The Mount Stewart Farm Murder

Hand Bill, posted April 2nd 1866

NOTICE

If any person can give information as to a Man seen on

SATURDAY last, in the Neighbourhood of BRIDGE of EARN,

answering to the annexed decription, or if any Person finds

a Large DOOR KEY in that Neighbourhood, they are requested

immediately to inform the PROCURATOR FISCAL at PERTH.

Fiscal's Office, Perth

2nd April 1866

DESCRIPTION

A Man between 40 and 50 years of age

About 5 feet 9 inches in height

Slender make. Thin in figure

Long face. Brown Hair.

DRESS

Dirty Darkish Dress

Wore a Cap.

Dark Frcok-Tailed Coat.

Longish Greyish Coloured Trousers.

Shabby Genteel Appearance

Did not look like a Working Man, neither did

he resemble a Hawker or Vagrant.

PRINTED AT THE PERTHSHIRE JOURNAL OFFICE.

_________________________________

The Scotsman - Monday, April 2nd 1866 p.3

"SHOCKING AND MYSTERIOUS MURDER AT MOUNT-STEWART FARM, BRIDGE OF EARN"

At a late hour on Friday night, the inhabitants of the village of the Bridge of Earn and surrounding districts were thrown into a state of the greatest excitement by a report that an atrocious murder had been committed at Mount Stewart Farmhouse, which is situated about two miles and a half to the west of the Bridge of Earn, and near to the Forgandenny and Dunning Road. The report proved to be but too true, for its was very soon ascertained that Janet Rogers, a married woman, fifty years of age, and a sister of Mr William Henderson, farmer, Mount Stewart, parish of Forgandenny, had been found lying in a pool of blood, with marks upon her which indicate she had been foully murdered.

The facts connected with this distressing and mysterious case, so far as they have yet come to light, are as follows:- Mr Henderson left Mount Stewart on Friday forenoon, at about ten oclock, with a horse and cart, for Perth, where he had some business to do. On his way home, in the evening, he stopped at the Bridge of Earn, shortly after six oclock, and had some conversation with M John Geddes, slater, as to some work to be performed on his (Mr Hendersons) house and steading. Mr Henderson wished Mr Geddes to go to Mount Stewart on Saturday, but the latter could not do so, and promised to go to-day (Monday). Mr Henderson left the Bridge of Earn about seven oclock, and reached home about a quarter to eight. On going to the front door, he found it locked. He knocked but receiving no reply, he went round to the kitchen door, which he also found locked. He then effected an entrance to the house by means of a window, and on proceeding to the kitchen he discovered his sister lying on the floor in a pool of blood, and quite dead. Mr Henderson immediately ran to his nearest neighbour, Mr James Barlas, mason, and told him what had happened. The parties afterwards went together to the Bridge of Earn, which they reached about nine oclock, and informed the police constable of the terrible discovery that had been made. Dr Laing, Bridge of Earn, accompanied Mr Henderson and Mr Barlas back to Mount Stewart. Mr Henderson previously wrote a letter to Mr McLean, Procurator-Fiscal, Perth, informing him of the murder. Dr Laing, on reaching Mount Stewart House, found the deceased lying on her side with her hand raised a little, and on the back part of her head were several long marks or gashes, as if inflicted by a heavy blunt instrument. On the floor, not far from the murdered woman, was found a hatchet covered with blood. Dr Laing, on examining the body, found that the poor woman must have died about two or three oclock in the afternoon.

Early on Saturday morning, Mr Young, assistant Procurator-Fiscal; Dr Absolon, Perth; Mr Gordon, chief constable; Mr McDonald, superintendent; Sergeant Ross, and several police constables, reached Mount Stewart, and proceeded to make the necessary investigation into the matter. The police found that several drawers had been opened, and their contents displaced. In the course of Saturday forenoon, Sheriff Barclay, Mr McLean, Procurator-Fiscal, and Dr Absolon, visited the scene of the murder. The latter gentleman made a post-mortem examination of the body, but the report has not yet been made public. The deceased had only gone to reside at Mount Stewart on Wednesday last. Her husbands name is James Rogers, and he is a labourer residing at Airntully, parish of Auchtergaven. She has left a large family.

Mount Stewart House is situated upon an eminence about 600 yards from the Forgandenny Road. Between the road and the house there is a narrow belt of plantation, and the view to the south is bounded by the northern slope of the Ochil Hills, which are scarcely a mile distant. According to a statement made by one of the residenters at Carmichael Cottages, only three persons - one man and two women - apparently hawkers, were see to go in the direction of Mount Stewart Farmhouse on Friday. There is only one ploughman engaged on the farm.

The Glasgow Daily Herald - Monday, April 2nd 1866 p.4

"SHOCKING MURDER NEAR PERTH"

Circumstances were brought to light on Friday evening which showed that a horrible murder had been committed at the farm of Mount Stewart situated about midway between the villages of Bridge of Earn and Forgandenny. The facts, so far as they have yet been made known are briefly that - Shortly before eleven oclock on Friday evening a messenger arrived in Perth with a letter from Robert Henderson (sic), the tenant of Mount Stewart, addressed to the Procurator-Fiscal. The letter stated that on Mr Hendersons arrival home from Perth market on Friday evening he found his house locked up, and was obliged to enter the premises by a window. Having gained access to the house, he went into the kitchen, where he found the dead body of his sister lying in the midst of a pool of blood. Immediately on the receipt of the letter, Mr Young, assistant procurator-fiscal for the county hired a conveyance, and accompanied by seven police officers, proceeded to Mount Stewart. There a horrible spectacle met their view. On the floor of the kitchen lay the dead body of Hendersons sister, her head, which was almost cleft in two, lying in a pool of blood. The walls and roof of the apartment, as well as the articles of furniture, were all be-spattered with blood, and close by the body, an axe, such as is commonly used for rough work about farm steadings, was found, with the handle and head also covered with blood. Henderson, on being questioned by the fiscal, said that on his return home from Perth market on Friday afternoon, about six oclock, he found his sister dead on the kitchen floor; but on the other hand, it has been stated that when the Fiscal reached Mount Stewart, a little before midnight, the body of the deceased was still warm, which could not have been the case if she had she been dead six hours before, as alleged by her brother. This circumstance, coupled with the fact that Henderson was the only inmate of the house besides the deceased, caused the Fiscal to order him to be watched by the police, and at the same time the premises were taken possession of by them. On Saturday morning, Mr McLean, Procurator Fiscal for the county, accompanied by Sheriff Barclay, Dr Absolon, Chief Constable Gordon, Mr Smart, architect, and other officials visited the scene of the murder, for the purpose of collecting information and holding a post-mortem examination of the body. Of course, the result of their inquiry has not transpired; but meanwhile Henderson is under surveillance of the police, as there is scarcely a doubt that a most foul and cold-blooded murder has been perpetrated. The deceased, who was about 50 years of age, usually resided in the neighbourhood of Stanley, and was only living with her brother for a few days to assist him in some particular work about his farm. She has left a husband and a large family of children to mourn their sad bereavement. Henderson is about 60 years of age, and unmarried. He is of most penurious disposition, and of strictly temperate habits. Various rumours are afloat as to the motive for the crime, but as they are not as yet verified by evidence, we refrain in the meantime from giving them publicly.

North British Daily Mail - Monday, April 2nd 1866

"HORRIBLE AND MYSTERIOUS MURDER NEAR PERTH"

A horrible murder was committed on the afternoon or evening of Friday at a place called Mount Stewart, about six miles from Perth, and situated about midway between the village of Bridge of Earn and Forgandenny. The victim is a woman named Janet Henderson, or Rodger, wife of James Rodger, labourer, residing at Airntully, near Stanley. So far as has yet transpired, the facts appear to be as follow: Mrs Rodger left left her home on Wednesday last, on which day she arrived at Mount Stewart, the residence of her brother, Mr William Henderson, farmer, for the avowed purpose of taking in charge some cows about to calve. On Friday morning, her brother, Mr Henderson, left, as usual, to attend the Perth market, and having done so returned by way of the Bridge of Earn. At this place he is said to have stopped with his horse and cart, for the purpose of taking home some slates. He left shortly after eight o clock, and proceeded direct on his way home, distant about two miles. On arriving at his own house he found the doors locked. He however soon effected an entrance into the kitchen, where he found his sister lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Greatly alarmed he immediately ran to his nearest neighbour, and informed him of what had taken place, and afterwards to the Bridge of Earn, and informed the police constable stationed there. Dr Laing was informed of the horrible occurrence, and proceeded to the house. Whilst at the Bridge Mr Henderson wrote the following letter, which he sent by special messenger to the Procurator Fiscal for the county:- "Bridge of Earn, March 30.-Dear Sir,-Please come out here immediately as my sister has been murdered here today, while I was in Perth.-Your obedient servant, Wm. Henderson."- The letter, in the absence of the fiscal at Killiecrankie, was delivered to Mr Young, assistant procurator-fiscal, who, along with Superintendent MacDonald, &c, at once proceeded to Mount Stewart. On entering the house they found the dead body of Mrs Rodger lying in the kitchen, with the feet towards the fire and the head in a line with the door. The body was lying in blood, and the furniture in the kitchen was all besmeared with blood. By the side of the body was a common house hatchet, all covered with blood, and some blankets were thrown over the murdered woman. The interior of the house presented a somewhat disordered apprearance, as if the furniture had been ransacked through in search of plunder, but strange to say there did not appear to have been any robbery committed. On seeing the state of matters, the assistant procurator-fiscal, Mr Young, deemed it his duty to put the house and Mr Henderson under arrest, after which he came to Perth and telegraphed for the fiscal, who, accompanied by the sheriff, visited the scene of the murder on the forenoon of Saturday. The post-mortem examination, which was held by Dr Absolon, Perth, and Dr Laing, Bridge of Earn, was made in the forenoon, and the conclusion come to by these gentlemen was that a murder had been committed. The right side of the head presented a frightful appearance and the skull was broken. The Chief-Constable, Superintendent MacDonald, &c., returned to Perth about five oclock on Saturday afternoon, bringing with them the clothes of the murdered woman, blankets, hatchet, &c., but we regret to say having no direct trace of who the guilty party or parties may be. The murdered woman is said to have been rather good-looking, of strong muscular frame, and about 32 years of age.

During Saturday various rumours were afloat as to who was the murderer, but on these no credance could be placed.

Letter from Chief Constable George Gordon to the editor of the Police Gazette, April 3rd 1866

N. D. Barclay Esq, Editor, Police Court, Bow St., London, N. E.

Murder of Janet Henderson or Rodger, Perth 3rd April 1866

Sir,

I beg to send herewith information regarding the murder of the above named person and I shall esteem it a favour if you will have the goodness to insert it in the Police Gazette, and I remain

your &c &c

Geo. Gordon C. C.

Perthshire Courier - Tuesday, April 3rd, 1866

"HORRIBLE AND MYSTERIOUS MURDER NEAR PERTH"

A horrible murder was committed on the afternoon or evening of Friday at a place called Mount Stuart, about six miles from Perth, and situated about midway between the village of Bridge of Earn and Forgandenny. The victim is a woman called Janet Henderson or Rodger, wife of James Rodger, labourer, residing at Airntully, near Stanley. So far as has yet transpired, the facts appear to be as follows:

Mrs Rodgers left her home on Wednesday last, on which day she arrived on a visit at Mount Stuart, the residence of her brother, Mr William Henderson, farmer. On Friday morning, her brother, Mr Henderson, left, as usual, to attend the Perth market, and having done so returned by way of the Bridge of Earn. At this place he is said to have stopped with his horse and cart, for the purpose of taking home some slates. He left shortly after eight o'clock, and proceeded direct on his way home, distance about two miles. On arriving at his own house he found the door locked. He however soon effected an entrance into the kitchen, where he found his sister lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Greatly alarmed, he immediately ran to his nearest neighbour, and informed him of what had taken place, and afterwards to the Bridge of Earn, and informed the police constable stationed there. Dr Laing was informed of the horrible occurrence, and proceeded to the house.

Whilst at the Bridge of Earn, we were informed that Mr Henderson wrote to the authorities informing them of what had taken place. In the absence of the fiscal at Killiecrankie, the assistant procurator-fiscal, along with Superintendent M'Donald &c, at once proceeded to Mount Stuart. On entering the house they found the dead body of Mrs Rodger lying in the kitchen, with the feet towards the fire and the head in a line with the door. The body was lying in blood, and the furniture in the kitchen was all besmeared with blood. By the side of the body was a common house hatchet, all covered with blood, and some blanke's were thrown over the murdered woman. The interior of the house presented a somewhat disordered appearance, as if the furniture had been ransacked. On seeing the state of matters, the procurator-fiscal for the county was telegraphed for, and on his arrival, accompanied by the sheriff, visited the scene of the murder on the forenoon of Saturday.

The post mortem examination, which was held by Dr Absolom, Perth, and Dr Laing, Bridge of Earn, was made in the forenoon, and the conclusion came to by these gentlemen was that a murder had been committed. The right side of the head presented a frightful appearance and the skull was broken. The Chief Constable, Superintendent MacDonald &c, returned to Perth about five o'clock on Saturday afternoon, bringing with them the clothes of the murdered woman, blankets, hatchet &c, but we regret to say having no direct trace of who the guilty party or parties may be. The murdered woman is said to have been rather good-looking, of strong muscular frame, and about 50 years of age.

This horrid murder, up to last night, remains shrowded in mystery. It was reported yesterday that a woman belonging to Perth, named Riley, an itinerant vendor of earthen ware, went early on the afternoon of Friday to the door of the house at Mount Stuart, and there she met and offered to sell to Mrs Rodger some of her wares, and on leaving, she states that she saw a man loittering near by, whom she describes as being like a tramp, she also adds, that she thinks she could identify the man referred to.

The police, from Captain Gordon downwards, are using every endeavour to trace the murderer, and we feel sure their every effort will be backed up by the community.

The Scotsman - Tuesday, April 3rd 1866 p.2

"THE MOUNT STEWART FARM MURDER"

This shocking murder remains shrouded in as great mystery as when first discovered, and it cannot be said that the authorities, who are unremitting in their investigation, have got anything like a clue to the perpetrator. On Saturday evening, an itinerant vendor of earthenware, named Mrs Riley, belonging to Perth, was examined by the authorities, and it is understood gave evidence to the effect that she was at Mount Stewart farm house early in the afternoon of Friday last, and saw Mrs Rogers, the murdered woman, with a shovel in her hand, and that there was a man having the appearance of a tramp speaking to Mrs Rogers. Of course, the police are in quest of this man, but they had not, up to yesterday afternoon, got upon his track. The woman Riley is confident she could identify the man she saw at Mount Stewart farm. On Friday afternoon, too, a tramp, with a walking stick in his hand, and a bundle under his arm, called at Hills Inn, Bridge of Earn, and asked the road to Abernethy, which Mr Hill showed him. Where the man has gone to has not been ascertained. Yesterday forenoon, Sheriff Barclay, Mr McLean, Procurator Fiscal of the county, Mr Gordon, Chief Constable, and Mr Smart, architect, Perth, made a thorough search of Mount Stewart farm-house, but could discover no marks of blood in any place excepting the kitchen, the walls of which were much besprinkled. They found, however, that all the lockfast places in the house had been forced open, and a pair of scissors were found which had apparently been used for that purpose - making it evident that the murderer had been in search of plunder. At the same time, it does not appear that any of the household effects are missing. On Sunday, and yesterday, the police constables were visiting various parts of the county, in search of the man, a description of whom was given by woman Riley. Yesterday forenoon the remains of Mrs Rogers were conveyed to Airntully, to her husbands house; and we understabnd they are to be interred at Auchtergaven Churchyard on Thursday.

Dundee Advertiser - Tuesday, April 3rd 1866

"MYSTERIOUS MURDER OF A WOMAN NEAR BRIDGE OF EARN"

It is our painful duty to record one of the most atrocious and mysterious murders that has ever come within the range of criminal jurisprudence. The scene of the tragedy is so peaceful, the motives that prompted it so inscrutable, and the victim so amiable and respected that a feeling of intense interest cannot but be awakened by the narration of the circumstances that followed the discovery of the crime which we proceed to give -

At half past ten oclock on Friday night, Mr John Young, Assistant Procurator-Fiscal for Perthshire, had delivered to him, at his house in Perth, a note in the following terms:-

Bridge of Earn, 30th March 1866 - Dear Sir, Please come out here immediately as my sister has been murdered whilst I was in Perth - Your obedient servant (signed) William Henderson - To the Procurator Fiscal for the County of Perth

Mr Young, who was preparing to retire to rest when he received this communication, immediately thereafter called on Superintendent McDonald, of the County Police, along with whom he posted to Bridge of Earn, accompanied also by a constable. On arriving at that village - which is situated three and a half miles south from Perth - the officers of the law learned that the spot that demanded their presence was Mount Stewart farmhouse, about two miles west from Bridge of Earn. Thither they at once proceeded, where a terrible spectacle presented itself. The sister of the writer of the note given above lay on her back on the kitchen floor, a murdered corpse. A fearful contusion of the right ear, and a large wound on the top of the head by which the skull had been crushed in, and a heavy axe close by, showed too clearly how the foul act had been perpetrated. The head of the body weltered in blood, and lay towards the door, while the feet were extended in the direction of the fire. A great portion of the floor was covered with blood, which also bespattered many articles around. The house had a confused and disordered appearance as if it had been ransacked for plunder. Attempts had been made to open some of the drawers, but, as far as could then or afterwards be ascertained, nothing had been taken away. On the arrival of the officials those in the house were, according to the usual practice, put under surveillance, with the exception of Dr Laing, Bridge of Earn, who had previously been sent for in his professional capacity, and the constables from the district, who had been called in. The persons so treated were Mr Wm Henderson, brother of the murdered woman, and tenant of Mount Stewart farm; his foreman named Crichton; and Mr James Barlas, mason. After making as full an investigation into the affair as was then possible, Mr Young returned to Perth in the early morning, leaving Superintendent McDonald and the constables in charge of the house. At Perth he telegraphed for the Procurator Fiscal, Mr McLean, who was in the neighbourhood of Pitlochry at the time, and had a consultation with Sheriff Barclay, after which he returned to the scene of the murder, along with Chief Constable Gordon, Dr Absolon, and a couple of constables. Here Drs Absolon and Laing examined the body, and several of the policemen were despatched to scour the country in search of any parties likely to be involved in the horrid crime. At a later hour in the morning, Sheriff Barclay, the Procurator-Fiscal, and Mr Smart, architect, left Perth and proceeded to the spot, where the latter made a minute and careful plan of the house. About same time Drs Absolon and Laing made a post-mortem examination of the body, the result of which showed that either of the two wounds on the head was sufficient to have caused instantaneous death and that these had been inflicted by the back or blunt end of the axe. Regarding the time to which the murder might be referred, no definite conclusion could be arrived at, but on touching this point it may be of some importance to know that the body was ascertained to be still warm at one oclock on Saturday morning. The bloody axe, it may be mentioned , belonged to the house, and was used for chopping wood. The murder first became known shortly before eight oclock on Friday evening by the brother of the victim communicating the fact to Mr Barlas, mason, who occupies one of two small cottages about 250 yards from Mount Stewart, the other of which is possessed by the foreman or ploughman on the farm. At Mr Hendersons request, Mr Barlas accompanied him to Bridge of Earn, where they communicated the intelligence to Dr Laing and the village constable, and where the communication to the Procurator-Fiscal was penned, and despatched by the North British Railway Companys 9.20pm train. Dr Laing and the constable returned with their informants to the farm, but in the interval that elapsed between such return and the arrival of the officials from Perth, the doctor made no examination of the body further than to ascertain that life was extinct. The farm house of Mount Stewart is on the state of Freeland, and parish of Forgandenny, and stands on a somewhat commanding height at the foot of the Ochils, about 700 yards from the road leading from Forgandenny to Bridge of Earn, and one and two and a half miles from these places respectively. It is situated in a rather thinly populated district, and somewhat shut out from public observation by a small wood. Pitkeithly Wells, however, are within a distance of a mile and besides the cottage above mentioned, there is a row of houses called Carmichael Cottages, about a quarter of a mile off. For a considerable time back Mr Henderson has lived alone without any servant or attendant, but on Wednesday last his sister, the wife of James Rodger, labourer, Airntully, took up her residence with him at his request, for the purpose of cleaning his house and attending a cow that was daily expected to calve. On the forenoon of the day in question, Mr Henderson states that he left home for Perth with a horse and cart at eleven oclock leaving his sister alive and well. On his return home, between six and seven in the evening, he was surprised to find both the back and front doors of the house locked and the shutters of the windows secured. Having knocked in vain for admittance, he had recourse to entering the house by a ladder at one of the windows of the second storey, when he was horrified to find that his sister had been finally deprived of life during his absence. This statement, it is of consequence to mention, has received material corroboration. It has been proved beyond all doubt that Mr Henderson was in Perth in the course of Friday, and also, that on his way home, he made business calls on two tradesmen at Bridge of Earn between six and seven in the evening. So far as can be ascertained, no one saw the deceased during her brothers absence in Perth. The man Crichton was ploughing in the neighbourhood at the time, but can give no information on the subject. As yet no one has been taken into custody charged with being concerned in the affair. It has, however, come to light that a man, apparently about fifty years of age, was prowling about the farm during the forenoon; and to apprehend this character the police were Sunday making great exertions. It may be stated that Mr Henderson, as well as those who were with him when the officials from Perth arrived, have been released from all surveillance.

The deceased was, as has been mentioned, a married woman. She was about thirty years of age, and was of a strong and firm build. She was much respected by all of her aquaintances; and as may be readily imagined, her husband and children have been thrown into a state of the profoundest grief by the stroke that has deprived them of wife and mother.

Hand bill posted April 4th 1866

MURDER.

DURING the day time on Friday, the 30th March last, JANET

HENDERSON or ROGERS, was barbarously MURDERED

in the Kitchen of the FARM HOUSE of MOUNT STEWART, in

the Parish of Forgandenny, and County of Perth, by some

person or persons at present unknown.

From the appearance of the Body and Furniture, in said

House, their (sic) is every reason to believe that the party or parties

who committed the said Crime, must have been considerably

covered with blood.

With the exception of a LARGE OUTER-DOOR KEY, nothing

has been missed from said house which can again be identified.

About Noon on said day, a man of the following description,

supposed to be the Murderer, was seen at the Kitchen door of

said house:-

Between 40 and 50 years of age. About 5 feet 9 inches in height.

Brown Hair, and Small Dark Whiskers. Long Face. Slender

make, and thin in figure. Dressed in a dirty darkish Cap., Dark

Frock-tailed Coat, rather long; Grayish coloured Trousers.

Rather Seedy appearance. Did not look like a working man.

He is supposed to have had a small dog, of a dark or grayish

colour, along with him.

It is earnestly requested that any information relative to

the matter, may be immediately communicated to the Procu-

rator Fiscal, or Chief Constable of County Police, at Perth, or

to any Police Constable.

County Police Office,

PERTH, 4th April, 1866.

C.G.SIDEY, PRINTER, PERTH.

___________________

William Henderson witness statement (4/4/1866)

Mount Stewart 4th April 1866

William Henderson, Farmer at Mount Stewart in the parish of Forgandenny and shire of Perth, aged forty eight years, Declares I have been twenty one years tenant of this place. I am not married. I have no family living with me, and my establishment consists of only one female servant.

Since the time of Martinmas last I have had four or five regularly engaged servants who have left me, but I was not at leud with any of them. The last servant that was with me remained only two weeks and left me I think on Thursday was a a week. On Mnday week thereafter I went to Airntully near Stanley where my sister lived in order to get one of her daughters to come and take charge of my house till I could get a servant. My sister had several daughters one of whom is married. The unmarried daughter who is about twenty years of age is at home, but my sister volunteered to come herself. My sister whose name is Janet Henderson, and whose husband is James Rodgers, Labourer at Murthly and resident at Airntully in the parish of Kinclaven and shire of Perth came here on the following Wednesday, we having arranged that she was to remain for a fortnight or three weeks.

When I have a servant she sleeps in the kitchen in which there is a bed. It is a box bed and near to the fire. My sister, however, occupied a bedroom upstairs looking to the East. The window is in three compartments one of which opens on hinges, and may be fastened by a sneck in the inside.

I left home about ten o clock on the forenoon of Friday last, the 30th March 1866, with a horse and cart in order to go to Perth for Guano. I had previously breakfasted with my sister in the kitchen, and just as I was starting she handed me a bag in which there had been whitening, and asked me to get some more for cleaning the house. I reached Perth about twelve o clock and put up my horse and cart at the Logiealmond Tavern. I then went to the Auction Mart and bought a pig. I also bought some nitrite of soda from Mr Low and on my way home I got the whitening at the Bridge of Earn. I did not purchase Guano because of my having the pig in the cart. I had no drink at all excepting a little ginger cordial at the inn where I put up my horse.

I think I would be at the Bridge of Earn between five and six o clock and having called on Geddes the slater it would be about seven o clock when I reached home.

When I got home I found that my servant James Crichton had given up work and was suffering up his horses. I called him and he came and assisted me to take the pig out of the cart, and also to put up the horse. He locked the barn door and took the key down to the house. I heard him at the kitchen door, but he came back, bringing the barn key with him, and hung it on the stable door key. He did not say to me that he could not get into the kitchen. I took possession of the keys and went down to the house, and tried to open the kitchen or back door which is the one at which we generally go in and out, but it was locked. I knocked upon it and called upon my sister by her name but received no answer. It did not occur to em to look through the keyhole so as to ascertain whether the key was in the lock from the inside or not. I laid down the keys which I had on the sill of the Milkhouse window which is close by and then went off to the ploughmans cottage, which is in a hollow of some distance, and asked him if he knew what had become of my sister. I told him that the door was locked and that I could not get in, and I then enquired whether he had seen her go about during the day, or if he had seen her go about during the day, or if he had seen her get any letters, which might call her away, but he said that he had not seen her at all, except shortly after I left, when he had seen a man in dark clothes speaking to her at the kitchen door. It was the ploughmans wife who answered the door, and she might have heard all that passed.

I immediately came back, and as I could get no answer to my rapping I took a ladder from the mill shed, and set it up against the wall underneath the window of the room where my sister slept. I knew that this window was not fastened, while all the others were. I got in at this window and on coming down stairs, I first went to my own bedroom thinking that perhaps my sister had become unwell, and lain down upon my bed, but she was not there. I found that the shutters on the window were closed. This appeared to me as if my sister had left the premisies altogether, as they were open when I went away, and are hardly ever closed, except when I am going from home for a time. I then went to the passage to the back of the kitchen door to see whether the key was away,a nd I found that it was so and the door locked. The kitchen door is immediately opposite to the back door, and I pushed it open and went in. I observed a heap of bed clothes lying on the middle of the floor. I called out my sisters name, several times and then went forwards and lifted part of the clothes, and on putting down my hand I felt the head as of a dead body, and I immediately went out of the house by the front door, and ran down to the house of James Barlas, the mason who lives next door to my ploughman.

I did not take particular notice of what bed clothes were over the body, but it appeared to me that the bed clothes had been brought out in a mess and thrown over the body. It was lying with the feet to the fire, and the head to the middle of the room. It was getting dark at this time and I did not observe any blood on the floor, but I thought I saw some on the part of the head I touched. I dont think I got any upon my hand. There is a white screen on the kitchen window, but there are no shutters. Barlas and his wife came up and he and I went into the kitchen, and having got a light we lifted up the bedclothes and found that it was my sisters body, and that she had been killed, her head being smashed, and driven in. I did not at that time see the axe, as I immediately went off to the Bridge of Earn to get the Doctor and the Constable. I called in upon James Wilkinson and he went along with me.

The Doctor was not at home but was expected by the train which was nearly due. I waited its arrival, and having seen the Doctor, I came away home, he having picked me up on the road. In the interim I had written a note to the Fiscal at Perth, and also given information at the Police Station. When Dr. Laing and I came here I suggested that he would take upon himself the responsibility of examining the body, which he did. After removing the bed clothes from off it, we saw that she had been killed by a blow on the head and we then noticed that the axe which is used in the kicthen for chopping the wood and breaking down the coals was leaning against the wall at the fireside. The head of it was smeared with blood and there were various marks of blood upon the handle. All the clothes were on the body, just as I had left my sister in the morning. Dr Laing felt the body and said that he thought she hd been killed about dinner time, or between one and two o clock.

I afterwards observed that there were several splashes of blood upon the walls all round the kitchen and even upon the ceiling, but there was not the slightest appearance of blood in the lobbies or rooms or door steps or anywhere else except the kitchen.

Immediately after examining the body and on going into my owm bedroom which is to the front of the house I observed that a chest which stood there had been broken open by some instrument having been inserted under the lid of the lock, and that the lid had been forced up from the keeper. There were about two shillings in coppers lying in the locker of the chest when I went away in the morning, but these were gone. I had seen them that morning. I had a pocket book also in the same locker and I found it lying on the top of the chest. There is a chest of drawers in the same room and a press on the top of it. The press was forced open, as was also the middle small drawer of the chest of drawers. Both of these fractures were done by the same instrument which was evidently a pair of scissors which lay upon my dressing table, and which was afterwards found in the room with one of the points broken off, and I think that Mr Gordon the Chief Constable found the scissors and the broken point, and shewed the to me during the night. I missed about a dozen of eggs out of the press, and we found a quantity of egg shells in the kicthen floor and dresser, and one egg amongst the ashes on the kitchen fire. There was an old silver watch lying in the locker of the chest, but it was not taken away, and I think I took it from the chest, and put it in one of the open drawers, where it was afterwards seen by the police.

The front door is generally kept locked and the key is left in the lock inside. We go out and in by the kitchen door, and the key always stood in the lock in the inside. The party who committed the murder must have gone out at the kitchen door taking the key with him, and locking the door on the outside, and carried off the key. My sister was about 51 years of age.

William Henderson

The Scotsman - Wednesday, April 4th 1866

"THE BRIDGE OF EARN MURDER - APPREHENSION OF THE SUSPECTED MURDERER"

Description of the man who was seen about Mount Stewart farm on the afternoon of Friday, and on whom suspicion of the murder chiefly rests, having been forwarded to the various police stations in Fifeshire and the neighbouring counties, the police constable who has charge of the ferry station at Burntisland apprehended a person yesterday, who, in his opinion, answered in some respects the information he had received. The Chief Constable of the county was immediately communicated with by telegram, and his deputy arrived at Burntisland in the course of the day. On examination, the mans appearance was found to answer in every every particular to that of the tramp seen at the house. He was conveyed to Perth by the train leaving Burntisland at 7.45.

Perthshire Journal and Constitutional - Thurs, 5th April, 1866

"MYSTERIOUS MURDER NEAR BRIDGE OF EARN"

A most revolting and cold-blooded murder has been committed near Bridge of Earn, under circumstances of so mysterious a kind as that all attempts on the part of the authorities to discover any traces of the murderer have as yet proved unsuccessful. The unfortunate victim was the sister of the man in whose house the deed was committed, and was named Janet Henderson or Roger. She was about fifty years of age - a few years younger than her brother - and her husband, a labourer, resides at Airntully, near Stanley. The murder took place in the farm-house of Mount Stewart, occupied by Mr Robert Henderson (sic), who is unmarried, and resides alone. The farm is small, and is situated about two miles from the Bridge of Earn, and south of Forgandenny Road. The house and steading, which are very lonely, are about eight hundred yards from the turnpike road, and about 600 or 700 yards distant from any house, the nearest being occupied by the foreman, who, we understand, is the only person employed on the farm. The farmhouse is a very old building, and consists of two storeys, and one half of it seems to have been lately renewed. It is surrounded by a small garden, but both for a considerable time seem to have been almost entirely strangers both to housemaid and gardener. Indeed, for a long time previous to the arrival of the deceased, no housemaid or female servant had been employed on the farm. At this season of the year, when dairy work is on the increase, the assistance of a domestic servant was found to be absolutely essentail , and to perform the the necessary duties for some days Mr Henderson's sister arrived at the farm on Wednesday. She was then in her usual health. On Friday morning, Mr Henderson left the farm to attend the market at Perth, leaving his sister in charge of the house. Nothing unusual took place until his return in the evening, about seven o'clock, when he entered the hosue of his foreman, and inquired if he had seen his sister, remarking that, according to expectations, she might have got a letter from the "Doctor" (Dr Henderson of Perth), and gone away to Perth, and left the key with him. The foreman replied that he had not seen her, nor was the key in his possession,. Without saying anything further, Mr Henderson turned about, and, it is supposed, went back again to the farm-house. So far as we can learn, he next made his appearance about eight o'clock at the Bridge of Earn, where he called to the hosue of Dr Laing, and informed him that on entering his house some time previously, which he did by one of the upper room windows after procuring a ladder from the steading, the door of the house being locked, he found his sister lying dead in the kitchen in a pool of blood. It would appear that he had then left Dr Laing's and gone to the Railway Station, where he asked on the platform if any passenger was going to Perth, and having found a woman who was going in that direction, gave her a letter addressed to the Procurator-Fiscal in Perth, which she promised to deliver. This letter was delivered to the Assistant Procurator-Fiscal in Perth about half past ten o'clock on the same evening. The letter stated in effect that on Mr Henderson's arrival home from Perth market on Friday evening he found his house locked up, and was obliged to enter the premises by a window. Having gained access to the house, he went into the kitchen, where he found the dead body of his sister lying in the midst of a pool of blood.