The Murder Stone (William Wood)

William Wood was attacked and killed on the back road between Whaley Bridge and Disley on the evening of 16 July 1823, reportedly by three men he had earlier crossed paths with at a public house. Contemporary reporting in the Manchester Mercury (22 July 1823) describes his body being found with pockets turned out and severe head injuries, pointing to robbery as the motive. No one was ever convicted. UPDATE: the stone itself wasn't erected until April 1874 - 51 years after the murder - rather than immediately afterward, per the Derbyshire Historic Environment Record. CROSS-CHECKED VIA DERBYSHIRE HER (MDR12737): the HER's own newspaper citation for this case is the Derby Mercury, 'Highway Robbery and Murder', Wednesday 23 July 1823 - one day later than the Manchester Mercury date given above. Both papers may well have covered it within days of each other (not unusual for regional press at the time), but this hasn't been reconciled - worth checking both editions directly. The HER also references full newspaper transcripts on the Whaley Bridge Local History website, which was unreachable when checked here (see sources_needing_visit).