Stephen Bradford

110

Ron Garbutt on 7th July 2020

Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 8.0, 07 July 2020), February 1831, trial of STEPHEN BRADFORD (t18310217-5). STEPHEN BRADFORD, Theft > housebreaking, 17th February 1831. Second Middlesex Jury, before Mr. Baron Bailey. 440. STEPHEN BRADFORD was indicted for feloniously breaking and entering the dwelling-house of Michael Kenny , on the 11th of February , at Edmonton, and stealing therein 1 gun, value 25s., his property . MICHAEL KENNY. I am a day-labourer , and live at Edmonton - I rent a cottage there. On Friday, the 11th of February, about half-past five o'clock in the morning, I went out, leaving my wife at home, and my gun safe; I saw it safe the night before - I came home at half-past twelve; my wife was then at home, and in consequence of what she said I looked about the house, and saw some footmarks, by which I suppose two or three people had been there; I followed the footmarks - they led me to two or three fields from the house, and under some sods of a land-drain, under the hedge, I found my gun; there was a handkerchief tied on the lock of it - two of the footmarks were with nails, and one without; the prisoner was taken up about half an hour after I found the gun - I compared his shoes with the footmarks, and they fitted some of them - I had not seen him about the premises that day; I knew him by sight - I do not know that he was ever in my house; he was often about it. BRIDGET KENNY . I am the prosecutor's wife. I went out on the morning of the 11th of February, at a quarter to ten o'clock - my husband had gone out before; I left nobody in the house - I secured the shutters, locked the door, and put the key into my pocket; I came home at ten minutes past twelve o'clock, and found the bed-room window, which is on the ground floor, broken - it is a sash window; I had left the lower sash down, and put a little brass knob to prevent its being raised up - there was a hole in the top of the lower sash, and the knob went into the side of the window; a pane of the lower sash was broken, a hand could then be introduced, and the knob taken out - I missed the gun off two nails over the mantel-piece, about three yards from the window - they must have got in to take it. MICHAEL CARTER . I am a labourer, and live at Edmonton. On the Friday morning, about half-past eleven o'clock, I saw the prisoner and two more by Kenny's cottage - they were cutting a stick out of the hedge; the prisoner spoke to me - I knew him before: about a quarter to one o'clock I saw Kenny tracing some footsteps; nobody was with him - I told him what I had seen: I was with Kenny and Ingram, the constable, that afternoon, and came in sight of the prisoner; he ran away, and got behind a tree - I apprehended him. JOHN CARTER . I live at Edmonton, and saw the prisoner last Friday morning, with two more, between twelve and one o'clock, about a quarter of a mile from Kenny's - one of them had a gun in his hand; I do not know which of them - it was one of the other two; they were all three in company together, walking in a direction from Kenny's - they were not going towards where Kenny tells me the gun was found; they were about a quarter of a mile from there. JOHN INGRAM. I am a constable. I was with Kenny looking for the three boys, and was with Michael Carter when the prisoner was apprehended - I should think it was between one and two o'clock; the gun had been brought to me by Kenny and Carter before, and was at my house - the prisoner saw the gun and handkerchief that afternoon, and said he had lent the handkerchief to the other two, and that was the only thing that would do him; in the evening, after we had locked the prisoner up, we went to Kenny's house and examined the instrument the window was opened with; it had been found round the prisoner's neck at the watch-house - I was present when it was found round his neck; I campared it with the window, and have not the least doubt of its being used at that window - it corresponded with the marks; here it is - it is a marline-spike, and was tied to a long bit of string, with a knife at the other end of the string - the spike had been used to the window; I did not see his shoes compared with the footmarks. JOHN FOWLER . I am a constable. I saw the prisoner in custody, about half-past three o'clock, and found the marline-spike on him - Ingram was there; I afterwards took and matched it with the putty on Kenny's window - it agreed exactly; I afterwards went to the watch-house, took his shoes off, and went next morning at day-break and compared them with the footsteps about three yards from the window which was broken into; I compared them with eight or nine footsteps going towards the field, in different places, leading towards where the gun was found - they exactly fitted them; I saw more footsteps nearer the window, but they had marks of nails in them, and his shoes had no nails; he said the sailors use the marline-spikes to splice their ropes. MICHAEL KENNY. I pointed out to Carter where I found the gun. Prisoner's Defence. I was not there. JURY to JOHN FOWLER. Q. How light was it when you examined the footmarks? A. It was quite light - about twenty minutes to seven o'clock. MICHAEL KENNY. This is my gun - I know it by several marks, and this screw I put to it myself. [Feb. 17.] GUILTY - DEATH . Aged 14. https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/print.jsp?div=t18310217-5