Discovery of murder

DISCOVERY OF MURDER. - About a month ago there appeared a paragraph in the Stamford Champion and the News, stating that “an old woman named Levison, who lately died at Braunston, near Oakham, made confession on her death-bed to the minister, that she, along with her then master, one Smith, had been concerned in the murder of a beast-jobber, a stranger, who had come to her master's residence to receive money; that she held his head, while Smith beat out his brains with a coal hammer."

Mr. W. Hinds, late a schoolmaster, of Boston, having nearly thirty years before, lost a cousin, named, Samuel Johnson, who disappeared in a mysterious manner, on seeing the above paragraph, immediately wrote to the minister of Braunston for further information relative to the murder.

The result was, that Mr. Hinds ascertained that the person thus murdered was the identical beast-jobber, Johnson, who left Freiston about Christmas 1801, with considerable property, and a quantity of cattle to sell at Smithfield market, which it appears he sold.

On his return he called at Oakham to meet Smith and a man named Hackett, to receive money for beasts sold to them at the preceding Lammas. Hackett settled with him, but Smith failed to come, and in consequence Johnson went to Smith's house for the money, and was never more seen. Smith and the woman lately dead - whose name the minister says is Levi - robbed and murdered him, and buried his body in the stack-yard.

Smith, who had previously been in indifferent circumstances, launched out into business for some years, but after a time he failed and died a pauper, and was buried at the expense of the parish in 1825. He used annually to erect hay stacks upon the place where he had buried his victim. After he left the place about twelve years ago, some men, who were digging for gravel, found the bones of Johnson, and they were collected and interred in Knossington church-yard.

Johnson was supposed to have had about him property to the amount of 1,600l. or 1,800l. Two letters, purporting to be written by the deceased, but which at the time were generally believed to be forgeries, were received by his friends at Freiston, stating that he had hired himself to a butcher at Epping. They are supposed to have been written by the murderer for the purpose of diverting the attention of the deceased's friends.