1789-01-09 (static/transcriptions/1789/01/199.jpg)

July 1787
OLD BAILEY.
Yesterday Will: Carter was tried, for the willful murder of Elizabeth his wife; which, by the indictment, was charged and stated to be done by forcing her into a tub of water, and keeping her until she was drowned.
The first witness was Margaret Currey, who swore, that the prisoner and his late wife lodged at her house about three months: that she hsaw her on the night the murder was supposed to be committed, about ten o’clock: That the prisoner and his wife rented of her a shop, a back kitchen, and a garret: That they generally set in the shop: That they sold milk: That after ten o’clock that evening she never saw the deceased until she was found dead in the tub: That the prisoner behaved exceedingly rude to her, as well as to every other person: That she saw him the next morning between seven and eight o’clock: That short time afterwards several persons came for milk: That she saw them, and bid them knock loudly, for that Mrs. Carter would not otherwise hear them, she being very deaf: That after a great deal of knocking, no answer was given; she therefore went down, and found nobody there, and the key of the street door was gone: she then was much alarmed, and searched the prisoner apartments, but found nothing but the gown the deceased had on the night before, which was spread o nthe bed, it which in appeared no person had lain the night before: That between seven and eight in the evening the prisoner came home, and required to be admitted, used very abusive language, and asked where his wife was, and whether she was with Mrs. Swift in the garret; being answered in the negative, he opened the shop; Mrs. Cook then came for some milk, and asked Mrs. Swift in the prisoner’s presence, if he had [ILL] his wife ill, on which he expressed his sentiments about his wife in very coarse and indecent language; hinted that she was too old for him, and that he wanted a younger woman, but did not say any thing about her absence, and then said to a young woman who was present, my dear, I am going out, and called a watchman, offered him sixpence for attending to the shop window. He then went out and returned about half pasrt eleven and knocked. Mrs. Currey saw no more of him until Friday, the following morning, between eleven and twelve, when she asked him if he had yet heard or seen any thing of his wife: to which he answered, d—n her, I shall never see her any more, she is hanged or drowned, I suppose. Mrs. Currey repeated the question, and received the same answer, and he then said, “she will come no more, for here are her pockets, keys, and money, the witness then asked him, what she went away in, for there were the cloaths she wore the day before she was left, laying on the bed, he answered, she had a comblet gown.
That the water tub in which the body was found stood under the stairs, was a beer but, the bottom of it was raised about two feet above the ground, and was about the same distance at the top from the stairs, that there is a cock to it: that the witness slept in the one pair of stairs room forward, went to bed between ten and eleven on the night the deceased disappeared [ILL]