REMARKABLE CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY.

Colonist, Volume II, Issue 148, 22 March 1859, Page 4

REMARKABLE CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY.

j^WpVsmp-st^et Pplw |yer; ':%2'Z ijp/pathan Abbott/ a;/r^pectable; lpp^ing/ypupg mari/pf; about 21./ca^ on refnaridi,' charged orif suspicion ;^ with.lthe;. ; folio wing-xobberyi-rr"/;/ ;j//At!;''the;ffirstex^n^^ 'aeryanlt^pf'Mir/^me^ In/yHigh-sft^ iipprf /going: upstairsy at-/ nal^paet /jU)-/pn; Sunday-umprriingi; ih /cbnsejquericef; pf yhlicj maMesr's; dogtbaHcihg/f very violently; $^ fouhii ■ the fdrawers yinf the; sitting-room; which; shefkriew to have been'elosed before,' all widia open, and/ on 'lobkingyover the JDannisters she saw the;prisprier cpniing* frbrri the/diriirig-rbom/with" the'piate-basket, m/his )|and/ " She/ ym downstairsi aftephim;, c/klliHg s 'upon hirrif tp ; saj*/who he^a^ and; the/prison er ran i hto/ tiie b^edrpem,/ fp7 J owed; by >the/f.witriess; who Ibuss off the /drawers, pre^hteJitat'/hiTh, and/ declared she -would; rshpotj/him if h,e.; didyhot giye up. the; plate..yThe;prisoner:; hesitiited to dp so, and she preseritedfthe blunderbuss at himand pulled the trigger; but the.lock only .snapped, without tlie piece! ;explpdirig/ and yishei ■ therefore; fliiiig; the ;piece/down;'closed;;wi;th;^he;prisorier; andsiiat^ed/the fpite-basket away {fprnhirri/ :Tl^/instant f she/ha 1 /done sq; the prisoWer turried/sliarply' round,/leaped, through the ; bed^rpp/m fwindow oh to sompjtiles, an,(| fpr, ItlVaOiithe escaped. On Tuesday mornjhg^ Ayhiler ; .passiing thrpugh:thpvHackney-i;oad/ ;slip .saw ;thp v prispAer enter a;publicThouse,, identified hini immed|<itely, and rap; for, a policerrian j to ■take, him, hut when she/had.. rgot; backi ;with? an officer-hehadlefV;yshe ' subsequently, however; saw him in, front of a waxwork exhibition' in the.same neighborhood, and;was this time more successful ;iii/securing him:' She; did not/get afull Vi/eiv of the;prisonefa face, but she was close to ..him when s^e wrested thp^plate-' basket ffroihyhim, aiidycpuld/gwearhabst positively to.him, /both ffro^'liis/ personal appearance ,a,nd.r di*ess,,.;he thayihg/pip the ; same !.4ap 7 and coat he •np\y^"wpr^.,/.thp / pnly. ■ difference. being ; ,that he. : ,then wpre a pair of shepherd's; pi aid,^trousers. The girl; was repeatedly cautioned as to the possibility of hetf being mistaken in the:- prisoner, but she declared she was perfectly cool at the time/arid in flexibly adhered to her idehtificatiph of hifti; in which1 she was most positive, andcouTd riptbe deceiyed.f y f y A ■■■"■'■ yf- / Mr. Sheltpn said he was attending service with his family at/0/ ; City-irpad, Chapel/dh Sunday morning, /w;hen he/ wias suddenly sehtfor, and. on getting .home, found hjs house had, bpen.entered.'through the.;kit-chen-dpor.or \vindo.vy' by c .thieves, Avho had broken'open;his counting-house,desk with a.crow bar, and also idrawers yin ..-.both., his daughter's and his niece's bed-rooms.. The platen-basket had been saved through the Courage of -the girl Everett, but ;the thieves had still got off with a gold watch, three gold seals, a gold pencil-case, three gold earrings; ai silver watch,y.and several other articles, none of wbieh had sinceheen either;,., traepd. or reeovered.f It wa? quite by.accident'Or j pi-oviderice that the. blun-. derbuss was at •that, timef^nlpa.ded, as he always kept it loaded ; fbr^the : protection ofhis premises,;which had/<>been several times attempted. #; ,-.-.. -,-.. -, /f y; '-. -X In ansvver to this posi tive -testimony ■ the prisoner called his father, John Abbott, > who .declared1 that his: son was perfectly; innocent; that he knew him to be so, andi could, .moreover, as fortune would have; it;produce 200 witnesses, if necessary, .to \ prove that he was so. On tlie Sunday; morning the prisoner got up at :half-past s $, and he nevt;r lost sight of him for more than a n}inute or. two at fa , time till the same hour >at .Bight. In the niorning.;he vvvpre",vjiipt : :the,;coat-,iie. now, had on, but a waistcoat; \yith:sleeve's;. ; tpyi.t, and; wore this;till he' dressed for, chapel, whpn he 'wore a black frock coat, dark brown trou-| sers, knd a black alpaca waistcoat, and he; never hadplaid trousers iri his life.3 The chapel; is two miles from the prosecutor's;premises ;|. the prisoner was dressed" for chapel at a; little/pastlG, arid was in chapel at halF-' past; 10. The witness hiniself had been 18 years, iri his present -si tuaiion> ; , and four /yearSjan atteniilantat; thisjchapel, ,He was rnpst anxious :-tp.- : have;,the//.vyholi3f.matter thoroughly in vestigated, as it was most distressing to thef;family,yand,:must prove his son's entire innocence. ; : > The girl•Fiverettiwas:again called and cautioned,; but said-—" I can< and do swear most positively to him, andyam quite sure he is the same man." ' ' f / f^ !f The ; case was, therefore; adjourned till Friday,; when /the' court /was crowded with respectable persons, / thef majority of them / witnesses for/the prisoner,; who/. appeared ;j quite distracted with his situation/was more \ than once in tears, and buried his faee./ih' 'hisrhatids. //;//,./;:..../ ..../ ~;;;/:■/;/-.! '; ..././Qafcbign, of /the. : ll division, t aaidyhef ; knew a regular thief ,whp very much resera|bled the prisoner indeed, and he did -not; believe thef prispner was guilty; and/two/ other 'officers said precisely the samef/ff y I ; /The girl was therefore again asked the same question a,s before;' and replied, in j answer to the 01^81^16^'Thre-thief did ; i not speak a word, but/I am certain .prisoner is the same/mati. I. was quite/ t collected tlie / tiiiie, would h^ve/shot/ hira/J if/the/blrihderbus^.^ unjbaded, . r and would have pinned hirii^ to the/^indow|-, sill if I had hacl one bftheriieat-spearshe^r :^e:."''///'///;/y.///.f;/,,/.; 'xZ-AZxa-aZ}-^ U .Out of at t least two idpzen witnesses wli|j j were anxious to he exaniipedr for : thecpti,-! j gpher, three, named iGireeri,;:Griffiths^.;ahjjifl Hawking the; litter the^chapely organist^] V^ere seilecled, threfe sworethatpi*^ seiner attended all the services atthecliapfl tlut/clay/and/wasf.therei MYp!Y pe^itiihe; 'nio/rhihg at' 20' or 25 minutes past 10. and was recognised, nodded to, and spoken to :; tty3%M/;.// '/: " ' YXAyslt!._ IJ'Jiyhcburf said, that ( no evidence could be stronger or more positive than this; the young woman, cool and ,positive aa she was,; must be mistaken, and the prigoner must be discharged. , ,