The Thief-Taker General Tales from the Old Bailey

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I am the court reporter.

Since 1674, every trial has been played out here between these

walls at London's Old Bailey court.

Every single one of them

has been faithfully recorded by a reporter like me.

I sat just here.

I wrote down what was said by who and now you, some while later,

can listen in.

You can put your ears to the wall

and hear once again these voices from the past.

Now, here's a case that paints a picture

of what this city has become.

London has more than half a million inhabitants.

Crime is rife...

..and ruling, the criminal underworld.

The year is 1725.

There is, as yet, no police force

and the authorities have come to rely on thief-takers who,

inspired by large rewards,

have made it their business to

apprehend thieves and see to the return of stolen goods.

It's no surprise that it's in the interest of these same

thief-takers to ensure a steady supply of such thefts

and such stolen goods and you could say that they're

playing a merry little dance with the law.

On trial today is the master

of this double life, Jonathan Wild,

who calls himself the Thief-Taker General.

So well has he played the game that at this moment

he finds himself in control of much of London's criminal underworld.

And look, Jonathan Wild has paid

to have a counsel by his side.

Not many defendants can afford such a thing.

Perhaps he thinks he'll need a little help

to worm his way out of this one.

Jonathan Wild is indicted on two counts.

The first for privately stealing in the shop of Katherine Stetham

50 yards of lace on the 22nd of January last.

The second count is that on the 10th March last,

Jonathan Wild did feloniously receive of the said Katherine Stetham

ten guineas on pretence of helping her see the return of the said

stolen lace and that he did not discover or apprehend

the persons who committed the said theft.

Now, lace, you see, being so delicate,

so painstaking to produce...

..is highly valuable.

Mr Wild.

You understand the charges against you?

-I do.

-How do you plead?

Not guilty. On both counts.

And may I say, Sir, I have passed around a list of all

the felons I have brought to you for justice these past years.

Gentlemen, this list, handed to you by Mr Wild's counsel,

is inadmissible for evidence and you must pay it no regard.

Mr Prosecutor, please proceed.

Gentlemen, you must indeed pay this list no regard,

save to say that one would need to examine what hand the prisoner had

in the crimes for which he has so readily given these fellows up.

Because here stands before you a man who has as much

fanned the flames of thievery as he has profited by their putting out.

I call the first witness, Mr Henry Kelly.

I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I shall give shall be

the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Mr Kelly,

please describe your first encounter with Mr Wild.

In January last, I went to see a Mrs Johnson who, at the time,

lived at Mr Wild's house.

By and by, in comes Mrs Murphy.

Together with Mr Wild, we drank another two, three quartens of gin.

Me and Mrs Murphy got up to go away together.

The prisoner asked me which way I was going.

I told him, "To my lodgings at the Seven Dials."

"Well, then," says he,

"I tell you what, there's an old blind cow that sells fine

"Flanders lace just by the Holborn Bridge

"and if you call in there you might

"be able to speak with a box of lace.

"I'll go with you and show you the door."

Look at the workmanship on that. Can you feel that?

'Murphy and I went to and turned over a great deal of lace,

'but could see none that would please us.

'It was our business to be very nice and difficult.'

This is very beautiful, but...

Well, I've got some stuff upstairs. I could go and get it.

That would be great.

Right. I'll be back in a moment.

'Alas, the old woman stepped upstairs to fetch another piece,

'and as people of our profession are seldom guilty of losing

'an opportunity, I made use of this.'

'And we came away and found the prisoner awaiting where we left him.

'He asked us if we'd have ready money.

'I took me share - three guineas and a crown -

'and Mrs Murphy had the rest.'

Thank you, Mr Kelly.

I would now like to call Margaret Murphy to the stand.

Mr Kelly recounts that your visit at Mrs Stetham's

lace shop was entirely at the suggestion of Mr Wild.

Did he tell you what he intended to do with the goods he acquired?

No, sir.

Only he said he couldn't give us more than three guineas for it.

He knew her to be a stingy, hard-mouthed old cow

and that he wouldn't get above ten guineas out of her.

Objection, Your Honour.

I beg your leave to declare in regards to the first indictment

which states that the defendant did privately

steal this lace from in the shop.

Now, to declare by these statements that the defendant

did not enter the shop.

He may indeed be guilty of a simple felony,

being accessory before the fact or in receiving the goods after,

but he could not be guilty of the capital offence.

Gentlemen, may I remind you that in felonies, burglaries

and robberies, every accessory before the fact is a principle.

In other words, he that stands by or

watches from a distance is as guilty and as liable

as the very man who enters the house and lays his hands upon the goods.

If Mr Wild did not enter the shop, there is as yet no precedent

for any such interpretation of this indictment.

It remains doubtful whether it can be imposed.

Therefore, we shall proceed to the second indictment.

Gentlemen, may I remind you of the nature of this second indictment?

The prisoner, Jonathan Wild, is accused of having

the acquaintance of the felons who did steal Mrs Stetham's lace,

of failing to apprehend them

or see to it that they were brought to justice,

and, at the same time, of taking money from the same

Mrs Stetham on the pretence of

returning her stolen lace to her again.

The courts have been after Wild for some time,

so great is his grip on London's crime.

They've even introduced an act especially designed to catch out

those involved in the shady business of both encouraging thieves

and profiting from the rewards of the return of stolen goods,

business of which he is a master.

It's even known as Jonathan Wild's Act.

And here, finally,

they have the chance to apply it to the man himself.

I should like to call Mrs Stetham.

Mrs Stetham, please can you describe how you came to know the lace

was taken from you?

Between three and four in the afternoon,

them two came into my shop under the pretence of buying some lace.

We could not agree about a price

and so they went away together.

And in about half an hour,

I missed the tin box of lace

that I valued at £50.

Once you missed the lace, what did you do?

'The same afternoon and the next, I went to Jonathan Wild's house...'

TAPS ON DOOR

'..him having helped return to me some stolen goods before.

'But I did not meet with him.

'So then I advertised that the lace was lost,

'with a reward of 15 guineas, no questions asked.'

No-one was forthcoming,

so I went to Mr Wild's house again

and in a while I met with him.

'Then he told me he had heard something of my lace

'and expected to know more of the matter in a little time.'

Gentlemen, in the meantime it transpired that Mr Wild was

apprehended on another charge and was residing in Newgate Prison.

Is that where you saw him next, Mrs Stetham?

On 10th March, he sent me word that

'if I could come to him in Newgate

'and bring ten guineas in my pocket, he could help me to my lace.

'Once there, he desired me to give the porter ten guineas,

'or else, he said, the persons that have the lace would not deliver it.

'I gave the porter the money, he went away and brought me

'a box that was sealed up, but not the same that was lost.

'I opened it and found all my lace but one piece.'

Now, Mr Wild, what must I give you for your troubles?

Not a farthing. Not a farthing for me.

I desire nothing from you but your prayers and for them

I shall be thankful.

Thank you, Mr Wild.

Mr Wild, what might you have to say in your defence?

I can only say this, that let it be remembered that

I have served to assist this court on many occasion.

I also ask, sir, that Miss Murphy might be called in again.

It is your right to call her. Granted.

It is the case that I am here on an indictment for helping

Katherine Stetham to goods that had been

stole from her by persons unknown.

I pray to ask Miss Murphy who stole the lace, in expectation that she

may unwarily swear that herself and Kelly were the persons.

Mr Wild, Miss Murphy has already sworn evidence upon oath, therefore

no-one could require her to answer questions to accuse herself.

Then I pray that the court will ask her if I stole the lace.

Miss Murphy, you may answer that.

No, he did not steal the lace, but he was concerned with those that

did steal it and he received it after it was stolen.

I beg leave to observe, Your Honour, that the

Act upon which Mr Wilde is now indicted was intended to

affect those persons who are themselves not felons,

but who held correspondence with felons.

Miss Murphy has sworn that Mr Wild

was in receipt of stolen goods, making him thus a felon

and meaning that this Act should not apply.

It is a very surprising plea for a man to say, "I am a felon, I am

"more guilty than you are aware of,

"and therefore I ought to suffer less."

JURY LAUGHS

My Lord, the case of the prisoner comes within almost every

circumstance of the Act.

It is evident that he had secret acquaintance with felons,

that he made it his business to help people to stolen goods

and by that means gained money from them,

which was then divided betwixt him and the felons.

Gentlemen, you must now consider the evidence before you.

JURY WHISPERS

We agree that the defendant be acquitted on the first indictment

for the theft of the lace.

On the second indictment, that he

did feloniously receive money for the return of stolen goods,

without apprehending or attempting to apprehend the felons

responsible for the theft, we find the defendant...

..guilty.

Mr Wild, I hereby sentence you to death by hanging.

Another historic trial.

History made and history most faithfully recorded.

London's most powerful criminal has finally fallen foul

of the very law his own duplicity inspired.

Outside these walls, there is much anticipation of this verdict.

Wild will hang and there'll be

a large crowd to cheer him on his way.

In the end, Jonathan Wild became a victim of his own success.

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