James William White

James William White was found dead in a Acorn Wood with head injuries.

He and two other men had previously been spying on a couple that were lying together by the roadside until they were spotted and he got up and ran off into a wood where he was said to have collided with a tree.

The police were working on the theory that he had been murdered while he had been lying on the ground stunned by a collision with a tree.

A doctor who examined his body said that it would have been impossible for him to have met his death by running into a tree, adding that his injuries were caused by direct violence, probably with some instrument. He had a fractured skull.

It was also noted that there were no signs of blood on the tree that he was found lying under.

A miner said that he had been near the wood with a companion when James White had come out and signalled them to stop  and then divulged that his object was to spy on a young man and woman who were lying by the roadside near a motor cycle. He said that James White eventually got up from crawling on the ground and ran into the wood at which point they heard a heavy thud. They said that they then too made off.

A mechanic who said that he had been with a lady companion on the night said that they had driven to the wood on his motor cycle and had rested on the ground for about an hour and a quarter. He said that just before leaving at midnight his lady companion called his attention to the fact that there was a man behind them. the mechanic said that he got up to give the man a hiding but that two other men appeared and he turned back. However, he said that before he saw the two men he saw the other man collide with a tree. He denied that he had either struck or kicked James White.

A cyclist said that he had gone into the wood on the Tuesday night and two men two men called to him and pointed out that there was a man lying near a tree. He said that he went to have a look and found James White with severe injuries to his face which was covered in blood. He said that one of the men suggested that James White had run into a tree.

When a policeman arrived, he said that James White's body was still warm and that he had not been dead for long. He said that on the ground surrounding James White there was an entire absence of any signs of a struggle.

At the inquest the Coroner admonished the two miners who had been spying on the couple with James White saying that if they repeated such objectionable conduct they might receive the good hiding that they deserved.

James White was from New Basford in Nottingham and was a widower with six children.