Kentish Gazette, 26 March 1850.

Robert Miller, 16, was indicted for breaking into the bar of the "Waterman’s Arms," at Dartford, where he lived as pot-boy, and stealing therefrom the sum of £4 8s. 10d.

After severe witnesses had been examined, he was acquitted.

Southeastern Gazette 4 January 1853.

DARTFORD:— The Late Fatal Affray.

The inquest on the body of the unfortunate man Abdaham Apted who met with an untimely end on Christmas-eve, as stated in our last, was held before C. J. Carttar, Esq. coroner, at the "Waterman’s Arms," Dartford, on Wednesday last.

Mr. W. Fisher, surgeon, Dartford, deposed:— I was called upon to see deceased between two and three o'clock in the morning of Saturday last, and found him quite dead; he had not been dead long. I made a post mortem examination on Sunday last. There were no marks of violence externally. There was a slight disease of the left lung; the stomach was comparatively healthy. I found the brain perfectly healthy, and no marks of violence whatever accounting for his sudden death.

By the Coroner:- I should attribute the cause of death to a sudden shock of the nervous system, producing a collapse. A fright would produce it. I do not find that the man has received any mortal injury. A violent blow on the epigasrtium might cause death without producing any external or internal appearance.

John Robson, of Dartford, coal merchant, was next called to identify deceased, who was about 36 years of age.

Mary Wise, wife of Thomas Wise, of Dartford, labourer, deposed:— I went down into the marsh, with James Wise, my brother-in-law, to see the fight, where I saw Mrs. Gibbs. There were John Maloy, Abraham Apted, and Henry Gibson, who are all in prison. No one else was there. Mrs. Gibbs was crying. I saw Maloy and Aptod fighting blow for blow very severely; in a few minutes they both fell down; Maloy fell on the top of Apted. James Wise took Maloy off, and Gibbs picked up Apted. They held them up to fight again, and made no endeavour to part the men. The men had all been drinking at the "Waterman’s Arms." Maloy then struck Apted somewhere in front, he fell backwards, and made a noise in his throat. I then caught hold of Maloy and said, "You villian, you have killed this man." Maloy said "I have not struck the man a blow." Wise said to Gibbs, "Pick that man up" and he did so and shook him. He was quite cold. Gibbs said he would "brighten up" presently, and he put him down again and went home, and left us there. I was not in the field more than ten minutes.

By the Coroner:— I never drink more than does me good. I heard Maloy challenge Apted in the beer-house to come to the marsh and he would fight him. Maloy "smoothed" him in the face. Apted got up to strike him, but I held him back. That was about half an hour before.

John Collyer, of Dartford, waterman, was in the taproom when Maloy and Apted quarrelled about a pint of beer, and dragged Apted out of the house to prevent them fighting. Soon after that he saw them all in the marsh, when some one said they thought Apted was dead. Witness lifted him up on Gibbs’s shoulders, who took him home.

Maria Gibbs, wife of Henry Gibbs, laborer, of Dartford, one of the prisoners in custody, went into the marsh to look after her husband. Saw Wise standing there; he was doing nothing. Her husband carried Apted home. Did not cry in the field.

James Brice, landlord of the "Waterman’s Arms," deposed that Apted stripped to fight in his house; the other man was not desirous of fighting. They afterwards went to fight in the marsh. They were in witness’s house from 7 to 12.

Sarah Brice, wife of the last witness, deposed that she saw Apted and Maloy struggling together in the tap-room to fight. They went out directly. Before they did so Apted and Maloy said they had no animosity, and they drank together.

David Ovenden, police-constable, proved taking Maloy into custody. He was in bed at the time. Witness told him he was charged with killing a man in a fight. He replied "Me! me! I never hit him." He said he was some distance from him when the man fell. He was slightly under the influence of drink.

Superintendent Thatcher proved taking the other two prisoners into custody, and charged them with aiding and abetting in the fight. Wise said he was on his way home and did not assist in any way. Gibbs refused to answer any question.

Paul Wise, the father of one of the men implicated, here addressed the coroner and said:— Mrs. Wise is not friendly with my son; she deserted him, and took up with John Collyer.

The Coroner said he could not see anything to identify Gibbs with the transaction. He thought there was no chance of conviction upon the testimony before them; the medical man not attributing the death to violence. The man's own excitement might have accelerated his death.

The room being cleared, the jury, after deliberating about half an hour, returned the following verdict, "That the deceased suddenly departed this life, but from what precise cause there is no sufficient evidence before the jury to prove."

The men concerned in the affray, John Maloy, Henry Gibbs, and Joseph Wise, underwent an examination before the magistrates on the following day, and were discharged.