QSR1898/1/5/13

Depositions of Thomas Perkins, John Godman and Henry Goodliff. In the case of Charles Westley and Herbert Wilmot, accused of stealing 9 tame rabbits.

14 January 1898

From: 1898 To: 1898

Thomas Perkins: a labourer of Wymington. He keeps rabbits and on the 13th December he had 11 rabbits in a barn. He locked them up at 7pm that night. He went to the barn the following morning about 6.30am and found that the lock on the door of the barn had been broken and 9 of the rabbits had gone. John Godman: a police constable stationed at Podington. On Tuesday 14th December Thomas Perkins informed him that one of his outhouses had been broken into and 9 tame rabbits stolen. He examined the padlocks on the barn and found they had both been forced open. Two barns had been broken into but one of the barns was empty. He examined the ground and found footprints of two men. One set of footprints had been made by boots with nails in and the other set of footprints had been made by a lighter pair of boots without nails. He paced them to a gap in the hedge about 5 yards from the barn. He then took a cast of the footprint made by the right nailed boot. On comparison with the prisoner, Westley’s, right boot, the cast matched exactly. The number of nails in the footprint and the boot also matched. Last night about 11pm he saw the prisoner, Wilmott, at Rushden. He told him that he had come to see him about some rabbits which had been stolen at Wymington. The prisoner replied that he knew nothing of any rabbits. He asked the prisoner if he and the prisoner, Westley, had any tame rabbits about the 13th December and the prisoner replied that he never had any rabbits since he was a boy. He took the prisoner to Mr. Goodliff who identified the prisoner as the man from whom he had bought a rabbit off. He then charged the prisoner, Wilmott and brought him to Sharnbrook. [Cross-examined] Mr. Goodliff said that he was certain the prisoner, Wilmott, was the man he had bought the rabbit off. Henry Goodliff: a shoehand of Rushden. About a month before Christmas he went up the “Wheatsheaf” Inn about dinner time to get a glass. The prisoner, Westley, came to him and asked him if he wanted to buy a hare. He replied that he didn’t mind. The prisoner, Westley, said that he would bring the hare up to his house that night. Both prisoners came to his house about 6pm and the prisoner, Wilmott, pulled the hare out of his pocket, it was a Belgian Hare. He told the prisoners that he would rather not have it was he was going out at Christmas. The prisoner, Westley, replied that he had asked him to bring it over. He then asked the prisoners how much they wanted to the hare and Westley replied half a crown. He said to the prisoner, Westley, that he had only two shillings and Westley replied that he could give him the sixpence when he had one. He paid the prisoner two shillings and told his wife to sell the hare on as he did not want to keep it. His wife then sold the rabbit onto a neighbour for 2 shillings and sixpence. [Cross-examined by Westley] He paid the prisoner, Westley, two shillings when the rabbit was brought to him. [Cross-examined by Wilmott] The prisoner, Wilmott, pulled the rabbit out of his coat as he gave the prisoner, Westley, the money. Charles Westley: Not guilty Herbert Wilmott: Not guilty

item

Perkins, Thomas,
Godman, John,
Goodliff, Henry,
Westley, Charles,
Wilmott, Herbert

Rushden, WYMINGTON, PODINGTON, police constable, labourer, Public House, stealing, rabbits