Cylchgronau Cymru

Chwiliwch trwy dros 450 o deitlau a 1.2 miliwn o dudalennau

EXTRAORDINARY NUMBER 01 WEST OF ENGLAND MAGAZINE. No. 13.* Wednesday, June 6, 1832. Half-penny. MURDER OF MR. PAAS. Leicester, June 2, 1832. A murder, attended with the most revolting and horrid cir¬ cumstances that perhaps ever disgraced a civilized commu¬ nity, has, we are sorry to state, been perpetrated in this town within the last three days.'— Behind the Flying Horse pub¬ lic-house, Wellington Street, there is a detached building, formerly occupied by Mr. Johnson, book-binder, de¬ ceased, and latterly by a young man named James Cook, who carried on the business, but who, it seems, resided with his father in a distant part of the town (Wharf-st. Wheat- street.) An unusual glare of light being observed through the window of the building about eleven, on Thursday night, attended with a strong smell of burning, some of the neighbours were induced to force the door to ascertain the cause, when they saw what at first appeared to be a piece of horse flesh, (but which sub¬ sequently proved to be part of the body of. a human being) roastingon a large blazing fire ! This circumstance, having given rise to suspicions that some foul deed, near akin to Burk¬ ing, had taken place, one of the individuals present sug¬ gested that Cook should be sent for, which was accordingly done. Cook having arrived on the spot, and being asked to explain what they saw be¬ fore them, said that he had bought some flesh for a dog, but finding it not suitable, he had placed it on the fire to burn, rather than bury it. The persons present being un¬ able positively to ascertain whether the substance taken from the fire was or was not what Cook stated it to be (so much was it burnt and disfi¬ gured,) Measures, a constable, who had been summoned to the spot, hesitated as to the propriety of taking him into custody ; but at length, Cook's father offering to be respon¬ sible for his appearance in the morning, he was suffered to go at large. Mr. Macaulay, the surgeon, having been ap¬ plied to the next morning, to examine the remains, pro¬ nounced it to be part of a hu¬ man body, when Cook was immediately sought after, but was not to be found. A search of Cook's premises also took