“PUBLIC MISCHIEF"

Evening Star, Issue 22452, 24 September 1936, Page 1

“PUBLIC MISCHIEF"

A FALSE CONFESSION Said to have written to the police falsely confessing to the murder of a Cardiff grocer found battered to death in Ins shop, a man was committed for trial at Cardiff on a charge of effecting a public mischief. He was Kuan John Jones, aged iff), who recently leapt from a train in which be was being brought to Cardiff'. Jones, who pleaded guilty, asked for legal aid, but this was refused. Mr John Stewart, for the prosecution. said that two weeks after the murder of- John Gilbert, a grocer, the Cardiff police received a letter from Jones in which lie was alleged to have stated: “I killed the man in the shop. I will tell you later when I see you. I am a native of Tonypandy, and have been staying at Portsmouth. “ 1 went to Cardiff the day before the crime and stopped in Bute road. He was counting money, and 1 surprised him on the job. 1 want legal aid as I struggled with him before I hit him. I left Cardiff the same night and caught lorries to London.” As a result of that statement, Chief Detective-inspector Tom Lewis, of Cardiff, went to London and saw Jones, who made further statements. “I am not going to tell you what happened,” the alleged statement proceeded, *’ hut Gilbert struck me, and I hit him back, and killed him, and took £0 5s and some coppers from the premises.” Detective-inspector Lewis, in evidence, said that after investigating the statement, he saw Jones at Brixton 1 r'son, and said, “ You answer to the description of a man who was m 1 ortsmontb on June 0 to 8. If you are that man, then the statement yon made to me is false.” Jones, be stated, replied: “ They made a mistake. How could T he in Portsmouth when 1 was in Cardiff . I did the job all right.”