*****
Sabey, Richard
Sadler, Thomas
Sargent, George
Saunders, Charles
Saunders, George
Samuels, William
Seddons, The
*****
Shaw, Arthur
Shawrtcross, Arthur
*****
Sheehan, William
Sheward, William
*****
Shrimpton, Moses
Simms, James
Simpson, John Aspinall
Singh, Udham
*****
Smart, Edwin
Smedley, William
Smiley, William
*****
Smith, Alfonso
*****
Smith, Caleb
Smith, Charles
Smith, George Joseph
*****
Smith, Laurence
Smith, Thomas
Smithers, Thomas
Sowery, Alfred
Sowerby, Edwin
*****
Speck Richard
*****
Spencer, Arthur
Spencer, Richard
Spicer, Felix
Squires, Charles
Stafford, Peter
Stanton, John
Stanway, William
Starchfield, John
*****
Starkweather,
Charlie & Fugate, Caril Ann
*****
Starkey, John Henry
Stewart, Frederick
*****
Stockwell, James
Stone, George Leslie
*****
Storey, Frederick Thomas
Straffen, John Thomas
*****
Sullivan, Bartholomew
Sullivan, William
*****
Surety, Charles
Sutcliffe, Peter William
*****
Swindells, Harry Hammond
Seddons, The
No details listed on this case at this time
Shawcross, Arthur
Arthur Shawcross recieved a second chance at life after being released
back into the community for the murder of two small
children. Moving from place to place he ended up in Rochester, New
York. He married Rose Walley while in Rochester. He
also met Clara Neal, who became his mistress. Working nights as a food
wholesaler, and living near the center of town, he
didn't even have a car. During the day he would be seen riding a brown
Schwinn bicycle, a womans model, riding to fishing
spots along the Genesee River. Not many people wanted Arthur for a
neighbor. In 1972 while in Watertown, New York, an
upstate town Shawcross had murdered little ten year old Jack Blake,
and eight year old Karen Hill He served 15 years of a 25
year sentence for these crimes. He was released on parole in April
of 1987 for those murders. After moving from town to
town, chased out by enraged citizens, he found his home in Rochester.
People there found him to be friendly, and mild
mannered. They didn't know of his dark past. In March of 1988 the body
of a 27 year old prostitute was found floating in
Salmon Creek. In September another body was found. Over a year later
in October of 1989, a third was found, and in early
November, a fourth. Later that month a fifth. Police believed the murders
were too similar to be the work of different people...a serial killer was
loose in the community. Arthur followed the news of the murders closely.
He warned his wife and Clara to be
careful. He also hung out at the local Dunkin' Donuts to talk with
the cops about the case. In late November another body was
found by a guy walking his dog. Four days later another body was found.
By the end of the year three more bodys were added to the death list. About
this time, the Rochester police invited FBI serial killer specialists in
to help. They made a profile of the
killer: White male, thirties, mobile, trusted by the women who fearlessly
got into his car. On January 3, 1990 state troopers in a
helicopter spotted a body in the icy Salmon Creek waters. On a bridge
overlooking the creek a man leaned out of his car
urinating into a pop bottle. The choper alerted some patrol cars and
they surrounded the area. Shawcross had just finished a
salad when he saw the copter. He climbed back into Clara Neal's Chevy
and left toward the mursing home where she worked.
As soon as he pulled in, a police car pulled in behind him and he was
taken in for questioning. Shawcross didn't fit the profile to well, but
when the checked his history their interests changed. They impounded the
Chevy, and let Arthur go for lack of
evidence. While inspecting the Chevy they found a pink earring that
matched on of the earrings found on one of the victims.
Shawcross was picked up the next morning. For hours he denied involvement
in the crimes. Eventually he confessed to the
murders in detail. He had strangled one of his victims for calling
him "no better than a faggot"...and saying that he was the
Genesee River Killer. He smashed one's face into the car door for saying
he was "hopeless", and killed one for claiming to be a
virgin. By the time his October trial came he had refused to testify.
His defence tried to get a insanity claim. Under hypnosis he
spoke as an eleven year old arttie, and even as a reincarnated medieval
English cannibal. A few of the prostitutes he killed had
had their vaginas cut out, which Arthur had ate a few of. He was sentenced
to 10 consecutive terms of 25 years at the Sullivan
Correctional Facility. He was convicted of 10 murders, but later admitted
to an eleventh. He is still being held at Sullivan with
no possibility of parole.
Sheward, William
William Sheward was a fifty seven year old tailor who murdered his fifty
six year old wife Martha on 15 June 1851 by stabbing her to death with
a pair of scissors. They had had a quarrel over money and he committed
the crime in a rage, then set about dismembering the body which he successfully
disposed of. He remarried in 1862 and by 1868 he was running a public house
in Norwich. During a trip to London he got drunk and in a fit of remorse
walked into a police station and confessed to the murder. He was able to
say where his wife's remains were and a search produced body parts belonging
to an elderly woman. When he sobered up he tried to retract his statement,
but was convicted and hanged by William Calcraft on 20th April 1869 in
Norwich.
Singh, Udham
No details listed on this case at this time
Smiley, William
William Smiley was a thirty three year old farm labourer and former
soldier who was convicted of the murder of Miss Margaret Macauley aged
forty eight and her sister, Miss Sarah Macauley who was forty three.
Both were found shot dead on the floor of their brother's house at Armog,
Co Antrim. Over £30 belonging to their brother, a local magistrate,
was missing. When investigations led to William Smiley, the money was found
concealed in one of his boots. He was convicted at Belfast Assizes and
hanged by Thomas Pierrepoint on 8th August 1928, he left a full confession
in the condemned cell.
Smith, Alfonso
No details listed on this case at this time
Smith, George Joseph
No details listed on this case at this time
Speck, Richard
In 1966. 25-year-old Richard Speck was already familiar with violence,
drugs, and alcohol. His marriage had broken
up when his wife was unfaithful, and he often took part in bar fights He
was said to be obsessed with sex Speck worked in a Chicago boatyard
until July 13. 1966. when a fight with a ship's officer cost him his job.
Leaving work, he borrowed money to buy drink and drugs. That evening, after
injecting an unknown drug, he approached a townhouse rented by nine student
nurses, armed with a gun and knife. He told the woman who answered the
door that he needed money, and he made her and five other residents lay
an the floor of a bedroom. Tying them up with strips from a sheet, he told
them they would not be hurt. Three more women who came to the house during
this time joined the captives. All but one were residents. Speck pocketed
all the
money he could find, but he did not leave. Becoming increasingly agitated.
he led the women in singles and pairs to other rooms in the house where
he stabbed and strangled them. His final victim was raped before she was
murdered The only survivor was a woman who managed to hide beneath a bed,
where Speck could not see her After the surviving nurse sought help.
a manhunt began, but Speck himself made capture easy by trying to slash
his wrists in a flop house several days later.
Tried in 1967 and sentenced to die, he appealed and was re-sentenced
to more than 400 years in prison. He was a suspect in the disappearances
and deaths at five women that occurred from May to July 1966, but was not
charged. He died in 1991 of a heart attack at the age of 48, still incarcerated
Starchfield, John
No details listed on this case at this time.
Starkweather, Charlie & Fugate, Caril Ann
A small man standing only five feet two inches, 19 years old with flaming
red hair, Charles Starkweather hated everyone he came into contact with.
Everyone that is except his fourteen year old girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate.
On January 21, 1958, Charlie got into an argument with Caril's parents
and settled it the only way he knew how, he shot her mother and stepfather.
This was not the first murder Starkweather had commited, he had murdered
someone who got in the way during a robbery. He then went into her sisters
bedroom and he forced the gun barrel down Caril's two-year-old sister's
throat and choked her to death while Caril continued to watch the television..
A few days later, after the local authorities became suspicious, they
visited the house but were told by Caril that everyone had flu. They went
away but returned later to find a house emply except for the three corpses.
The two went on the run killing with reckless abandon. During that week
the couple killed a further seven people before finally being arrested
in Douglas Wyoming. Once under arrest they turned on each other, each blaming
the other.
They were tried and both found guilty, Charles Starkweather was sentenced
to death and Caril Ann Fugate recieved life imprisonment. On the 25 June
1959 Charles was electrocuted at Nebraskas State Penetentiary. Caril was
released on parole in 1977. The movie Badlands with Martin Sheen and Sissy
Spacek was based on their exploits.
Stewart, Frederick
Frederick Stewart was found guilty of the murder of Mr Webb who was
shot dead while Stewart carried out a robbery of his flat. He was
hanged on the 6 June 1928 at Pentonville Prison.
Stone, George Leslie
Ruby Anne Keen was a 23-year-old factory worker who lived with her widowed
mother, elder sister and brother in Leighton Buzzard. She was an attractive
girl who enjoyed the attentions of the young men in the district.
Leslie Stone had known Ruby since 1931 but he was serving in the Royal
Artillery and the following year was posted to Hong Kong. While he was
away the couple started out by writing to each other but after a year or
so Ruby wrote less and less often. She had become involved with a local
policeman and in 1936 they became engaged.
In December 1936 Stone was given a medical discharge from the army and
got a job as a builder's labourer in Leighton Buzzard. On 4th April 1937
Leslie Stone saw Ruby in a local pub called the Golden Bell. He bought
her a drink. One week later when Ruby called in the Golden Bell on her
way home from a church service Leslie Stone was in the pub waiting for
her. After three pints for Stone and a port for Ruby the pair went to the
Cross Keys and then to the Stag Hotel. Customers in the pubs were later
to testify that Stone was trying to persuade the girl to break off her
engagement to the policeman and get back together with him again. After
drinking another couple of pints of mild for Stone and two more ports for
Ruby the couple left about 10pm. They were seen by a couple of people who
watched them enter the Firs, a local lover's lane.
The following morning at 7am the almost naked body of Ruby Keen was
found in the Firs by Mr Cox who worked on the railways and was on his way
to work. She had been strangled with a black scarf that she had been wearing
and there were signs that a fierce struggle had taken place. That afternoon
Stone called at the home of PC McCarthy. The officer was not at home but
his wife described Stone as agitated and worried. Stone had told her that
he had heard about Ruby's death and, as he had been with the girl the previous
evening he felt the police would want to talk to him and he wanted to clear
his name. He made a statement to Leighton Buzzard police in which he stated
that he had left Ruby outside the Stag at about 10.15 and had gone home
alone, reaching there about 10.45. This was in contrast to what others
had said.
The police had found a couple who had been taking a shortcut along the
Firs about 10.30pm and who said that they had seen the girl, in the shadows,
in the arms of a policeman. Scotland Yard was called in and CI Barker arrived
to take over the case. He interviewed Ruby's fiancee who, it transpired,
had not seen Ruby since the previous Sunday and had been on duty in the
village of Hockcliffe, three miles away, at the time of the killing. It
was determined that whoever had killed Ruby had knelt astride the girl
as he strangled her. Plaster casts were made of the impressions in the
sandy soil and Sir Bernard Spilsbury determined a clear imprint of the
material.
Sample pairs of trousers were taken from all the possible suspects in
the case. When Spilsbury examined Stone's brand-new suit trousers he found
that the knees had been brushed so hard that the nap had been worn away.
Microscopic examination of the trousers showed up particles of sandy soil
that matched that from the scene of the crime. There was also found, in
the lining of Stone's jacket, a silk fibre that matched with those taken
from the dead girl's underskirt. Armed with this evidence the police were
satisfied and on Wednesday 24th April 1937 Stone was charged with murder.
Stone's trial opened at the Old Bailey on Monday 28th June before Lord
Chief Justice, Lord Hewart. When Stone went into the witness box to give
evidence he decided to change his story. He now told the court, that they
had quarreled and she had hit him. Without realising what he was doing
he had choked her. He said that her clothes had fallen off as they fell
over as they struggled. He also said that when he left her she had only
been stunned and he had expected her to revive.
The jury only took twenty-five minutes to find him guilty and he was
sentenced to death. Stone was hanged at Pentonville
Prison on Friday 13th August 1937 aged 24.
Straffen, John Thomas
Straffen was born in 1930. As he grew he became a thief and a noted truant
from school. At the age of ten he was sent to a school for retarded children.
In 1947 he assaulted a child and was committed to an institution. He was
released in February 1951 and had, by August of that year, strangled
two small girls in Bath. He did it, he asserted, to annoy the police. In
October he appeared before Taunton Assizes, was found unfit to plead and
was sent to Broadmoor.
In April 1952 he escaped from Broadmoor, and although he was recaptured
later the same day, it was not before he had strangled Linda Bowyer. The
body of the young girl was found the next day in a field near-by. Stratten
implicated himself by telling officers 'I did not kill the little girl
on the bicycle.' This was before they had asked him about the murder.
He appeared at Winchester in July 1952 and pleaded not guilty. His ability
to plead was accepted and was duly found guilty and sentenced to death.
A reprieve was, however, forthcoming and he was returned to Broadmoor.
Sowerby, Edwin
Twenty eight year old Edwin Sowerby was sentenced to death at Leeds Assizes
on 9th December by Mr Justice Salter for the murder of his former girlfriend,
Jane Darwell who was only seventeen. The murder took place at Croston
near Wakefield after she had broken off their relationship. Not happy with
the situation he followed her on the 26th October to a dance. He
had been drinking heavily and in a drunken rage he attacked her and cut
her throat, he then turned the razor on himself. Sowerby was taken to hospital
where he was nursed back to health before being hanged by Thomas Pierrepoint
The sentence was carried out on 30th December in Leeds.
Sullivan, William
Forty one year old William Sullivan was convicted at Avonmouth Assizes
of the murder of Margaret Thomas, who was found battered to death with
a large iron bolt in her isolated cottage at Coytre. near Newport. There
was considerable evidence against him: neighbours had seen him near the
cottage: he had sold some clothes that had belonged to the dead woman:
and a pair of his boots were found in the cottage. He was hanged by John
Ellis. He was executed on March 23rd 1922 at Usk.
Sutcliffe, Peter William
A book of this nature could hardly be complete without the case of the
Yorkshire Ripper. In fact anyone that remembers the cases as they actually
happened will remember the fear that people felt. This fear was not just
felt by potential victims but also by the police who seemed to be powerless
to stop this maniac from carrying out his strange mission in life.
It all began in June 1969. Sutcliffe thought that his girlfriend, Sonia
Szurma, was being unfaithful to him so he visited a prostitute 'to get
even'. The prostitute took the £10 and then got her pimp to chase
the young man away. Apparently three weeks later Sutcliffe saw the woman
in a pub and demanded his money back. She laughed at him.
In late August 1969 a prostitute walking along St Paul's Road in Bradford's
red-light district was attacked from behind and hit over the head by what
she thought was a brick in a sock. Although badly stunned, she was still
able to note the number of the man's vehicle as he drove away. She reported
the assault to the police who traced the number, it turned out to belong
to a man called Peter Sutcliffe. He did not deny hitting the woman but
told officers that he had only struck the woman with his open hand and,
because he had no criminal record, he was let off with a caution. Six weeks
later Olive Smelt was attacked in a similar manner. No connection was made
between this attack and the earlier one.
The first victim was discovered on a cold, foggy morning on the 30th
October 1975. A milkman doing his round of a Leeds' suburb noticed a bundle
lying in the playing field. As he got closer he was able to see it was
a woman. She was lying on her back with her white, flared trousers around
her knees. Her skull had been shattered by two hammer blows and her chest
and stomach were covered in blood where she had been stabbed 14 times.
The victim was 28-year-old Wilma 'Hotpants' McCann. Originally from Glasgow
she now lived in a Chapeltown council house and had reverted to prostitution
to support her four children. As she was still wearing her knickers, and
her purse was missing, police thought this was a robbery perhaps carried
out by one of her clients. What had in fact happened was that Sutcliffe
had picked up the woman and taken her to the field for the purpose of having
sex. When he failed to get an erection she told him that he was useless
and had laughed at him. He asked her to wait while he went back to his
car for something. He went back to his car and fetched the hammer and a
knife.
The killing caused very little excitement in the press, she was after
all only a prostitute. Prostitution was a dangerous game and murders were
not uncommon. On 20th January 1976 when the next murder took place the
police became a little more concerned. It now looked as if they had someone
with a grudge against prostitutes, possibly even a serial killer.
Emily Jackson was 42-years-old and married to a roofing contractor.
Early in the evening of the 20th Emily and her husband arrived at the Gaiety
pub on the Roundhay Road. Emily soon left her husband while she went off
to find some 'trade'. When she had not returned by closing time Mr Jackson,
assumed his wife had found a boyfriend for the night and took a taxi home
alone. Her body was found by an early shift worker who noticed something
huddled underneath a coat in an alley in Chapeltown, Leeds. Like Wilma
McCann she had been hit twice on the back of the head. The front of her
torso had been slashed over 50 times with a knife and her back had been
gouged with a Phillips screwdriver. Also like the previous murder, Emily
Jackson's breasts were exposed and her knickers had been left on. The killer
had stamped on her thigh and in so doing had left the first clear clue,
he took size seven shoes.
It was over a year before the next murder. It was the 6th January 1977
when an early morning jogger saw a body slumped behind a sports pavilion
on Soldier's Field, a public playing-field. The body was lying face down
and once again the skull had been shattered by three massive hammer blows.
The body was soon identified as that of 28-year-old Irene Richardson, another
prostitute. Police discovered she had left her lodgings in Cowper Street,
Chapeltown, shortly before midnight the previous evening to go to a dance.
Murder victim number four was killed on April 22nd. Patricia 'Tina'
Atkinson was a 32-year-old mother with three daughters. She had been drinking
in the Carlisle public house and when she left was rather the worse for
wear. She left just before closing time and was not seen alive again except
by her killer. When she wasn't seen at all the next day everyone assumed
that she was just sleeping it off somewhere. When friends called round
on the evening of the 23rd they found her front door unlocked. Going in
they found a bundle on the bed, wrapped in blankets, it was Tina. As she
had entered her flat the night before, someone had smashed her head with
four hammer blows. Her body had also been slashed. There was a bloody footprint
on the bottom bed sheet, it was that of a size seven wellington boot. It
was identical to the print found on Emily Jackson's thigh.
When news of the killing of another prostitute reached the press it
was not long before comparisons were being made with the infamous Whitechapel
murders and the killer was named the 'Yorkshire Ripper' by George Hill,
in the Daily Express.
On 26th June 1977, the Ripper acted out of character when he chose a
16-year-old girl who was not a prostitute. The victim this time was Jayne
MacDonald. She had been out dancing at the Hofbrauhaus in Leeds and walking
down Reginald Terrace, on her way home at about 2am when she was attacked.
At 9.45 the following morning a group of children entered the adventure
playground in Reginald Terrace and found Jayne's body lying by a wall.
She had been hit over the head as she walked and then dragged 20 yards
into the playground. Sutcliffe had then struck her twice more before repeatedly
stabbing her.
Maureen Long was luckier than the others when she was attacked while
walking near her home in Bradford. She was dragged into an alleyway but
before Sutcliffe could inflict any further damage something caused him
to flee. She survived to give the police a sketchy description of her assailant,
over six feet tall, collar-length fair hair and 36 to 37-years-old. It
was not a lot but the police were beginning to build up a picture.
The next victim was another prostitute called Jean Bernadette Jordan.
She was a 21-year-old Scot and mother of two sons who lived in Hulme, Manchester.
On Saturday 1st October 1977 she accepted a £5 note from a man in
Moss Side, Manchester, and climbed into a new red Ford Corsair. She told
him to drive to some wasteland near Southern Cemetery, about two miles
away. When they got there the man struck her over the head with a hammer,
eleven times. He dragged her body into some bushes but once again something
disturbed him, this time it was another car approaching and he drove off
in a hurry. Sutcliffe then realised that he had left behind a clue that
could point to him. The £5 note that he had given the girl was brand-new
and had come from a wage packet he had received just two days earlier.
There was little he could do as it would be too dangerous to go back for
it. When there had been no news of the killing for eight days he drove
back to Moss Side and scoured the area for the girl's purse. When he couldn't
find the purse he attacked the body, in a fury of frustration, with a piece
of glass, almost severing the head. He left still unable to find the note.
The next day Jayne's naked body was discovered. Identification had to be
made from her fingerprints as the head was unrecognisable.
The police did find the new £5 note near the body and, over the
next three months, police interviewed over 5,000 men in an attempt to find
out who had given the note to the girl. One of those visited by police
was Sutcliffe who aroused no suspicions for the interviewing officers and
the report that was filed cleared him from their enquiry.
Next to die was 18-year-old Helen Rytka. Her body was discovered under
a railway viaduct in Huddersfield. Helen and her twin sister, Rita, worked
the Great Northern Street area of Huddersfield. They concentrated on the
car trade and, because of the Ripper killings, looked out for each other.
They worked out a system where each client was given 20 minutes so they
could be expected back at a precise time. They also noted the vehicle number
of each other's client's cars. On the night of Tuesday 31st January Helen
deviated from the routine. She arrived back five minutes early and should
have waited for her sister but instead she accepted the offer from a bearded
man in a red Corsair. She took him to Garrard's timber yard, a short distance
away. Here they had intercourse in the back of the car, probably because
two other men were hanging around the yard. Once they had gone and Helen
and Sutcliffe went to return to the front of the car, he attacked her with
a hammer. The first blow missed and hit the car but the second connected
and he followed it up with another five crushing blows to the skull and
numerous knifings, she was dead long before he finished attacking the body.
Sutcliffe dragged her body to a woodpile under the viaduct and hid it.
Rita was worried about her sister's disappearance but because she did not
want to get into trouble with the police she delayed raising the alarm.
Once she did, the police set up a search for the girl. It was three days
after the killing that a police dog found the body.
On the 26th March 1978 a man noticed an arm sticking out from under
an upturned sofa on wasteland in Lumb Lane, Bradford. The body was that
of 22-year-old mother of two and prostitute, Yvonne Pearson. On 21st January,
ten weeks earlier, she had left her two small daughters with a neighbour
and gone to the Flying Dutchman public house. She left there about 9.30pm
and climbed in a car driven by a bearded man with piercing, black eyes.
He took her to wasteland in Athington Street. Here he beat her to death
with a club hammer, dragged her to the sofa where he jumped on her chest
until her ribs cracked.
The next victim was 41-year-old Vera Millward. She was Spanish-born
and the mother of seven. She had arrived in England after the war, later
lived with a Jamaican and took to prostitution to support her large family.
On the night on Tuesday 16th May she left her flat in Greenham Avenue,
Hulme, to buy some cigarettes, she did not return. At 8.10 the next morning
her body was discovered on a rubbish heap in the corner of a car park in
Manchester Royal Infirmary. Like all the others she had died from three
blows to the head. Her stomach had then been slashed.
Once again the murders stopped this time for eleven months. On the night
of Wednesday 4th April 1979 he drove to Halifax. Just before midnight he
got out of his car and followed 19-year-old Josephine Walker as she crossed
Savile Park playing fields. Josephine lived with her parents and was a
clerk with the Halifax Building Society. He attacked her from behind and
smashed her skull with a hammer and dragged her into the darkness. Her
body was found the next morning.
In the period up to the end of 1978, Sutcliffe had been interviewed
by police on four separate occasions. Twice about the banknote which, through
its serial number AW51121565, had been traced to the company that Sutcliffe
worked for, T & WH Clark they were unable to trace it any further.
In the summer of 1978 police had returned after Sutcliffe's vehicle registration
had turned up during special checks carried out in Bradford and Leeds.
The fourth time had been when they came to check the tread patterns on
his tyres after tracks had been found at the scene of the Irene Richardson
murder. Somehow on each occasion he had been given a clean bill of health.
Between March 1978 and June 1979, Assistant Chief Constable George Oldfield,
the detective leading the hunt, had received three anonymous letters and
a cassette tape. This was to delay his capture even more. A £1 million
police publicity campaign was launched to try and identify the voice on
the tape who was claiming to be the Ripper, with the Geordie accent.
In July 1979 Sutcliffe was interviewed again, this time about the fact
that his car had been logged as being in the Lumb Lane red-light district
of Bradford on 36 separate occasions. Police were noting all cars in the
area.
In the early hours of Saturday 1st September, 20-year-old Bradford University
student, Barbara Leach parted from her friends outside the Mannville Arms
in the Little Horton area of Bradford. She started off towards her home
but never got there.
Late the following afternoon her body was found under old carpets beside
a dustbin. She had been attacked in Ash Grove, just 200 yards from the
pub then dragged into a back garden. She had been stabbed eight times with
a rusty screwdriver.
The next killing did not occur until Thursday 18th August 1980. This
was his twelfth victim. Marguerite Walls left her office, after working
late, at 10pm to walk the mile to her home in Farsley. She was a 47-year-old
civil servant in the Department of Education and Science in Pudsey. Her
body was found two days later buried under grass clippings in the grounds
of a magistrate's house. She had been battered and strangled. It seemed
that all women were now fair game to him regardless of their occupations.
Over the next two months Sutcliffe attacked two more women, one in Huddersfield,
the other in Leeds, but for some reason he did not kill them and they both
survived. Jacqueline Hill was a 20-year old student who was the Rippers
last victim. On 17th November she got off the bus in Otley Road to walk
the short distance to her university residence. He struck her down and
dragged her body to a patch of waste ground behind a row of shops.
Less than two months later Sutcliffe was in custody and his reign of
terror was over. His arrest had been one of pure chance. When Sergeant
Bob Ring and PC Robert Hydes were out on patrol they saw prostitute Olivia
Reivers climb into a Rover V8 3500 in Melbourne Avenue, Sheffield, and
knowing the girl they decided to investigate alleged soliciting. At that
time they never imagined that they were about to bring to an end Britain's
longest and costliest manhunt. When they spoke to the driver of the Rover
he identified himself as Peter Williams. When asked if this was his car
he said yes. He then asked if he could go to the bushes to relieve himself.
While he went off into the bushes at the side of the road the officers
requested a PNC check on the vehicle registration. It was soon confirmed
that the number plates did not match the Rover and so 'Peter Williams'
and his companion were both taken to Hammerton Road police station. Once
at the station he admitted that his real name was Peter William Sutcliffe
and that he had stolen the number plates from a scrap-yard in Dewsbury.
When asked why he had lied he said it was because he was afraid that his
wife might find out that he went with prostitutes. It was the 2nd January
1981. Again, he asked if he could go to the toilet.
At that time there was an order out to every police station in the country
that they were to inform West Yorkshire police if they found any man in
the company of a prostitute. As it was late at night Sutcliffe was locked
in a cell and was taken next morning to Dewsbury police station. Here he
told the interviewing officers that he was a lorry driver and also that
he had been previously been interviewed by police over his regular visits
to the red-light area in Bradford and also over a £5 note that had
been found in the purse of a murdered prostitute.
DS Des O'Boyle of the Ripper Squad at Millgarth, Leeds, was informed
of Sutcliffe's arrest and when he found that the name showed up in several
computer searches he decided to drive over to Dewsbury. By that evening
it had been established that Sutcliffe's blood group was group B, the same
as the man they were seeking, and O'Boyle informed his DI, John Boyle,
and he, too, travelled to Dewsbury. Sutcliffe was locked in a cell for
a second night.
When Bob Ring happened to hear from one of his colleagues that the man
they had picked up was still being held at Dewsbury a thought occured to
him and he rushed back to Melbourne Avenue. Remembering that when they
had picked up the man he had asked to go into the bushes to relieve himself
the officer made a quick search through the bushes until he found what
he was looking for. There, in the undergrowth, were a knife and a hammer.
Police had also discovered the second knife that Sutcliffe had carried
the night he was arrested and which he had hidden inside the cistern when
he went to the toilet.
The next morning Sutcliffe was interviewed by DI Boyle, who avoided
any mention of the Ripper enquiry. Then, in the afternoon, Boyle told Sutcliffe
about the knife and hammer found in Melbourne Avenue. Boyle said to him,
"I think you're in trouble, serious trouble." After a pause Sutcliffe replied
"I think you are leading up to the Yorkshire Ripper." "What about the Yorkshire
Ripper?" asked Boyle, "Well," said Sutcliffe, that's me." In a statement
that took nearly 17 hours to record Sutcliffe confessed to killing 11 women.
His trial opened at the Old Bailey on 5th May 1981. He pleaded guilty
to manslaughter, claiming in his defence that he had heard voices from
God commanding him to kill prostitutes. The jury were not impressed by
these claims and, on 22nd May, they found Peter Sutcliffe guilty on 11
counts of murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommendation
that he serve at least 30 years. In March 1984 he was transferred to Ward
One of Somerset House, Broadmoor. While being in prison Sutcliffe has been
attacked by other prisoners who dislike his sort of crime as much as anyone
else. He was badly cut in one attack and had to have 84 stitches.
Smith, Laurence
Smith was a blind farmer convicted of the murder of Patrick Lynch, at Lackermore,
Co Cavan, on 3rd July 1872. The two men had a quarrel over a piece of bog-land
as they walked back from a Ballyduff public house. Smith was alleged to
have pulled out a knife and stabbed Lynch eighteen times. He pleaded self-defence
but was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. When the hangman,
George Smith, drew the bolts to collapse the platform, the witnesses were
horrified to find the prisoner's feet touched the floor, and the executioner
had to pull the rope up about two feet to cause death by strangulation.
Smith died in great agony. Witnesses claimed the hangman had used a rope
that was far too long. The execution took place in Cavan on the 20th
August 1873. Smith was forty five when he died.
Spencer, Richard
Spencer was a sixty year old fishmonger who kept a shop in Liverpool. Elizabeth
Wharton, many years his junior, lived with him as his wife. In August 1872
the business collapsed and they moved to a house in Everton. On 8th August
they went to bed sober after a night out. In the morning she was woken
with a sharp blow to the head and cried out: 'Richard, what are you doing?'
He told her that he wanted them to die together; she replied saying she
wanted no part of his suicide pact, and fled to a neighbour's house. She
returned home later to find him nursing a head wound, and without warning
he pulled out a gun and shot her. Following her death three days later,
Spencer was charged with the murder. He claimed that the shooting was accidental
but was found guilty and sentenced to death by Mr Justice Mellor, who added
that Spencer had no chance of a reprieve. He was hanged by William Calcraft
on the 8th January 1873 in Liverpool.
Smith, Thomas
Smith was a private in the 20th Hussars, sentenced to death at the Old
Bailey by Mr Justice Lush on 28th October, for the murder of a Captain
Bird at Aldershot. On 13th September, the officer had inflicted a punishment
drill on the young soldier which he resented, and in a rage he shot Bird
dead. His defence claimed it was an accident and that there was no malice
between the two men, while the prosecution proved the opposite. Smith was
hanged by William Marwood on the 16th November 1874 in Winchester.
Stanton, John
Stanton had been married just six months when he got into a quarrel with
his uncle, Thomas Nield, in a Stafford public house. After finishing his
drink he went home, returned with a shoemaker's knife, and fatally stabbed
his uncle. He was sentenced to death on 10th March. Marwood was unable
to carry out the execution as he had accepted another engagement so the
County Officials tried to locate another hangman. Unable to find an experienced
executioner, they turned to George Incher, a local man, who travelled from
the Black Country to officiate. He turned up at the gaol in a tattered
and torn suit and had to be fitted with a set of clothes from the prison
before he carried out the execution. Stanton, who was lame, managed to
climb the steps to the scaffold unassisted, but being only a small man
the short drop failed to break his neck. It was reported that he took a
long time to die. This dreadful event took place in Stafford on the
30th March 1875. Stanton was just twenty two when he died.
Smedley, William
Fifty year old Smedley was a Sheffield knife-maker, had been widowed several
years earlier but had started living with an Elizabeth Firth as man and
wife. At the end of August she told him she no longer wished to share his
house on account of his poverty. He had been unable to work due to his
failing eyesight. On 31st August they were drinking in a pub together and
at the end of the evening he walked her to her new home. When they reached
the front door she refused to let him in, sending Smedley into a jealous
rage. He drew out his razor, grabbed her by the hair and cut her throat,
so severely that he almost severed her head. He then turned away and walked
to the local police station where he gave himself up. He was hanged by
Thomas Askern on the 21st December 1875 in Leeds.
Starkey, John Henry
A coachman and habitual criminal, with a string of convictions under a
number of aliases, convicted of the murder of his wife. He married her
at the beginning of the year but within weeks had started seeing another
woman. On 4th April she taxed him about the affair which angered him so
much that he attacked her, her screams waking up the neighbours. At Sam
next morning, he went to work and told a friend that he feared his wife
had committed suicide. By 9am the body had been discovered, with the head
almost severed. Starkey was arrested and although there were blood stains
on his clothes he claimed he was innocent and that their lodger had killed
his wife. He later confessed before he was hanged by Williiam Marwood.
The execution took place in Leicester on the 31st July 1877. He was
twenty eight when he died.
Smith, Caleb
On 14 April, at their home in Croydon, thirty eight year old Smith and
his common-law wife, Emma Elizabeth Osbourne had another in a long series
of drunken quarrels during which she slapped him across the face. In a
rage he pulled out his razor and cut her throat before turning the blade
on himself. He was tried at the Central Criminal Court on 24th July, and
pleaded manslaughter through provocation, but the jury found him guilty
and he was sentenced to death. The sentence was carried out by William
Marwood on the 14th August 1877 in Horsemonger Lane.
Smithers, Thomas
Thirty one year old Thomas Smithers and Amy Judge lived together at Battersea.
where on 22nd July he stabbed her to death in a jealous rage. He fainted
in the dock at the Old Bailey as sentence was being passed by Mr Justice
Denman on 18th September. and had to be carried from the court. He admitted
his guilt and expressed his sorrow at the crime. He was hanged by William
Marwood on the 8th October 1878 in Wandsworth.
Simms, James
A former American seaman who was sentenced to death by Mr Justice Hawkins
at the Central Criminal Court on 5th March, for the murder of a prostitute.
On the afternoon of Sunday 9th February, Simms, now a pitman, was drinking
with twenty three year old Lucy Graham in the White Hart at Shadwell,
in London's east end. Witnesses saw them quarrel over money, and Miss Graham
was then overheard asking a William James to join them. James refused and
went back to the bar, but as he looked over his shoulder, he saw Simms
draw out a razor and run it across Graham's throat. Simms later claimed
that he had killed her after she had stolen his wages on a previous meeting.
Simms was forty three when he was hanged by William Marwood on the 24th
March 1879 at Newgate.
Smart, Edwin
On 2nd April, a commercial traveller, Charles Cox, was on his way towards
Thornsby when he approached a pit pool and saw Smart with the body of a
woman, Lucy Derrick, lying at his feet. He told Cox that he had just committed
murder, so Cox hurried to the next town and raised the alarm. Smart was
taken into custody and admitted the crime, claiming that he'd 'done it
out of devilment,' and that the poor woman was a total stranger that he
had chanced upon. In his pockets police found a razor and pocket knife,
both covered in blood. Thirty five year old Smart was sentenced to death
by Mr Justice Hawkins at Worcester Assizes on 25th April. Despite the nature
of the crime, the jury recommended him to mercy but it was ignored and
he was hanged by William Marwood on the 12th May 1879 in Gloucester. He
was seen to breathe for several minutes on the end of the rope.
Surety, Charles
Twenty nine year old Surety was a bricklayer who was sentenced to death
by Mr Justice Lindlay at the Central Criminal Court, for the murder of
a two year old girl, the daughter of his girlfriend thirty two year old
Mary Ann Pepper. Evidence showed that Surety had brutally ill-treated the
unfortunate child: on one occasion he bashed it against a door; he also
expressed a wish to lay the child on the floor and thrash her till she
couldn't move; and to starve her. The actual cause of death was probably
a beating with the fists. His execution caused a controversy when, as William
Marwood completed his preparations and Surety had only a matter of minutes
to live, an express letter arrived carrying a reprieve. The Governor, after
a conference with other officials, decided that the letter was a forgery
and the execution went ahead as planned. It was later discovered that the
letter was written, for no apparent reason, by a London doctor who received
a prison sentence and heavy fine for attempting to obstruct the course
of justice. The sentence was carried out on the 5th January 1880
in Newgate
Stanway, William
A native of Newcastle-under-Lyme, who earned a living as a broom maker
and hawker, convicted at Chester Assizes of the murder of Ann Mellor at
Macclesfield, where they lived with their nine year old daughter. Both
were addicted to drink and frequently quarrelled, which usually ended with
him giving her a beating. Shortly after Christmas 1880, they went out drinking
one afternoon and later when they returned home, he beat her up. Stanway
went out again that evening, leaving her in bed; when he returned he called
for her to come and fix him some supper. She at first refused to come down
but he eventually persuaded her. When she reached the foot of the stairs
he stabbed her in the chest with a red hot poker. He didn't call a doctor
for two days, during which time she lay in extreme agony and by the time
help arrived, she had died. His defence that the crime was not premeditated
was rejected and he was hanged by William Marwood on the 21st February
1881 in Chester.
Simpson, John Aspinall
Twenty three year old Simpson was an unemployed clerk from Preston, had
been courting sixteen year old Annie Radcliffe for over eighteen months,
although her parents didn't approve of the relationship. Later, when she
became pregnant, her father, a Preston publican, forbade Simpson to see
his daughter. Early in the morning of 3rd August, Simpson called to see
Annie at the pub and while her father was upstairs, he cut her throat.
He was tried and convicted and sentenced to be hung. The sentence
was carried out in Manchester on the 28th November 1881 when he was hanged
by William Marwood.
Swindells, Harry Hammond
In 1877, fifty year old Swindells, a book-keeper at an Oldham foundry met
Mrs Suzan- nah Wild, a wealthy widow and mother of two and after a short
courtship the couple married. Mrs Wild had been left a successful yeast
business and a healthy annual income. After the wedding Swindells left
his job at the foundry and began working for his wife's business. Very
soon, he began pestering her for the money which he knew she had, and when
she eventually relented, he quickly frittered a large sum away on drinking
and womanising. Mrs Swindells seemed to tolerate her husband's behaviour
for a while but when a friend informed her he was responsible for another
woman's pregnancy, she threw him out of the house. Swindells used some
of his wife's money to emigrate to America, only to return home when it
had run out and attempt to win his wife, and her wealth, back. Despite
his constant attempts. Mrs Swindells, with the backing of her children,
refused his pleas. In July 1884, Swindells called at the house and made
a scene, and his stepdaughter was sent to fetch her Uncle Jim who lived
nearby. James Wild who was fifty nine, hurried to the house and told Swindells
to leave. a request which quickly erupted into a fierce quarrel. The step-daughter
was again sent to find assistance, this time a policeman. Before help could
arrive. Wild was shot dead. Swindells fled the scene and a thorough search
failed to find him. It was assumed he had managed to return to America
and the hunt cooled. but a few weeks later he was spotted dressed as a
tramp near Oldham, and taken into custody. He was sentenced to death and
hanged on the 24th November 1884 in Manchester by Berry and Chester.
Shaw, Arthur
On Monday 3rd November, a police constable called at a house in Collyhurst,
Manchester, and found the body of Ellen Shaw dead on the floor. After a
short investigation, her husband was arrested and charged with murder.
At his trial, it was alleged that Mrs Shaw, a drunkard, was chatting to
a neighbour in the back garden when her young daughter came out and delivered
the request that her husband wanted to see her. She went in, and soon after,
Shaw came into the garden and told the neighbour that his wife had fallen
and hurt herself. Throughout the trial thirty one year old Shaw, a tailor,
maintained that he was innocent and that her death was accidental, but
he was convicted when evidence proved that she had been strangled. He was
hanged by Berry and a new assistant called Speight. The execution
took place on the 8th December 1884 in Liverpool. When the trap fell. it
was noticed that Shaw took over two minutes to die. An investigation found
that the trap door had swung back and displaced the rope and its 'knot'.
causing him to be slowly strangled.
Shrimpton, Moses
Shrimpton was first sent to prison for poaching in 1848, and from then
on was seldom at liberty for more than a few weeks. On the morning of 28th
February 1885, a PC Davies stationed at Beoley, a small rural Worcestershire
village barely a dozen miles from Birmingham, failed to return to the station
after his night beat. When it was learned he had also failed to rendezvous
with a sergeant at 4am, a search was organised of the nearby countryside.
Later that morning, Davies was found dead in a field, with over forty stab
wounds to his upper body. The pool of blood in which the body lay yielded
a clear set of footprints. A search of the surrounding area revealed a
number of dead chickens which had been poached from a nearby farm. Police
knew that most local poachers worked only in the woods and fields, and
that only one was known to steal from farm buildings. Moses Shrimpton was
down on their records as a notorious thief and hen stealer, and he was
made the number one suspect. On 4th March, detectives tracked him down
to a squalid Birmingham back street lodging house and after breaking down
the door, Shrimpton was taken into custody. A search of his room revealed
blood stained clothing, and a knife that fitted the wounds on the dead
policeman. But most damning of all was a pair of boots with an identical
print to those found at the murder scene. In another room at the lodging
house, the policeman's watch and chain was found, the owner of which claimed
he had bought it off' Shrimpton. He was tried before Baron Huddlestone
at Worcester Assizes on 6th May and although the evidence against him was
circumstantial, the jury took only a short time to find him guilty. He
was hanged in Worcester on the 25th May 1885 by James Berry. When he calculated
the drop he estimated a drop of nine feet would be correct after taking
into account the man's weight. Ordinarily this would have been correct
but as Shrimpton was sixty five years old Berry did not allow for the weakness
of his neck muscles. When Shrimpton fell through the hatch the force ripped
his head clean from his shoulders.
Sheehan, William
Convicted at Cork Assizes of the murder of his mother, brother and sister,
at Castletown Roche in 1877. The victims were about to leave their farm
and settle elsewhere when Sheehan systematically killed them after they
had objected to his impending marriage. He first beat to death his brother,
Thomas, by attacking him with a plough after a quarrel in the stable. When
his sister Hannah came to find out what was delaying her brother, he seized
her by the throat and choked her to death. Finally, when his mother Christine
came to find the others, Sheehan also choked her. He disposed of their
bodies by throwing them down a well, where they lay hidden for eight years.
Because they had been due to leave the town, their disappearance wasn't
noticed. Later that year, Sheehan emigrated to New Zealand. In 1885, when
the bodies of the Sheehans were discovered by a new tenant on the farm,
William Sheehan was traced and bought back to Ireland to face trial, and
after being sentenced to death he was hanged by James Berry on the 20th
January 1886 in Cork. Sheehan's brother-in-law who was also arrested was
acquitted at the trial.
Saunders, George
Twenty nine year old Saunders was a Lowestoft fisherman who was
convicted of the murder of his wife. They were having a drunken quarrel
at their home on Christmas Eve when he lost control and cut her throat
with his razor. She died at once and the shocked husband hurried to the
police and reported the crime. He was sentenced to death at Ipswich Assizes
on 29th January and hanged by James Berry. The execution took place
on the 16th February 1886.
Samuels, William
A grocer's assistant convicted on circumstantial evidence at Newton Assizes,
North Wales, by Mr Justice Groves on 9th July, of the murder of William
Mabbots at Welshpool. Mabbots died after drinking a glass of stout, which
was later found to be laced with strychnine. Samuels was arrested on suspicion
and admitted that he had offered Mabbots the drink but denied that he knew
it was poisoned. He was hanged by James Berry after the jury took just
twenty-five minutes to find him guilty of murder. He left a full written
confession in the condemned cell. The execution was carried out on the
27th July 1886 in Shrewsbury.
Smith, Charles
Smith was a sixty three year old gypsy living at Cowley, Oxfordshire, and
for many years had been mistreating his wife, more than once severely beating
her with a stick. At the time of the murder they were living in abject
poverty, in a tent, and were very miserable. On the night of 19th February,
Smith and his wife, and their two children went to bed. Almost at once
he began to attack his wife beside the sleeping children. One awoke and
saw Smith brandishing a hammer; as Mrs Smith cried out, the other child
awoke and went to fetch help. Mrs Smith crawled from the tent, then collapsed
and died. Convicted at Reading Assizes by Baron Huddlestone after a plea
of manslaughter was rejected. There was no motive suggested for the brutal
murder. Smith was hanged on the 9th May 1887 in Oxford.
Sowery, Alfred
Twenty four year old Sowery was convicted of the murder of his sweetheart,
Annie Kelly. whom he shot dead at Preston. He failed in his attempt to
shoot himself after the crime. Hanged by Berry who claimed later that it
was one of the worst cases he ever had to deal with as Sowery was half-dead
with fear on the morning of the execution. During the time between sentence
being passed and it being carried out. Sowery had made himself seriously
ill through terror. He had to be half pushed and carried down the corridor
to the scaffold, and his groans and cries could be heard all over the gaol.
His teeth chattered and his face kept turning from deathly white to a livid
red. Berry claimed that every inch of ground to the drop was violently
contested. and as he placed the rope around Sowery's neck he received a
kick in the shin, and carried the scar until the day he died. The bullet
from Sowery's suicide attempt was still lodged in his head and after he
was hanged, Berry removed the bullet and kept it as a souvenir. The execution
took place on the 1st August 1887 in Lancaster.
Sargent, George
Sargent, a railway labourer and sometime poacher from Copford, had been
married to his wife, twenty one year old Annie, for just a year when she
left him and returned to her mother's at Wakes Colne, near Colchester.
She had become increasingly fed up with his drunken moods, and eventually
packed her bags when he smashed all their furniture. On 17th July, Sargent
called at her mother's house and pleaded with her to come home, adding
that he would stop drinking and would work overtime to replace the furniture.
She refused to listen to him, and in a rage he grabbed her by the hair,
and locking her head between his knees he cut her from ear to ear with
a clasp knife, almost severing her head. He ran away after the crime but
was caught hiding in fields near the house. He was hanged by James Berry
in Chelmsford on the 15th August 1888.
Stafford, Peter
Sentenced to death at Maryboro Assizes on 9th March for the murder
of Patrick Crawley in County Meath. The two men had had a long standing
quarrel stemming from a disagreement while attending Kingscourt fair. On
28th January, they were drinking in a public house when they had an altercation,
during which Stafford pulled out a revolver and shot Crawley. He died later
from his wounds in hospital. Stafford was arrested but claimed he was innocent
and had an alibi for the time of the crime. On conviction he declared to
the court that he was as 'innocent as a priest'! He resisted violently
when James Berry tried to pinion him in the condemned cell. It was
all to no avail and Stafford was hanged on the 8th April 1889 in Dublin.
Spicer, Felix
Mary Spicer managed a seaside cafe at New Brighton. Her husband, a former
sailor and the father of their five children, ran a small guest house they
owned. They lived apart at her request but Spicer was continually trying
to get his wife to move back in with him. She stubbornly refused because
he had made public that they weren't officially married. Finally, on 24th
April, he lost patience and decided to kill her. He first put the children
to bed but returned later and cut the throats of the two youngest. Spicer
then went to the cafe where he attempted to do the same to his wife. A
fierce struggle ensued and in a desperate attempt to flee, Mary Spicer
jumped through the front window and ran off' down the street. Spicer did
likewise but the sound of breaking glass attracted the attention of a passing
policeman. Spicer was arrested and charged with the murder of his two children,
and the attempted murder of his wife. He was convicted at Chester Assizes
and sent to Knutsford gaol to await execution. Up to this time it had always
been the practice to guard the condemned man with only one prison officer,
but as the execution neared Spicer made an attempt to kill his guard and
then himself. He was thwarted by the warder who managed to summon help,
and henceforth all condemned prisoners had two guards watching over them.
He was hanged by James Berry on the 22nd August 1890 in Knutsford at he
age of sixty.
Storey, Frederick Thomas
Fifty four year old Storey was a circus manager found guilty at Glasgow
for the murder of Lizzie Pastor, a fellow worker at Cooke's Circus in Greenock,
whom he stabbed to death in Argyle Street, Greenock, on 14th November 1890.
He killed her through jealousy when she refused his offers of romance.
He was hanged by James Berry on the 11th January 1891 in Greenock. It was
the last execution at Nelson Street Prison before it was demolished.
Sullivan, Bartholomew
Thirty five year old Sullivan was convicted at Munster Assizes before Mr
Justice O'Brien, of the murder of Patrick Fishive, a farmer from Ballyheige,
Co Kerry. He was found dead in a field on 30th August 1886. It was alleged
that the farmer was attempting to harvest some crops in a field he had
been evicted from, despite threats that he would regret it if he did. Eventually,
investigations led police to charge Sullivan, who strongly protested his
innocence. He was sentenced to death and hanged by James Berry in Tralee
on the 2nd February 1891.
Spencer, Arthur
Spencer was a native of Retford, Nottinghamshire, who came to Lincoln to
apprentice as a pork butcher. He fell in love with thirty two year old
Mary Ann Gardner, a widow to whom he proposed marriage. For some reason
she refused and when he threatened to shoot her if she didn't change her
mind, she just laughed. On 31st March, he called at her house and after
she told him she hadn't changed her mind and still had no intention of
marrying him, he shot her twice in the chest. He then turned the gun on
himself and fired two shots. The first, at his chest. caused nothing more
harmful than a flesh wound so he put the gun into his mouth and fired again.
Amazingly, the bullet passed straight through his head. exiting at the
back of his neck without causing any serious damage! He pleaded guilty
at Lincoln Assizes before Mr Justice Vaughan Williams, and while in the
condemned cell, he put on over two stones in 'grief fat'. He was hanged
by James Berry on the 28th July 1891 in Lincoln at the age of twenty two.
Sadler, Thomas
A labourer convicted at Essex Summer Assizes for the murder of William
Wass at Colchester. Sadler persuaded Mrs Wass to leave her husband and
move in with him. During a dispute over the custody of her children. Sadler
stabbed Wass behind the ear with a penknife, killing him instantly. He
remained very calm after sentencing until his last interview with his father
and sister, after which he became exceedingly distressed. He was hanged
by James Berry on a permanent gallows erected inside Springfield Gaol on
the 18th August 1891 in Chelmsford.
Saunders, Charles
A blacksmith sentenced to death at Hereford Assizes for the murder
of a young child. Saunders persuaded the parents of Walter Charles Steers
who was only two, to let him look after the boy while they stayed in London.
During May, Saunders and his girlfriend 'tramped' to Leominster, using
the child to help them beg for food and money but Walter soon became a
burden. They took shelter in a disused cottage, and one night Walter's
crying kept Saunders awake so he picked the child up and bashed its head
on the floor. He buried the body under a pile of straw where it lay undiscovered
for sixteen weeks. He was convicted on the testimony of his girlfriend
and hanged by James Billington. The execution took place on the 23rd December
1891 at Hereford. Saunders was thirty one at the time of his execution.
Stockwell, James
On the afternoon of 21st August, Mrs Brooke, the landlady of the 'Ivy Bridge'
public house at Milne Bridge, near Huddersfield, went into town. She left
the bar in the hands of her waitress, Catherine 'Kate' Dennis, a sixteen
year old Irish girl. The only customer at the time was Stockwell who was
sitting in the kitchen eating a pie with a sharp knife. At 3pm, another
customer, John Iredale, entered and stayed for fifteen minutes, thinking
he was the only person apart from the girl in the building. As he left,
he passed two men and saw them enter the pub. An hour later, a butcher's
boy called on an errand but was unable to gain entry. Alarmed at this,
he called on a neighbour and between them they forced entry and found Kate
dead on the floor. She had been stabbed in the neck. On hearing about the
murder, John Iredale quickly contacted the police and told them about the
two men he had seen enter the pub. They were soon picked up and although
one of them was carrying a knife, they were able to satisfy detectives
of their innocence. When Mrs Brooks returned she told the police about
James Stockwell being in the kitchen; when police went to interview him,
he had vanished. Twenty six year old Stockwell was at liberty for several
days, hiding on the moors until he eventually tired of running and surrendered.
At his trial at Leeds Assizes he claimed that the girl had pulled his hair
as he lay asleep on a bench and in a rage he had picked up the knife and
stabbed her. He was hanged by James Billington on the 5th January 1892
in Leeds.
Sabey, Richard
Forty five year old Sabey, an ex-sailor, lived happily with Louisa Johnson
at Burton Latimer, near Northampton. His wife, a half-caste, whom he had
met and married in India suddenly made an appearance. This upset Louisa
and she put an affiliation order out on Sabey before moving with their
offspring to Liverpool. Sabey followed, enticed her from her home, then
cut her throat in the street. He was indicted at Nottingham Assizes on
29th June and admitted that he had killed her because of the affiliation
order she took out on him. Sabey was sentenced to death. There was a petition
for a reprieve on account of his epilepsy, but he was hanged by James Billington
in Northampton on the 18th July 1893.
Squires, Charles
Twenty eight year old Squires was sentenced to death at Wells Assizes for
the murder of his wife's two year old illegitimate child. The child had
woken him up by crying during the night and in a temper he suffocated it.
Squires asked his wife if she would say that the death had been an accident
but she refused. He was hanged by James Billington in Shepton Mallet on
the 10 August 1893.
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