The full story of the murder of Elizabeth Longfoot, of Easton came out after one of the perpetrators was apprehended and confessed under questioning, implicating his accomplices.
“The Murder at Easton. – It may be in the recollection of our readers that a murder of a most atrocious description was committed about four o’clock on the morning of 6th of March last at the village of Easton, near Stamford, upon the body of an elderly single woman, named Elizabeth Longfoot, who lived alone, and whose house was robbed at the same time of a considerable sum of money, together with some silver spoons and other property. On examining the corpse, marks of violence were seen about the neck and throat, which led to the conclusion that death must have been effected by strangulation.. Immediately after the discovery of the dreadful deed, information was conveyed to the Rev. C. Atlay and Dr. Hopkinson, Magistrates for Northamptonshire, who proceeded to The Bell public house at Easton, for the purpose of instituting an inquiry into the circumstances connected with the murder; and owing to the unremitting exertions of these gentlemen, who offered a reward, it is satisfactory to state that the perpetrators of the cold-hearted and inhuman deed are likely to be brought to justice, as they are at present in custody, a circumstance which was accomplished in the following manner:- The morning after the murder, John Stansor, who resided at Easton, and who was a loose character, having been repeatedly in custody for poaching and other lawless acts, absconded, and had been away for a considerable time before any suspicion was attached to him of being guilty of the murder. The Magistrates, acting on the impression that he was concerned, procured the assistance of Reed, constable of Stamford, and that of Goddard, a Bow-street officer, and these persons, after scouring the country for upwards of a hundred miles without success, at length discovered the object of their search at Willow Hall, not far from Peterborough, where they apprehended him on the 4th April. On being take before the Magistrates and questioned as to the murder, and the cause of his absconding, he at first denied all knowledge of it, but, subsequently, having undergone several examinations, he made a full confession of the circumstance, implicating himself and John Archer and Richard Woodward in both the robbery and the murder: they were apprehended on the 11th. His confession was to this effect:- He states that at three o’clock in the morning, about a fortnight before the murder, Woodward, Archer, and himself, having passed the night at a Tom and Jerry shop in the neighbourhood, proceeded, according to a previous arrangement, to the house of the deceased, and it was planned by Woodward that, as soon as they had effected an entrance into the house, he (Stansor) should throw himself into the bed of the deceased, and hold her down under the clothes, while his companions were robbing the house, and by such means they expected to be able to avoid detection, as the old lady was well acquainted with their persons. When they got to the house, however, and were in the act of removing the boards from the wash-house window, the noise awoke the deceased, and caused her to throw up the bed room window, and to cry out, “You villains, I’ll swear my life against you in the morning.” Being thus foiled, they went away, and supposing that it would not be an easy matter to surprise the deceased, they came to the resolution of murdering her, in order to prevent her having the power to identify their persons. Stansor next went on to state, that on the morning of the 6th of March, about four o’clock, his companions and himself went to the house and were proceeding to remove the boards from the wash-room window, when the deceased was aroused, and coming down stairs, opened the side door of the house, and ran into the street, crying “Murder! thieves!” which alarmed two young men named Thompson, living immediately opposite, and according to their statement to the Magistrates in the morning after the murder had occurred, it appeared that, after listening to the cries for a few minutes, they distinctly heard a gurgling noise proceed from the direction of the house, which caused them to suppose the deceased was unwell; they accordingly got up, supposing that something unusual was the matter, and had proceeded as far as the gate of the premises of the deceased, when they heard the house door lock inside. They then went to the front of the house, and upon looking up, observed a light move from one room to another, and supposing that it was the old lady who had been aroused by some false alarm, they returned to their own house, where they remained watching the opposite house for three quarters of an hour, but saw nothing further that night. The confession of Stansor confirms this account for, according to his statement, as the deceased was returning to her house after giving the alarm, and just as she was coming to the window of the wash-house, Archer sprang upon her from a corner in which he had concealed himself, knocked her down, and pressing his knees against her throat, dispatched her by strangling her, whilst Woodward took a plough line from his pocket, and having fastened it round the neck of the deceased, they hauled her into the house, and then shut and locked the door, at the moment the Thompsons came to the gate to listen. After this confession, the accomplices were taken into custody, and Woodward confirmed the whole statement before the Magistrates, and subsequently to the officers when removed to the prison. The result of the statements made by the two prisoners has led to the apprehension of ten other men, inhabitants of Eas(t)on, who had committed burglaries and sheepstealing, all of whom have been committed to Northampton gaol on the several charges preferred against the. The circumstance had caused the greatest sensation in the neighbourhood, as one of the prisoners had borne an irreproachable character.
The Stamford Mercury, 11th May, 1838.