A very strange murder of a child of less than
eight years of age occurred in Bradford on Thursday week. The child in question, John Gill, the son of a cabdriver, had been accus- tomed for some time past to go out with William Barrett (the milkman employed byWolfen.dale, a dairyman, of Manningham Lane), to deliver the milk. On Thursday morning in last week, he left for this purpose and never returned. The body, cut up into various parts, was found on the Saturday morning. The suspicion against Barrett consists in the fact that, according to Barrett, the boy had gone home to breakfast after leaving all the milk-cans but one, though evidence was given that he was seen later in the milk-cart, and that his way home would have been shortened, not lengthened, by returning to the stable with the cart. Moreover, Barrett gave an account of his proceedings on the Thursday night which does not agree with that of other witnesses. He stated that he had not left home between 8 o'clock on Thursday night and 7 o'clock on Friday morning ; whereas witnesses deposed to his having left home very early on the Friday morning, and to a light having been seen in the stable where he worked till very late on the Thursday night. Farther, very unusual noises, of a sawing kind, were heard in the stable on that night. Also, some blood was found on Barrett's clothes for which he says that he can satisfactorily account. As yet there is no e■ )11 (Ansi ve evidence in the matter; but a case of suspicion strong enough to justify a week's remand, has been made out against him. Of the motive of the murder,—the boy having been apparently on the friendliest terms with Barrett,—the police have, it is said, formed some guess, at least on the theory that Barrett is the man ; but they have not yet put their guess in any form before the Magistrate. Whoever perpetrated it, it is certainly one of the most cruel and heartless murders even of recent days, and that is saying a great deal.
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