The robbery and murder was no sooner known than a reward was offered from the Secretary of State’s office, for the apprehension of the gang. The offer was seconded by that of a much larger reward from the City of London; and also another of £50 from the parishioners of Chelsea.
The murderers, however, remained undiscoverd for a considerable time till Daniel Isaacs, one of the gang, became the means of discovering his accomplices, in the following manner:—Isaacs, being touched with remorse of conscience, &c., sent for a friend and acknowledged himself to be one of the nine men concerned in the robbery and murder at Mrs. Hutchins’s, at Chelsea. He desired his friend to inform some magistrate of it; and having told him the names and places of abode of his accomplices, his friend went immediately to Sir John Fielding, at Bow Street, who sent the officers after them, by which means seven of them were taken. The cause of this confession and remorse of conduct, on the part of Isaacs, was distress. He applied for relief to the elders of the Jewish synagogue, but the treasurer refused him any immediate assistance, urging as a reason that he should not have left his native country, Holland, where he might have obtained probably an honest living. At that time a great number of Jews came to this country, and a selection of cases could only be relieved. Isaacs, in consequence of the refusal, became greatly distressed, and, in order to gain the reward, offered by the City of London, made the above confession.
Isaacs was admitted to give evidence against his accomplices, six of whom were soon apprehended, but the other made his escape. There appears to have been some discrepancy as regards the number of the gang, one account states eight, while another mentions nine.
At the Old Bailey Sessions, in December, 1771, Levi Weil, Asher Weil, Marcus Hartogh, Jacob Lazarus, Solomon Porter, Hyam Lazarus, and Abraham Linewill, (the man who had absconded) were indicted for the robbery and murder, when the two of the name of Weil, with Jacob Lazarus and Solomon Porter, were capitally convicted, and Marcus Hartogh and Hyam Lazarus were acquitted.