 the bait having passed completely through his head, but the la'iy still lingered, and it was even said! that hopes were entertained of her recovery. The : examination of the prisoner before Mr. Rnshton, was fixed to take place at one o'clock, but about twelve a messenger arrived iu haste to state that Mrs. Jenner was considered in extreme danger. The surgeons bad removed the depressed bone, which the bullet had forced down upon the upper membrane of the brain ; but it was found that the bullet was lodged in the brain, and could not be extracted. Mr. Rushton, presuming that the testis mony of the unfortunate lady might be in>portant, and evidence taken under such circumstances being admissible in courts of law, hastened with Mr Shuttlew orth, to Mr, Jenner's house. The prisoner under the direction of Mr. Dowling, was conveyed in the custody of Mr Parkinson, to the scene of this melancholy inquiry. He was ushered into the presence of his wife, who, in a state of the most perfect composure of mind, gave her deposition, which was wiiiten down by Mr Shuttleworth, The demeanour of the prisoner was calm and collected, with appearance,of melancholy, At two o'clock p, m, the prisoner was placed it the bar, before Mr Ruihton and Alderman Evans, Mr Michael James Whitty was sworn, and deposed as follows :—This morning, at seven o'olock I was sent for to go to a house in Portlandsplace, Rosconnm-u-streeU I went, and found Mrs Jennet lying in the front kitchen, with blood flowing from her head. She subsequently stated, in my hearing, that she bad been shot in the head, I . went to a front bed-room, and there found a boy j with bis head bound up and bloody. He was just able to (haw breath at intervals of about two minutes. -_-—__»«_«^__ Mary Jennet's deposition was—l am the wife of William Jenner, I got up this morning befote five o'clock, and left Mr Jaim>r in bed. We were freparing to go out of this house to live in another, went down stairs and got a cup of tea. I do not think my husband got up before half-past five. He came down about that time. It was certainly before six o'clock. He came down with bis shoe* in his hand, and said be would clean tbem, as tbe servant was out. He went np again. 1 remember feeling something, and 1 thought I had taken a fit. What occasioned the sensation I tin not , know. I heard (lie -children scream. I was sen-! sible before I spoke. I heard tbe children cry " Mamma ! mamma ! murder !" I called for Mr. Jenner to help me —I did not see him after that, I cannot tell where I was standing when I received the shock, 1 am not sensible who came to my assistance. I cannot tell whether I heard anvthing before I fell. No one bat the children and Mr Jenner and myself were in the house at the time. The servants Were sleeping in another house. George Jenner having been sworn, said—The prisoner, William Jenner, is my father, and he and my mother resided in Portland-placo, Ros-common-street. I slept in the front room over the front parlour, and my brother William slept with me. We both slept in one bed. This morning, somewhere between a quarter to six and a quarter past 6ix o'clock, I was awakened by some report near me. I rose up, and saw that my father was standing by the side of tbe bed on the side next to my brother. I and my brother both got out of bed and 1 saw my brorher standing near »y father, who had a small pistol in his hand. I caught bold of my father's hand, and begged him not to touch us. I did not exactly know what state my brother was in, but I smelt a smell of burning, and I cried out "Murder I" and ran down stairs. As I was going down stairs I heard a report, which seemed to oome from my bed-room. Whi n I got down stairs I ran towards the front door to get out, but I found the door fast, and then 1 went into the front parlour. My father came up to me, and I took two pistols out ot his hand. 1 asked him what made him do it, and he said he was crazy. I kept the pistols in my hand, and asked him where my mother was ? He said up stairs. I said 1 wanted to go and see her, but he said he would not let me, and he wanted to get the pistols from me. I did not find my mother. I came down again, and I think I went to the front door, but I don't recollect, 1 was so frightened. My brother and my mother were in the house, and no one else, as the servants slept out. I had not seen my mother. I went into the parlour, and waited there till my father came to me. He had something in his hand. He caught hold of me by the head, and directly I heard a leport, but nothing touched me. He had a pistol in his hand,and I immediately caught hold of it, and hit him on the side of the bei'd with it, I had the two pistols in my hand which I had be'ore taken from him, and tins was a third pistol, I then heard my mo'her *)>ont out something. 1 asked him where my moth r was. Ha said she was lying down stairs, and I told him to let me go to her. I got away bom him. lie tried to detain ine, but I hi ok e away from him. I wentrfown stairs, and I saw a pool of blood, aud ouy another lying on tl>e kitchen floor. Tbe blood aeeiiied to have cmne bom her bead. My father cam • iuio the kitchen. I said I would take the l»i>iols m«i ilitow them away. He tried to pit vent me. I rtached the door that leads to th» yard, aud said I-would thtow them over the wall. He 'eft loose of me then, and I took the three pistols and thiew them all into the midden. I was going back lathe fcttchvo when ! heaid Utm Cvimng down line stairs,

upon which I went back through the yard and opened the back door. He came to the door that goes to the lobby, and told me to come in and lift my mother up. I said, no, I would go and fetch a policemau to search him. I went out of the yard door and soon met a man. 1 asked him if he had seen a policeman. He asked me what was to do. I told him, ahd he said he would go and find a policeman for me. I was proceeding to Mr Ackerly's (the when I saw theman tell the police, and the boy said he would send up Mr Ackerly directly. The policemen were in the house when I got back. I told them where 1 had put the pistols. I have seen them since. They are the same 1 took from my father's hands. When I went up stairs I found my brother lying down on the floor of our bed-room. There was blood on the side of his head. He could not speak. William Maddox, police-officer, 285, sworn. I was returning from duty at twenty minutes past six o'clock this morning. I was in Great Homer-street, The last witness and a man both came to me nearly together. The man told me I must go to No. 25, Portland-place, as the boy's father had shot his mother and brother. I went there. I knocked at the door several times. It was not opened. At length a man's voice asked if it was George. I made no answer. A voice which I suppose was the prisoner's was heard again repeating the question. I said yes, and he opened the door immediately. It appeared to me that the door was not locked, but only latched. I went into the house. The prisoner did not speak, but stood in the lobby. I asked him what was to do. He did not speak. Two other officers came, and I heard a noise and proceeded forward to the kitchen. I found Mrs. Jenner lying on tbe kitchen floor. There was a great quantity of blood on the floor. I tried to lift her up on'a chair. Some one came down and by the assistance of that person I placed her on a chair. She was bleeding very much from a wound on the right side of ber head. She cried out, who's that? I told her it was a police officer. She asked me what I wanted there ? I told her I wascomiugto assist her to get in a chair. She asked me where Mr Jenner was? I said up stairs. By this lime Mr Ackerly came down. Mr Parkinson, the governor of the Bridewell sworn—l saw the prisoner in Bridewell about halfpast nine o'clock this morning. I went to see him, I said while he was under my care whatever he wished should be done for him. He thanked me, and said he wished particularly to know how his wife and child got on 1 Here tbe prisoner appeared to sink forward on his chair, and a moan of great anguish broke from h m. His son George, who had at first been taken byMr Rushton J s direction into a private room, but who ha<l for some reason returned to the court, sank in his seat also, and was led away weeping bitterly Many of the spectators were greatly affected at this •nd many of the distressing incidents which were developed during the examination, Mr Parkinson, (in continuation), —I said I would send to enquire immediately, He walked across his cell two or three times, and then said he bad shot one child ; he knew it was dead before he left home. He wished to know how his wife was. He spoke a good deal about how hardly he had been used. He said the world had frowned upon him lately, and his friends had neglected him, and much more to the same purport. Mr. Richard Ackerly, surgeon, Great Homers street, sworn.—l was seut for this inoruing, about a quarter to seven o'clock, to go to the house of Mr Jenner, in I went there, and , was directed first to the kitchen, I found Mrs! Jenner sitting in a chair, supported by a police officer. She was bleeding from the right side of her head ; bat, from the quantity of hair, I could not see the wound. On examination, I found an opening in the back part of ber heud, through which a hall had entered. A portion of tbe bouo, about the size of the ball was depres»ed. It was-on the dura mater. That portion of the boue has been removed, but the ball still remains in the brain. I went up stairs, and found tbe hoy also sitting in a chair, supported by a police officer. He appeared quite insensible, and was bleeding from two wounds one at the right side of the head, at the back, and the other at the front, on the left side of the head. Both these wounds had been occasioned by the same ball, which had passed through. He was insensible aud breathing heavily. He died in two or three hours. When I saw Mr Jenner, I said to him, Mr Jeuner this is a very lamentable circumstance. He said, yes—my poor wife ! She has been the best wife in the world to me, He said, you know Mr Ackerly, I am a deranged man ; you have been here before, I said, I have ; but I never expected to see you under such circumstances as the present. I' had been called in to him ou the 4th of September last, when it was said that he had taken poison. His son said he had seen him swallow it. I could not say, in point of fact, that he had taken poison, A phial of prussio acid was found jn his possession and two ounce phials of laudauum. The room smelled strongly ot prussic acid. I gave him an emetic, but I could not find any smell ot puissic acid in the room. I tried some of the prussic acid which I found in his possession on a cat, a»d it destroyed it almost immediately. Au empty phial which had Contained prussic acid was found in the room. Supposing a phial of prussic acid like found to have been taken, it would have produced death in about two minutes. The prisouer was not altogether coherent this morning. Mr Ackerly stated, in addition to his former testimony, that the depressed pieces of skull had been removed, and that Mrs Jenner bore the operation well, but she was in extreme danger. When he was called in to the prisoner, at the time he was siated to have taken prussic acid, Mr Banning, who attended with him wished to have him confined in a lunatic asylum, but Mrs Jenner would not consent. i Mr Rush ton called the prisoner by name, and : be stood up with an appeaiance of firmness and composure. In reply to Mr. Rushton's question h> to whether he had anything to say, he said, after spraking a few words to his attorney, Nothing at present. He signed Jus name at the foot of the depositions with great readiness. The witnesses w*tie bound over to appear at the nt-xt n»sizt-s, in reroguizanccs of £IOO each, and ilie prisoner was committed for trial,— Litcrpaol Courier-,