Haigh, John George
*****
Hall, Archibald Thompson
*****
Hall, William
*****
Hallam, Issac & Thomas
*****
Hammersmith Nudes
*****
Hamilton, Lester
*****
Hancock, Edward
Hanratty, James
*****
Hansen, Robert
*****
Harris, William
*****
Harries, Thomas Ronald Lewis
*****
Hauptfleisch,
Petrus Stephanus Francois
*****
Hay, Gordon
*****
Haynes, Phillip &
Clarke, Mary
*****
Haywood, George Frederick
*****
Heath, Neville George Clevely
*****
Heidnik, Gary
*****
Hemming, Richard
*****
Hepper, William Sanchez
de Pina
*****
Heys, Arthur
*****
Hickman, Edward
*****
Hill, Harold
*****
Hilaire, Marcel
*****
Higgins, Patrick
*****
Hinks, Reginald Ivor
*****
Hinson, Frederick
Hobday, Stanley Eric
*****
Holt, Frederick Rothwell
*****
Holmes, Leonard
*****
Hoolhouse Robert
*****
Hopwood, Edward
*****
Horry, William Frederick
Houghton, Charles
*****
Hynes, Peter
*****
Haigh, John George
Haigh was born on 24th July 1909 at Stamford in Lincolnshire. He was brought
up in Outwood, Yorkshire, where his ultra-religious, Plymouth Brethren
father was a colliery foreman. He left school at seventeen and was apprenticed
for a time to a motor engineer. He left home and on the 6th July 1934 he
got married.
Not wanting to work for someone else he started in business for himself
by forging vehicle documents. He was soon brought to justice for this and
he received fifteen months at Leeds Assizes in November 1934. His wife
divorced him and, on his release he started a dry-cleaning business with
a partner. This was quite a successful venture, until his partner was killed
in a car crash and the business collapsed.
He moved to London in 1936 where he was able to get a job as chauffeur
to the McSwann family but discovered another swindle that, at Surrey Assizes
in November 1937, cost him four years' penal servitude. Released in August
1940 he was back inside within a year, doing twenty-one months for stealing.
It was plain to see even at this early time that he was never going to
earn an honest living. This time on his release he became a salesman for
a firm in Crawley, an occupation he followed until 1944.
In the summer of 1944 he happened to bump into William Donald McSwann
who he had first met in 1936. On 9th September 1944 the two men went for
a drink at The Goat in Kensington High Street. They then went to 79 Gloucester
Road, where Haigh had a workshop. Here Haigh smashed McSwann's skull and
put his body in a water-butt that he had filled with acid. He then went
around to see McSwann's parents, with whom he got quite well with, and
told them that their son had gone into hiding to avoid the call-up. He
was able to maintain this deception, by sending the couple letters purporting
to be from their son, until July 1945 when he murdered the McSwanns and
disposed of their bodies in the same way.
Acting as William McSwann he managed to obtain legal control of all
their possessions and sold everything, making over £4,000 in the
process, which in 1945 was a great deal of money .
In 1947 he met a couple named Henderson during a property deal. In February
1948 he took them, one at a time, from the Metropole Hotel, Brighton, where
they lived, to his new workshop in Crawley. Here he shot them and popped
them in the now familiar drum full of acid. He paid their hotel bill and
removed all their valuables.
By February 1949 Haigh had been living in the Onslow Court Hotel, South
Kensington, for four years. One of the other residents was Mrs Olive Henrietta
Olivia Robarts Durand-Deacon. She was a 69-year-old widow who had lived
at the hotel for over six years. The two often exchanged pleasantries at
mealtimes and Haigh had told her that he was an engineer and inventor.
At lunch on the 14th February, Mrs Durand-Deacon showed Haigh some false
fingernails that she had designed and asked Haigh if could improve the
idea to a product that would be marketable. He told her that he would think
about it.
On the 18th the two of them drove to Haigh's ramshackle workshop in
Crawley in his Alvis. Here he shot her in the back of the head and, after
removing her jewellery and fur coat, put her body in a 45-gallon corrosion
resistive drum and filled up the tank with sulphuric acid. He returned
to Onslow Court Hotel and ate a three-course dinner.
The next day, Saturday, guests at the hotel, who were getting anxious
about the absence of Mrs Durand-Deacon from breakfast, asked Haigh if he
knew of her whereabouts. He told them that he had arranged to meet her
but that she had failed to turn up for their appointment. By the Sunday,
it was obvious that something was wrong. Haigh approached Mrs Lane, who
had shown concern the day before, and asked if anything had been heard
from the missing woman. Mrs Lane told him that she had had no news and
that she intended going to the police that afternoon. Haigh offered to
accompany her and drove her to Chelsea police station. The policewoman,
Sergeant Lambourne, was suspicious of Haigh from the start.
On Monday, Scotland Yard's Record Office was contacted and Haigh's criminal
record came to light. Haigh had driven to Crawley that morning and emptied
the sludge from the tank onto the ground outside the workshop. He had then
gone to Horsham and had Mrs Durand-Deacon's jewellery valued. When he returned
to the hotel the police were waiting for him. He gave them a statement
re-iterating his story about the missed appointment.
Thursday saw the police back at Onslow Court Hotel for another statement
from Haigh, which was largely the same as his first statement but with
a few extra details. Saturday 26th February and the police visited the
workshop at Crawley. The door to the workshop was forced and the detectives
noted the rubber apron, gas mask and empty carboys. They also found a recently
fired .38 Enfield revolver and a dry-cleaning receipt for a black Persian
lamb coat.
At 4.15pm on Monday 28th February, Detective Inspector Albert Webb was
waiting at Onslow Court when Haigh returned. Webb took Haigh back to Chelsea
police station to 'assist them with their enquiries.' Later that night
he confessed to Webb saying, 'I've destroyed her with acid. You'll find
the sludge that remains at Leopold Road. Every trace has gone. How can
you prove murder if there's no body?' He went on to add the McSwanns and
the Hendersons to his confession, claiming that he had killed them all
so that he could drink their blood.
On Tuesday 1st March, Home Office pathologist, Dr Keith Simpson examined
the Crawley workshop. He found bloodstains on the walls and a hat-pin at
the bottom of the 45-gallon drum. After Dr Simpson had noticed a gall stone
in the sludge in the yard all the residue was collected and taken to the
police laboratory. Here it was processed and it produced a list that included
28lb of animal fat, part of a foot, two more gall stones and a full set
of dentures. These, once identified by Mrs Durand-Deacon's dentist, sealed
Haigh's fate.
Haigh was charged with the murder of Mrs Durand-Deacon on 2nd March
and removed to Lewes Prison. His trial began at Lewes Assizes on 18th July
1949 and finished the following afternoon. It took the jury seventeen minutes
to find him guilty. He was hanged by Pierrepoint at Wandsworth on 10th
August 1949.
Hall, William
William Hall was a brass finisher who was sentenced to death at Durham
Assizes for the murder of his common law wife. Fifty one year old
Mary Ann Dixon was a widow and they both lived together in Sunderland.
Sometime in September they had a bad argument and this resulted in her
walking out on him. They were next seen together on the 6th November.
They were seen drinking together perhaps trying to resolve their difficulties.
This was apparently not successful as the next morning she was found
with a cut throat. When questioned he soon confessed but said she had provoked
him. Whether she had or not made little difference and he was hanged by
John Ellis on March 23rd 1920 at Durham.
Hamilton, Lester
On the 16th August 1921 Lester Hamilton was sent to the gallows and hanged
by John Ellis. Lester who was a twenty five year old negro had been
found guilty of the murder of Doris Appleton in Cardiff. He had shot
seventeen year old Doris in a fit of Jealousy. Lester was tried in
front of Mr Justice Salter at Glamorgan Assizes on 25th July.
Hall, Archibald Thompson
Archibald Thompson Hall was a scot born in Glasgow on 17th June 1924. While
still in his teens he ventured into a career of petty crime scam involving
two Red Cross collection tins, the tin containing the small change was
for the Red Cross while the other one was for paper money and this was
for him. In 1941 he received his first of many prison sentences for theft.
Moving on to better things he graduated to confidence tricks and became
a consummate actor, often posing as a member of the aristocracy or a wealthy
American.
He was also a jewel thief and received ten years' in 1964 for his activities.
Shortly after his incarceration he escaped from Blundeston Prison, in Suffolk,
only to be recaptured in 1966 and for this he received another five years'
on top of the ten he was already supposed to be serving. In 1972 he was
paroled and it was during this time while in Preston that he met Mary Coggle,
an Irishwoman, who became his mistress.
In between his periodic spells inside he worked as a butler to the rich
and famous. By the end of 1973 he was back in prison and stayed there until
1977. This time when he was released he obtained a position in the household
of Lady Hudson, the widow of an MP, near Waterbeck in Dumfriesshire. While
he lived there he was visited by one of his prison acquaintances, David
Wright, who started to do various odd-jobs around the house. While Wright
was staying with Hall, some of Lady Butler's silver and a ring vanished.
This anoyed Archie as he liked his job and had decided that he wanted to
'go straight.' When he found out that Wright's girlfriend had the ring
he persuaded her to return it. This time it was Wrights turn to be upset
and when Archie was in bed asleep he was suddenly woken up by a loud bang.
Archie saw Wright standing next to his bed and pointing a rifle at him.
The bullet had hit the headboard above his head. It was obvious that Wright
had taken advantage of the fact that Lady Hudson was away and had consumed
a number of bottles of her champagne. Wright jabbed the gun at Archie catching
him in the face with the barrel. After quite some time Archie eventually
managed to calm him down and get him to go to bed.
The very next day Archie and Wright went out hunting rabbits. After
they had fired at several rabbits and Archie was sure that Wright's gun
was empty he shot him n the head killing him instantly. He dug a rough
grave in the bed of a stream and buried the body A little while later Lady
butler was informed by the police about Archies criminal history and she
dismissed him.
Moving down to London in November 1977 he once more got a position as
butler, this time to 82-year-old Walter Travers Scott-Elliott and his wife
Dorothy. It didn't take Archie long to notice that his new home was full
of priceless antiques and he decided that this was going to be the big
one, after this he would be able to retire. The Scott-Elliotts were very
wealthy with many bank accounts around the world and were the owners of
several houses in Britain. Not long after moving to London Archie was more
met up with Mary Coggle, he saw her in a pub, she was chatting to a man
named Michael Kitto.
Archie found that they had quite a lot in common as Kitto also had a
history of petty crime. The three of them chatted and decided to burgle
the house of the Scott-Elliots.
Mrs Scott-Elliott had to go into a nursing home for a few days and,
on the evening of 8th December, Archie took the opportunity to show Kitto
around the Scott-Elliott's house. Unbeknown to him Mrs Scott-Elliott had
returned home earlier in the day. When he opened the door to the Scott-Elliott's
bedroom he expected to see the old man fast asleep but was confronted by
Mrs Scott-Elliott,who wanted to know what he was doing there, with a stranger.
Panicking they both grabbed her and using a pillow managed to suffocate
her.They decided to try and make it look like an accident so were putting
her into bed when he husband woke up. Archie explained to him that his
wife had had a nightmare and that he should go back to sleep.
The next day Mr Scott-Elliott went to his club for lunch and Hall, Kitto
and Coggle tried to decide what to do next. They thought that if they kept
the old man sedated with his normal quota of pills, then Mary would be
able to impersonate his wife as least for a while The next problem they
had to decide was what to do with the body. They put the body into the
boot of the car and, that evening took Mr Scott-Elliott to a cottage in
Cumberland that Archie had rented. Mary sat in the back with Mr Scott Elliott
with wig and Dorothy's fur coat, and they all drove north. The next day
they buried Mrs Scott-Elliott's body by a lonely roadside near Loch Earn.
Having got rid of the body they then drove back to the cottage and left
Mr Scott-Elliott there with Mary Coggle still posing as his wife while
they both returned to London and ransacked the house. They went back and
picked up Mr Scott-Elliott and Mary Coggle and continued their drive north.
On the afternoon of 14th December, near Glen Affric, Hall and Kitto
decided it was time to get rid of the old man so they attempted to strangle
him. Perhaps fear gave him added strength but he fought back with unexpected
strength. They used a spade to beat him to death and then using the same
spade they buried his body in a shallow grave.
During the next day things were tense between Archie and Mary. She wanted
to keep Dorothy's mink coat but Archie wanted to get rid of the evidence.
When they got back to the cottage the row erupted into violence.
Hall struck Mary knocking her to the ground with a poker and put a plastic
bag over her head suffocating her. Later that night Archie and Kitto drove
the Carlisle to Glasgow road and dumped her body in a stream under a bridge.
The pair spent a quiet Christmas with Archies family. After the end
of the festive season Hall and Kitto returned to their Cumberland hide-out
this time with Hall's brother, Donald. Just like Archie he also had a criminal
record for burglary but also for child molesting. Archie hated him for
this and thought of him as pervert. When Donald started to ask too many
questions about their new found wealth Archie decided he would have to
go. He was rendered unconcious with chloroformed and drowned in the bath.
The next day, 15th January 1978, they once again drove north again looking
for somewhere suitable to dispose of the body. It had been snowing and
the ground was frozen so they decided to spend the night at the Blenheim
House Hotel, North Berwick. The hotel proprietor was suspicious about his
two new guests and telephoned the local police and asked them check out
their car registration. Hall had fitted false plates to the Granada and
this was to be his downfall. When the licence number was checked it was
found that it should belong to a Ford Escort and, consequently, two policemen
appeared at the hotel to ask them to explain this discrepancy. They were
taken back to the police station. Here, Hall asked to go to the toilet
and escaped out of the window. His freedom was short lived and he was picked
up later in a taxi on his way to Dunbar.
The police had searched the car and found Donalds body in the boot.
Mary Coggles body had also been found and the disapearance of Mr and Mrs
Scott-Elliott was also being investigated. Hall broke down in quetioning
and made a full confession, even mentioning the earlier murder of David
Wright.
Hall and Kitto were tried in Edinburgh in November 1978. Kitto received
fifteen years' and Hall received life imprisonment without parole.
Hallam, Issac & Thomas
Towards the end of 1732 Issac Hallam and his brother Thomas had made such
a career out of highway robbery that the authorities offered a reward for
their capture. As if robbery had not been enough they had added murder
to their cirmes. Even with a price on their heads it still took the authorities
almost a month before they caught up with the pair. When they were finally
apprehended they were charged with the murder of Thomas Gardner, a post-boy,
and William Wright, an 18-year-old who had been found in a post-chaise
at Faldingworth Gate, near Market Rasen in Lincolnshire. When the body
of William Wright was found his head had almost been severed.
When questioned they eventually confessed to a total of 63 robberies
and three murders. They were tried and found guilty and held in Lincoln
Prison to await their execution. During their time in Lincoln they tried
to escape although this attempt was unsuccessful On the 20th February 1733,
they were taken to Faldingworth Gate where they were hanged.
Hammersmith Nudes
Between February 1964 and February 1965 six prostitutes were murdered in
an area in and around London. All of the girls were attacked from behind
and strangled or suffocated. All were between 5 ft and 5 ft 3 inches tall.
After death the bodies were stripped and then stored for days and sometimes
weeks before being dumped in the vicinity of the Thames at HammerSmith.
None of the clothing or jewellry was ever recovered.
Although the murderer was never arrested a man did commit suicide in
London leaving a note that stated the strain was too much to bear. Police
searched his house and although not finding any real evidence felt that
there was enough circumstantial evidence to show his guilt. He was never
named but after his death the murders stopped.
Hanratty, James
Valerie Storey was having an affair with Michael John Gregsten who had
quite recently separated from his wife. They met on the 22 August 1961
and went for a drink together at a pub in Taplow before driving to a spot
known as Deadman's Hill. While they were sat in the car talking there was
a tap on the window. Gregsten wound down the window to find himself staring
down the barrel of a gun. The man climbed into the back seat and began
by robbing them of their watches and money. For two hours they sat in the
car together before he ordered Gregsten to get into the boot. After Valerie
Storey begged him the man changed his mind and told Gregsten to drive towards
London. In was now early in the morning and the man told Gregsten to pull
into a lay-by on the A6 road.
Once they had stopped the gunman asked Gregsten to pass him a laundry
bag. As Gregsten leaned forward the man shot him twice in the head, killing
him instantly. He then told Valerie to get into the back seat where he
raped her. Afterwards he made Valerie help him move the body from the car.
The man then got her to show him how to work the gears on the car. When
she went back to her dead lover's body the man shot her several times.
He went over to her body and kicked her, convinced that she was dead
the man drove away. Valerie Storey was found at by a passing motorist at
daybreak. She was still alive, but paralysed. In hospital she was able
to describe her attacker as having dark hair and deep-set brown eyes. The
car was later found abandoned in Ilford and the murder weapon was discovered
under a seat on a London bus. As well as Miss Storey's description, the
police also had one from a witness who saw the man driving the car. Both
descriptions differed so the police released two Identikit pictures to
the public.
Believing the man to be worried the police published an appeal to landlady's
who might have a guest who was keeping a low profile. As a result of this
appeal, police attention was drawn to a man named Durrant who had booked
into a hotel in Amersham the day after the murder and had stayed in his
room ever since. When police questioned the man he was identified as Peter
Alphon. He said that he had spent the night of the killing at the Vienna
Hotel, Maida Vale.
Meanwhile another report came in that on 7 September, Mrs Dalal of Richmond
had been assaulted by a man with brown hair. He had enquired about a room
that she had to let and had grabbed her, tied her up and told her that
he was the 'A6 killer.' He had tried to rape her but had run away when
she screamed.
The manageress of the Vienna Hotel was moving the chairs in room 24
when two cartridge cases fell out of one of them. She remembered the police
enquiry and handed them over. The police tested the cartridges and found
they had come from the gun that killed Gregsten. They checked the register
and found that the man who had stayed in room 24 had booked in as 'J. Ryan'.
They questioned the night-manager of the hotel who recalled the night of
the murder and Peter Alphon. Alphon had told police that he was in his
room by 11pm but the night-manager contradicted this, saying that Alphon
had not returned by the time he had gone to bed at 2am. One thing he was
able to confirm was the fact that Alphon had slept in room 6 and not room
in room 24.
On 22 September Peter Alphon was put on an identity parade. Mr Nudds,
the hotel night-manager, said that Alphon 'could be' the man, Mrs Dalal
failed to pick him out but then collapsed and said that Alphon was the
man who had assaulted her. The other witnesses also failed to pick Alphon
out. In a last ditch attempt the police arranged an identity parade at
the hospital where Valerie Storey was slowly recovering, she picked out
the wrong man and Alphon was released.
The police now turned their attention to 'J. Ryan'? Police enquiries
revealed that this was an alias used by a petty thief named James Hanratty.
He was a 25-year-old with a lengthy record for car theft and house-breaking
but nothing more serious. Hanratty was arrested in Blackpool on 11 October.
Yet another identity parade was arranged and this time Valerie Storey picked
him out and he was charged with murder.
It was this identification by Valerie Storey that formed the basis of
the case against Hanratty. During her time in hospital she had recalled
further details of the killer, like his 'saucer-like staring blue eyes',
a detail which was different from her earlier description and fitted Hanratty
but not Alphon.
Hanratty's alibi was that on the night of the murder, he was in Liverpool
with three men, but he refused to name them, he changed this later to say
that he had actually spent the night in Rhyl. There were no witnesses to
corroborate either story.
It took the jury 94 hours to deliberate before finding him guilty. He
was sentenced to death and hanged at Bedford Gaol on 4 April 1962. There
are serious doubts over his guilt and the whether there was a miscarriage
of justice which remain to this day.
Hansen, Robert
By many he was considered a model father and a hard-working baker. Robert
Hansen turned out to be the most active serial killer in Alaskan history.
From 1973 to 1983, this expert pilot and avid hunter would fly prostitutes
and erotic dancers to his remote cabin hideaway in the Alaskan wilderness
where he would then rape and murder them. After sexually abusing his helpless
victims for a couple of days he would set them free in the freezing woods
and then hunt them down with his high-powered hunting rifle as if they
were deer.
Robert Hansen had a long police record starting when he was a teenager
and he was convicted of arson. While living in Alaska he had several run-ins
with the law involving larceny, assault with a deadly weapon, rape and
kidnapping. However, he managed to get away with serving hardly any time
for his crimes and lived a normal life as a married man and a hard working
and respected member of the community.
The authorities first suspected Bob of being a murderer when a lucky
prostitute dashed naked from his plane to escape certain death. While investigating
the incident they discovered several other women of the night who had simmilar
experiences with him. Soon Anchorage police started piecing together a
picture of their prominent baker as a manic-depressive arsonist, kleptomaniac,
rapist and possible serial killer.
When authorities first searched his home they found 30 hidden weapons
as well as mementos and maps marking the location of the graves of his
victims. Eventually Bob confessed to 17 killings which he referred to as
his summertime project. Under heavy guard Hansen was flown by helicopter
to the Knik River in the Alaskan wilderness where he pinpointed with great
accuracy the location of several graves. In 1984 Bob was handed a sentence
of 461 years plus life which he is now serving in the Lewisburg Federal
Correctional Facility in Pennsylvania.
Harris William
In Warwick Gaol on the 1 January 1894 William Harris was hanged
for the murder of Florence Clifford.
Harries, Thomas Ronald Lewis
Neighbours, in the small Carmarthenshire farming community, did not take
long to notice the unmilked cows in the field in October 1953. It was an
unusual occurrence as 63-year-old John Harries was a most diligent farmer.
Ronald Harries, 24-years-old and adopted nephew of John Harries, told people
that his uncle and, 54-year-old, aunt, Pheobe, had gone to London for a
holiday and left him in charge of their farm in Cadno where they lived.
Local police were not satisfied with the answers that he gave them and
called in Scotland Yard. They discovered that a cheque made out to Ronald
from his uncle had been altered from £9 to £909. Detectives
suspected that Harries had disposed of his elderly relations but it was
too large a farm to search manually. They tied lengths of cotton across
gateways and gaps in hedges. They then set about making as much noise as
possible to put the wind up Harries. The plan worked. Harries couldn't
resist checking to see if the burial site was still intact and broke one
of the threads. Detectives, checking the threads at dawn, found the broken
thread and soon discovered the graves of the couple. Harries was charged
with the double murder.
Harries came up for trial at Carmarthen Assizes in March 1954. The circumstantial
evidence was strong and he was found guilty. He was hanged at Swansea Prison.
Hauptfleisch, Petrus Stephanus Francois
Petrus was a man who drank so heavily that his wife and child left him.
He was 40 years old and worked as a slaughterer. He lived with his elderly
mother. On 13 January 1925 Petrus came running out of the house screaming
that his mother had been burnt in a kitchen fire. A neighbour saw her body
lying on her side on a brick built stove with her face and chest badly
burnt.
He said that she had been trying to clean the chimney by burning it
out with petrol but it had gone wrong. When the doctor examined the body
he noticed lividity marks on the back of her body which suggested she had
died lying on her back. There were signs that she had been suffocated and
then burnt. He had in fact killed her in bed and then burnt the body on
the stove.
He was arrested and charged with her murder. His case was heard in Cape
Town. When charged with the murder of his mother he actually drew upon
the money she had left him to pay for his defence - The fact that she had
a little money might have been the reason for the murder or it could have
been as a result from one of his regular drinking sprees He was convicted
of murder and hanged on 23 December 1926.
Hay, Gordon
It was on the 7 August 1967 the the body of 15-year-old Linda Peacock was
discovered on. It was just the day before that she had gone missing from
her home in Biggar, Scotland. She had been strangled and then her body
left in a cemetary near her home. There was no evidence to suggest that
she had been raped but she had been attacked and there were teethmarks
on her right breast.
It seemed to the police that the killer had left behind a clue that
may help them . They took photographs of the bite-marks and sent them to
John Furness, a lecturer in Forensic Dentistry at the Police Training School
in Liverpool. After studying the photos he maintained that it would be
possible to match the marks to the assailant, once he was found.
The police visited a local school for problem teenage boys. After questioning
a number of boys suspicion soon fell on one in particular. He was called
Gordon Hay and although at first he denied having anything to do with the
murder he did agree to have impressions of his teeth taken. Careful elimination
led to proving that the teethmarks were made by Hay and he was charged
with the girl's murder.
At his trial in 1968 he was found guilty and, as he was under eighteen
years of age and therefore could not be sentenced to life imprisonment
he was sentenced to be detained during Her Majesty's Pleasure.
Haynes, Phillip & Clarke, Mary
Mary Clarke was married to a wealthy farmer by the name of John Clarke.
They lived in Charwelton, in Northamptonshire. For quite some time Mary
had been having an affair with one of the servants, Phillip Haynes, and
wanted to be rid of her husband.
Mary kept trying to persuade Philip Haynes to kill her husband but at
first he was not keen on the idea. Finally she wore him down and he agreed.
He bought himself a gun, powder and shot and hid himself in one of the
barns and waited. For two days he stayed there waiting for John Clarke
to come into the barn. With Mary bringing him food and drink. Eventually,
on the 10th February 1821, Mr Clarke went to the barn and was shot by Haynes.
He was captured almost immediately and soon implicated Mary. They were
executed together in Northampton on 10th March 1821.
Haywood, George Frederick
George Haywood had worked for some time as a commercial traveller but had
lost his job. His former employers wanted the £70 that he had collected
on his last rounds but not yet paid to them. George was also in debt to
a lot of other creditors.
George lived at the White House, Little Hayfield in the bleak High Peak
area of Derbyshire. His local public house was called the New Inn in the
village. The inn was run by Mr and Mrs Collinson. In the morning of 11th
October 1927 things had been a bit quiet in the pub and Amy Collinson was
looking after it on her own. Haywood entered the pub and attacked Amy Collinson
beating the landlady with a piece of lead piping that he had cut out of
his kitchen waste-pipe. Just to make sure she was dead he then cut her
throat with a carving knife. His entire proceeds from this awful crime
was the princely sum of £40. Leaving the pub he caught the bus to
New Mills, where he drew his unemployment benefit.
Police arrested him the next day and discovered the proceeds of the
robbery hidden in the flue of his bedroom chimney. He was tried at Derby
Assizes in February 1928 and hanged by Pierrepoint the following month.
Heath, Neville George Clevely
Neville Heath was born in 1917 at Ilford, in Essex. He did not do well
at school and on leaving became an office junior. In 1936 he joined the
RAF on a short-service commission but was soon in trouble for being absent
without leave, escaping while under arrest and car theft. He was court-marshalled
and dismissed from the service in September 1937 and, two months later,
was put on probation for fraud and false pretences. Still unable to keep
out of trouble In July 1938 he received three years' borstal for stealing
£51 worth of jewellery from a friend, as well as having ten other
offences taken into consideration.
On his release he joined the Royal Army Service Corps, as a private
but while serving in the Middle East in 1940 he was commissioned. Yet again
he got into trouble, this time it was by bouncing checks. Again he went
absent, and again he was court-marshalled and cashiered. He absconded during
his return to England and went to South Africa. He once again enlisted,
only this time he used a false name.
It was not long before the South African Air Force authorities found
out that his name was not Armstrong and that he had been in a lot of trouble
in the past. Because of his present good conduct he was allowed to stay
on. In May 1944 he was seconded to the RAF and flew missions over Holland.
He returned to South Africa in 1945 where, in December, he underwent his
third court-marshal, this time for undisciplined behaviour and for wearing
unauthorised decorations. Again he was cashiered and he returned to England
to live with his parents in Wimbledon.
A young woman was found In March 1946 in a hotel room in a hotel bedroom
in the Strand, London. She was naked and had been tied up. She had alerted
the staff of the hotel by screaming. Strangely enough she refused to press
charges but was clear about who her assailant had been, it was Heath.
Mrs Margery Aimee Brownell Gardner was 32-years-old and had a liking
for bondage. In May 1946 she went to the Pembridge Court Hotel with a man,
later identified as Heath, and was also rescued by the hotel staff.
On Saturday 15 June, 19-year-old Yvonne Symonds met a man at a dance
in Chelsea. He said his name was Lt. Colonel Heath. Even though he was
ten years older than her she soon fell for him. They went back to the Panama
Club in South Kensington, followed by the Overseas Club. On leaving they
made plans to meet the next day. They spent the whole day together and,
when he proposed to her she accepted. She also agreed to spend the night
with him at the Pembridge Court Hotel, Notting Hill Gate, after all they
were engaged. They spent the night together and the next day she returned
home to Worthing. They spoke several times on the phone over the next few
days.
He also phoned Margery Gardner and even after the last embarrasing time
she still agreed to meet him on Thursday 20 June. They spent the evening
at the Panama Club before retiring to the Pembridge Court Hotel slightly
the worse for drink. The following morning the chambermaid was cleaning
all the rooms and when she got to room 4 she knocked on the door and hearing
no reply she let herself in. The room was still occupied although it did
not look as if the occupant was likely to complain.
Margery Gardner was lying, on her back, in one of the single beds nearest
to the door. She was naked and had her ankles bound with a handkerchief.
She had a lot of bruising to her face and her nipples had been almost bitten
off. Something had been inserted into her vagina and sharply rotated. On
her back were seventeen criss-cross lash marks. Cause of death had been
suffocation but only after the horrific injuries had been inflicted.
Heath had caught the train to Worthing to see his fiancee. The following
day, the 22nd, Heath told Yvonne about a murder that had happened in London
while he was there. While they were having dinner later that evening at
the Blue Peter Club, Heath told the girl that he had been staying at the
same hotel where the murder had taken place. He also told her that as Margery
Gardner was an old friend he had lent her his room keys, because she had
a man that she wanted to entertain. He said he had spent the night somewhere
else.
In the papers the following day it was announced that the police wanted
to interview Heath. Yvonne saw the story and telephoned Heath to tell him
about it. He agreed that he ought to see the police and clear the matter
up.
To begin with he wrote to the policeman dealing with the case, Inspector
Barrett once more repeating the story he had told his fiancee, only adding
that the name of the man that Margery Gardner was supposed to have met
was 'Jack'. He also added that he had returned to his hotel room after
2am and found her dead, he had panicked and grabbing all his things he
left.
He left Worthing and went down to Bournemouth booking into the Tollard
Royal Hotel. This time he called himself Group Captain Rupert Brooke. Ten
days later, on Wednesday 3 July he met Miss Doreen Marshall. She was 21-years-old
and in Bournemouth to recuperate from a bout of influenza. He once more
worked his charm and she agreed to have tea with him that afternoon. They
parted after tea but agreed to meet that evening for dinner. Once dinner
was completed they both left the Tollard Royal to walk the short distance
to her hotel, accompanied by Heath. The time was approximately 11.30.
On the Friday, the manager of the Norfolk Hotel, where Doreen was staying,
was worried about one of his guests that appeared to be missing. He contacted
the police and also telephoned the manager at the Tollard Royal because
he knew that was where she had been going. The manager at the Tollard told
him that she had indeed dined there the night that she had vanished.
Knowing who her dinner companion had been the manager at the Royal Tollard,
Mr Relf, approached Group Captain Brooke on Saturday morning and asked
him to confirm if his dinner guest had been Miss Marshall. This he denied,
saying that he had known the lady for a long time. The manager suggested
that the Group Captain really ought to contact the police to clarify the
matter. This he agreed to do.
Heath rang Bournemouth police but the officer concerned was out so he
was told to ring back later. This he did, at 3.30pm, and spoke to DC Souter.
Heath was asked to come to the station to look at a photograph of the missing
girl. Heath turned up at the police station at 5.30pm. While he was talking
to DC Souter, the detective noticed how much he looked like the photograph
they had circulated of Heath. He immediately told his superiors of his
suspicions. When they put this to Heath he still maintained that his name
was Brooke. He asked if he might have his jacket from the hotel and DI
George Gates went to fetch it. When Gates returned the jacket was searched
and a cloakroom ticket was found, along with a single pearl which had come
from a necklace belonging to the missing girl and also a return half of
a railway ticket from Bournemouth to London.
Purely as a long shot the officers went to the Railway station at Bournemouth
with the cloakroom ticket, they were handed a suitcase. It contained some
clothing marked with the name 'Heath', a hat and scarf, which was stained
with Margery Gardner's blood, and a leather-bound riding crop covered with
a cross-weave pattern.
Heath was questioned again and at 9.45pm he admitted his real identity.
The next day he was transferred to London where he was charged with the
murder of Margery Gardner.
Earlier in the day a young woman, Miss Evans, was walking her dog in
Branksome Dene Chine. As she passed a rhododendron bush she noticed a swarm
of flies. It seemed so unusual and out of place that once home she mentioned
it to her father. Around 8pm they went back to the wooded gorge and it
was then they discovered the body of Doreen Marshall.
The body was naked apart from the left shoe. She had been battered about
the head and it appeared as though she had been bound. She had died from
two deep knife wounds to the throat. A nipple had been bitten off completely
and her torso had been mutilated by a Y-shaped cut running from her midriff
to each nipple. As with the earlier victim something had been inserted
into her vagina and anus and she had been badly torn and mutilated.
Heath's trial began on 24 September at the Old Bailey where he tried
to get off with a plea of insanity. Two prison doctors testified that,
although Heath was a sexual pervert, a sadist and a psychopath, and could
not be considerd normal he was not insane. It took the jury just one hour
to return a guilty verdict. He was hanged by Pierrepoint on 26th October
1946 at Pentonville Prison.
Heidnik, Gary
Gary Heidnik was born in 1943. Throughout his life he had many occupations
including: soldier, nurse, landlord, minister, and
stock speculator. He was in the U.S. Army for two years in the early
sixties. He was discharged due to a mental disability.
After his release from the army, he'd try many times to commit suicide,
and spend a lot of time in different Pennsylvania mental
institutions. He founded his own church called the United Church of
the Ministries of God, in which he appointed himself
bishop. This is when he started playing the stock market too. He has
an IQ of 130, and built a portfolio of investments that
would make him half a million dollars.
In 1986 Gary's inner demons told him he needed a harem of ten women,
and to set himself up as a veritable patriarch who would make a small tribe
of offspring. He blamed his insanity on LSD experiments given to him by
the army in the early sixties, but it's thought that it was his alcoholic
mother, and her disiplinarian husband that caused it. Heidnicks women of
choice were black, retarded women. He was in prison once in the seventies
for abducting a woman like this in front of a mental institution an raping
and sodomizing her. In 1985 he married a Filipino woman. After being assulted
and forced to watch Heidnick having sex with prostitutes she left him.
In all he kidnapped six women and imprisioned them in his basement. They
were kept there for four months undetected. When one of the women escaped
and went to the police, they didn't believe her story of torture and murder.
On March 25, 1987 the police searched Heidniks house. In the freezer
they found a human forearm, and in the stove a roasted human rib. He had
carved up a corpse that died in his basement after being hung by the wrists
for a week. He cut the corpse up with a power saw, and then food-processed
her flesh, mixed it with dogfood, and forced the other captives to eat
it. The other women that he fed it to was still in the basement, two chained
to pipes, and one in a pit. One woman was already killed by Heidnik, she
was put in a pit filled with water then Heidnik dropped a live wire into
it electrocuting her. He then took her body to New Jersey and dumped it
in a forest. He's made various suicide attempts since being put in prison,
and should be put to death soon.
Hemming, Richard
The story of Richard Hemming is one that spans over 25 years and proves
that it is never too late to solve a murder. In 1806 it was one of the
duties of the rector of Oddingley in Worcestershire to collect the village
tithes or taxes. Any collector of taxes is going to be unpopular but in
the case of Reverend Parker he seemed to take such pleasure in his job
that he was hated by the villagers.
On 24 June 1806 a shot was heard in the rectory garden. Villagers ran
into the garden and found the rector lying dead on the ground. One of the
villagers chased after the killer who was disappearing into the distance.
Without warning the man stopped and turning around fired at his pursuer.
Not wishing to be killed himself the man gave up the chase but not before
he had managed to identify the killer. He recognised the man as Richard
Hemming, a wheelwright and carpenter from nearby Droitwich.
Although a reward of fifty guineas was offered for the capture of Hemming
no one seemed willing to claim the reward, and the crime remained unsolved.
Twenty-five years passed and without the rector to bleed them dry the
village prospered. For one of them having more money than he needed was
not a blessing. He would drink and gamble it away in the local inn. So
used to this sort of life that he began to spend more than he actually
had. Before he realised what he had done Thomas Clewes found he had to
sell his farm.
The new owner was having some alterations carried out when a skeleton
was discovered under a barn floor. Even after 25 years it was possible
for Mrs Hemming to make the trip from Droitwich to identify the remains
of her husband.
Thomas Clewes was arrested and soon confessed to what had happened.
It seemed that Hemming had been hired by six local farmers to remove the
hated Reverend Parker. This he had done and had been paid. He had then
decided that perhaps he could blackmail them into paying him more. This
was when they had decided to kill him. Out of the original six only three
were still alive and they were influential members of the village. It was
thought best to let the matter drop.
Hepper, William Sanchez de Pina
William Sanchez de Pina Hepper was a 62-year-old painter who had a studio
in Brighton and lived in a flat in Chelsea. He had led quite a full life
and, in his time he had been a translator for the BBC and had spied for
the USA in Spain.
His own daughter had a friend, 11-year-old Margaret Rose Louise Spevick,
who had broken her arm in an accident. Seeing his chance Hepper wrote a
letter to the the girl's mother and suggested that the girl could go with
him to his studio in Brighton where she could both rest her arm and at
the same time sit for him as a model. Mrs Spevick thought this was a marvelous
idea and agreed. The pair of them travelled to Brighton on 3rd February
1954.
Mrs Spevick decided to surprise her daughter and travelled down to see
her on 7 February but, when she got there she could not get an answer from
the studio. She managed to find the caretaker who let her in and it was
then she found her daughter's raped and strangled body on the bed.
Hepper was tracked down quite quickly and was arrested in Spain on the
10th February and extradited. His trial took place at Lewes Assizes in
July 1954. He tried to plead insanity and demonstrated his paranoia by
collapsing in the witness box. He was found guilty and was hanged at Wandsworth
Prison on 11th August 1954.
Heys, Arthur
In some cases the murderer actually points the finger at himself in trying
to push the blame elsewhere. Arthur Heys was a Leading Aircraftsman in
the RAF in 1944. He was a married man and was stationed at Beccles, in
Suffolk.
On 9th November 1944 the body of Winifred Mary Evans was found in a
ditch. Winifred was also in the RAF and the 27 year old radio operator
had been raped and strangled. The corporal on duty, at the camp where Winifred
was billeted, told the police of a man in uniform who had turned up around
midnight the night before. She had told him to return to his own quarters.
The corporal did not know the name of the man so the police arranged for
her to attend the next pay parade to see if she could pick him out. The
duty corporal did as she had been asked and attended pay parade at the
men's camp. Even though Heys had lined up with the R's instead of the H's,
she still picked him out as the man she had redirected the night before.
Heys' statement that he had been back in barracks by 12.30am was contradicted
by colleagues who said that he had not returned until after 1am.He had
scratches on his hands and, on his overcoat, was a hair of the same type
as the victim's.
While in custody he tried to smuggle out an anonymous letter to his
Commanding Officer. The letter was meant to be from another person and
it stated that an airman (himself) stood wrongly accused of the murder
of Winifred Mary Evans. In it were details that only the killer could have
known. He was tried at Bury St. Edmunds in January 1945, found guilty and
hanged at Norwich prison on 13 March at the age of 37.
Hickman, Edward
Hickman was a man short of money who thought he had come up with the perfect
solution when he decided to try kidnapping. On 15 December 1927 he kidnapped
12 year old Marion Parker. Sending a ransom letter to her parents in which
he called himself the 'Fox' he demanded $7,500. It was arranged that he
would meet her father Perry Parker to hand over the money and set Marion
free. They met on the outskirts of Los Angeles. The kidnapper had a blanket
wrapped bundle in his car which he said he would leave further up the road.
Having got the money he did just that. When Perry went to his daughter
he found she was already dead. She had been strangled and her limbs had
been cut off. Hickman was caught and tried for murder.
His plea was insanity and he made two suicide attempts to emphasise this.
He failed and was found guilty and hanged at San Quentin on 19 October
1928
Hill, Harold
On 22 November 1941, the bodies of Kathleen Trendle and Doreen Joyce Hearne
were found in Penn Wood, in Buckinghamshire. Kathleen Trendle was six years
old and Doreen Hearne was eight. The two girls had been missing for three
days. The post mortem examination showed the two girls had died from stab
wounds. There were signs to suggest that they had both been rendered unconcious
by partial strangulation before the stab wounds were inflicted.
The police searched the area and found tyre tracks of a lorry and a
patch of oil nearby. They also found Doreen's gas-mask holder and a khaki
handkerchief with the laundry mark - RA1019.
A 12-year-old boy said that he had seen the two girls asking the driver
of an Army truck for a lift and even gave police the unit identification
marks of the truck. Police quickly traced the markings to a unit in Yoxford,
Suffolk, and were soon able to find the exact vehicle and sure enough it
had a leaking back axle.
The tread on the tyres was matched against the casts taken at the scene
and the tyre tracks matched the impressions exactly. The driver of the
vehicle was twenty six year old Harold Hill in 341 Battery, 86th Field
Regiment Royal Artillery , he had the laundry mark RA-1019 and when his
fingerprints were taken they were found to match those on the discarded
gas-mask container.
He was tried in March 1942 and pleaded insanity but this was not accepted..
He was found guilty and executed at Oxford Castle on 1 May 1942. It was
a strange case in that there did not seem to be an obvious motive. Often
when children are murdered the reasons are sexual but the girls had not
been molested in that way. Of course it is always possible that he was
disturbed before he had chance to finish what he had started.
Hilaire, Marcel
Marcel Hilaire maintained that he murdered his mistress Christiane Page
because she was trying to blackmail him into leaving his wife. He
was convicted on the 9 February 1953 at the Seine assizes and sentenced
to hard labour for life. He was sent to Mulun Penitentiary to serve
his sentence.
Higgins, Patrick
In a murder case in Scotland to be known as the Hopetoun Quarry case the
presence of adipocere was particulary helpful in solving the case.
It all happened on a winters evening in November 1911, Patrick Higgins
who was a labourer found himself looking after his two children alone after
his wife had died the year before. The fact that they were a burden
to him was no secret but no-one would have suspected what he would do.
He arrived in the local bar without the children on this night and when
asked where they were he explained that he had been in to Edinburgh and
had met two young ladies who had offered to take and look after the children.
He simply said that the boys would be much better off in their new home.
Nothing more was seen or heard of the two boys William and John.
It was more than eighteen months later that an object was seen floating
in the local quarry. The quarry was disused and was constantly flooded.
When the object was fished from the water they could see it was a small
body. As they landed the body they were shocked to see another body
attached by a peice of rope. The bodies still retained there basic
shape even though they were badly decomposed and it later was confirmed
that the bodies had almost entirely turned into adipocere.
The post mortem was carried out by Professor Harvey Littlejohn. Although
the bodies had been in the water for nearly two years the stomach contents
had been preserved so well that they were able to tell that the little
boys had eaten a meal of Scotch broth about an hour before they were
murdered. From laundry marks on their clothes the police were able
to track down a lady who confirmed that she had given soup to John and
William Higgins on the last day they were seen in the village. The
police soon arrested Patrick Higgins and charged him with the murder of
his own two children.
It took the jury one hour and twenty five minutes to return a verdict
of guilty with a plea for mercy as so much time had passed since the murders
had taken place. The judge at the trial, Lord Johnston did not feel
as lenient as the jury and placing the black cap on his head he sentenced
Higgins to death. Higgins showed no emotion as he was led below to
the cells. On the 2 October 1913 the official Hangman John Ellis
was ready to see that the sentence as passed by the court was correctly
carried out.
Hinks, Reginald Ivor
In 1933 Reginald Hinks met Constance Anne Pullen. They enjoyed a whirlwind
romance before getting married. She was a divorcee with a child and she
lived in Bath with her 85-year-old, senile father. Hinks was 33 years old
and was a vacuum cleaner salesman who was constantly on the look out for
an easier life than that of a door-to-door salesman.
The elderly Mr Pullen had a nurse to look after him but as soon as Hinks
moved into the house with his bride, he forced the nurse to leave. He put
the man on a strict diet and would often take him on long walks, often
leaving him alone in busy streets. The old man was a lot stronger than
he looked and when he failed to succumb to these rigours Hinks changed
his tatics. He decided to make it look as if the old man had committed
suicide.
On 1 December 1933 Reginald Hinks called the fire brigade. When they
arrived Hinks told them that he had found his father-in-law dead, with
his head inside the gas-oven. He also told them that any bruise that might
be found on the old man's head had happened when he pulled him from the
oven. It was felt that this was a strange thing to say and a note was made
of it. As always in the case of a suicide a post-mortem was carried out
and quickly established that the bruise which was indeed present had been
caused before death and Hinks was arrested. At his Old Bailey trial he
was found guilty and was executed at Bristol on 3 May 1934.
Hinson, Frederick
Thirty two year old Hinson, a carpenter, shared a house with a Maria Death
at Wood Green. They lived together as man and wife despite the fact that
he already had a wife in his native Scotland. During the autumn of 1869,
he began to suspect that Maria was having an affair with a man called William
Boyd. On 4th October he waited for them outside Wood Green station and
as they walked out he savagely attacked Boyd, whose life was saved when
a passer-by dragged off the crazed man. Boyd fled from the scene as Hinson
dragged Maria home, where he pulled out a gun and shot her in the chest
before beating her about the head with the butt. Satisfied that she was
dead, he reloaded and went off' in search for Boyd. Hinson found him in
a stable where he coldly shot him dead, before making a weak attempt to
cut his own throat. Hinson was immediately arrested by a passing policeman
and charged with the double murder. He was sentenced to death at the Central
Criminal Court on 26th November and later hanged by William Calcraft
The sentence was carried out in Newgate on the 13th December 1869.
Hobday, Stanley Eric
One Sunday night in August 1933 Mrs Fox was woken up by sounds from downstairs.
She thought she heard the sound of breaking glass. She nudged her husband
and whispered to him what she had heard. Reluctantly he got up and went
downstairs to investigate. He walked into the sitting-room and emerged
moments later with a knife in his back. Mrs Fox's husband died in her arms.
Police investigating the killing in Moor Street, West Bromwich, soon
found out that this had not been the only break in that night. There had
been another break-in at a butcher's shop, owned by a man named Newton,
in nearby Bromford Lane. The burglar had taken a few pounds that had been
in the till but most extraordinarily the burglar had left behind a few
things. To start with he had left a bowl of soapy water and Newton's razor.
While in the shop he had actually shaved himself. Secondly, he had left
out a sewing basket where he had used a needle and thread, perhaps to replace
a missing button. Finally he had helped himself to a bottle of milk and
in doing so had left it covered in his fingerprints.
With such a good clue it did not take long for Chief Inspector Fred
Cherrill of Scotland Yard One of the greatest experts in the field of fingerprinting
to identify the culprit responsible for the break-in at the butcher's and,
probably, the murder. It was the first time that the BBC used its network
to broadcast the description of a man who police wanted 'to help them with
their inquiries'.'
Hobday was on his way north from Birmingham in a stolen Jowett motorcar.
An Irish labourer was working in a field near High Leigh, in Cheshire,
when he was astonished to see a car come hurtling through the air, turn
a full somersault and land back on its wheels. The driver got dazed but
otherwise unhurt and walked away. As usual Hobday always seemed to leave
something behind and this it was his suitcase.
He started to walk towards Carlisle and he passed a farmer moving a
herd of cows for milking. The cowman thought he recognised the man from
the broadcase he had heard on the radio so he called the police.
A couple of hours later he was arrested by PC Elder, of the Cumberland
Constabulary. He did not cause a fuss but went quietly with the policeman.
He was charged and his trial took place at Stafford Assizes in November
1933. The evidence was overwealmingly conclusive and the jury had no difficulty
in finding him guilty. He was hung on the 29 December 1933 at Winsom Green
prison by Tom Pierrepoint at 8 am.
Holt, Frederick Rothwell
Frederick Rothwell Holt was a young officer during the First World War
who had been invalided out of the army suffering from depression and amnesia.
When he had recovered sufficiently he moved to Lancashire and it was while
living there that he met and fell in love with Kitty Breaks, who was already
married. Not letting this stand in their way she left her husband and they
lived together for a couple of years.
In the early morning of christmas eve 1919 the 26 year old body of Kitty
Breaks was found among the sand dunes at St Annes near Blackpool. She had
been shot three times with a revolver. Holt's revolver and gloves were
lying nearby Her lover was arrested and charged with her murder.
At his trial at Manchester Assizes his defending counsel, Sir Edward
Marshall Hall, showed Holt's persecution mania, telling of Holt's accusations
against the police of sending germ-laden fleas and dogs to his cell, and
declared the defendant unfit to plead. It was to no avail and Holt was
found guilty, the jury preferring to believe the prosecution's theory of
a motive based on Kitty's £5,000 insurance policy.
His appeal was dismissed and he was hanged on 13 April 1920 at strangways
prison by John Ellis at the age of 32.
Holmes, Leonard
No details of this case available at this time
Hoolhouse Robert
The Dobsons had owned High Grange Farm at Wolviston, County Durham, for
over thirty years. As the result of a dispute they evicted the Hoolhouse
family from a tenanted cottage on their land and the Hoolhouse's moved
to a nearby village.
Five years later, on the 18th January 1938, the body of 67-year-old
Mrs Margaret Jane Dobson was found on a farm
track. She had been sexually assaulted and stabbed. When the police
questioned 21-year-old Robert Hoolhouse they
found that his face was scratched, he had blood on his clothes and
he fitted the general description of a man seen close to the Dobson's farm
at the time of the killing. He also had a motive.
Hoolhouse was arrested and tried at Leeds Assizes in March 1938. Even
though the evidence linking Hoolhouse to the
killing was tenuous - a footprint found near the body was admitted
to have not been made by him - he was found guilty. He was hanged at Durham
Gaol on 26th May 1938.
Hopwood, Edward
No details of this case available at this time
Houghton, Charles
No details of this case available at this time
Hynes, Peter
Peter Hynes was a native of Drogheda. He was convicted of the murder of
Thomas Grimstone who was a former soldier in the British Army. He
had apparently battered him to death with an iron bar, near Drogheda on
15 January, 1922. He was hanged on the 15th December 1923 in Dublin by
Thomas Pierrepoint. He was forty when the sentence was carried out.
Horry, William Frederick
A twenty eight year old Staffordshire publican found guilty of the
murder of his wife Jane on 18th January. They had been married for five
years and lived happily until September 1871 when he became a heavy drinker,
caused by jealousy of his wife talking to customers in the bar. She left
their home in Burslem and went to stay with relatives in Boston. He followed
her and pleaded for her to come home; she refused and he shot her dead.
He pleaded insanity at the trial but the prosecution proved that he
had purchased the gun at Nottingham on his way to Boston, thus showing
that the crime was pre-meditated. He was hanged at Lincoln Castle on the
1st April 1872 by William Marwood who was officiating at his first execution.
Hancock, Edward
On 13th November 1872, fifty year old Hancock, a butcher, returned home
from a neighbouring village the worse for drink and quarrelled with his
wife, of whom he was very jealous. Tired of their constant rows, she told
him she was leaving and walked out. Hancock followed but failed to persuade
her to return, whereupon he stabbed her with a knife. He was sentenced
to death at Warwick Assizes on 18th December, he was hanged by George Smith
in Warwick on the 7th January 1873.
1873
August 4th: Benjamin HUDSON (24)
Derby
A collier sentenced to death at Derby Assizes on 15 July, for the murder
of his wife, Elizabeth. She was found battered to death with a hedge stake
at West Handley, near Stavely. Mrs Hudson had left her husband on Easter
Sunday, ten days before the murder. On 24 April, Hudson was seen in the
area, and later that night her body was found battered to death in a field.
He was soon arrested and charged with murder. At his trial, Hudson pleaded
guilty to causing her death but was instructed by his counsel to change
the plea to not guilty. It did him no good and he was hanged by Calcraft.
1872
August 12th: Charles HOLMES
Worcester
A labourer sentenced to death at Worcester Assizes on 22 June for the
murder of his wife at Bromsgrove. Holmes earned a respectable living at
a Bromsgrove quarry, and his wife also received a good wage working in
the forge at the village nail works. They had lived quite happily with
their young crippled son, until relations between them floundered when
he took to drink. On 7 March, Holmes was drinking in the Rose and Crown
pub, when his wife came in and summoned him home. At the house, neighbours
heard him shout that if she didn't fetch his supper he would 'make her
fit for a coffin.' She took the next day off work, and together with her
son, went to stay with friends. When Holmes came home and found her gone,
he went to the friends' house and tried to persuade her to return. Four
times that night he called at the house and each time she refused his request
to come home. Finally, he went to the house just as she was taking the
child upstairs to bed. Holmes called out to his son and asked him if he
would like some pocket money. Mrs Holmes carried the child towards her
husband who stood at the door and as they approached, the boy held out
his hand. Holmes reached into his pocket but instead of pulling out money,
he withdrew a razor and slashed his wife across the throat, killing her
instantly and covering the boy in blood. He made no effort to escape and
admitted his guilt. Hanged by Calcraft, he was the first person to be hanged
at Worcester for almost forty years, and died after a brief struggle.
1874
April 19th: Alfred Thomas HEAP
Liverpool
An unqualified chemist and druggist convicted at Manchester Assizes
of the murder of Margaret McKivett (26), who died after he tried to procure
her an abortion. On 13 March, Miss McKivett and her mother visited Heap
at his shop in West Gorton, Manchester. Heap's housekeeper, Mrs Julia Carroll,
watched them go upstairs and claimed she heard them struggle. Later they
came down and the women left. Mrs McKivett and Heap met up in a pub later
that day and she paid him one pound. During the next few days the woman's
condition deteriorated so much that Heap was summoned. He jeeringly told
her she musn't die on him, but on 18 March she passed away. Heap was arrested
along with his housekeeper, who was later released. Evidence was brought
into court that Heap had been involved in a similar case in 1867. and although
the victim had recovered, he had still served five years on an attempted
murder charge. Hanged by Marwood.
1875
April 26th: William HALE
Bristol
A barge-owner, with a successful business, sentenced to death by Mr
Justice Lush on 5 April, for the murder of his wife at their Bristol home
in August 1874. In 1872, Mrs Hale's alcoholism soured their previously
happy marriage and soon they were constantly quarrelling. On 28 August
1874, Hale returned home from the pub at midnight and found his wife sitting
on the doorstep. They were both drunk, and she told him she wouldn't come
into the house with him. Despite his persistent requests she refused to
go to bed; finally, Hale went inside, returned with a table knife and stabbed
her twice in the neck. He pleaded provocation through drink but was convicted,
and hanged by Marwood.
1876
March 28th: George HUNTER (23)
Morpeth
On 9 December two young pitmen, George Hunter and Williams Woods, were
out shooting birds in a snow-covered forest. Later they called into a public
house for a couple of drinks. As they left the pub to walk home, Woods
walked slowly behind and threw a snowball at his friend. Hunter warned
him that if he did it again he would shoot him. Woods then threw another
at him, to which Hunter responded by raising his gun and shooting him dead.
Hunter lived with his aged parents, and had signed a petition earlier that
day asking for a reprieve for CHARLTON [above]. He was taken into custody
and charged with murder. He maintained that it was an accident and that
he thought the gun was empty; despite the lack of evidence that the crime
was premeditated he was convicted and hanged by Marwood.
1876
April 10th: George HILL
St Albans
Convicted of the murder of William Thrussel, his illegitimate son.
Having been served a maintenance order by a court, while drunk he lured
mother and child through a deserted field on the pretext of showing them
a house he had rented on their behalf. and then attacked them both with
a hammer, leaving them for dead. The mother recovered and her evidence
convicted him. He expressed remorse after sentencing. Hanged by Marwood.
1877
November 19th: William HASSELL
Exeter
On 8 October, Hassell, a Barnstable butcher returned home drunk and
stabbed his wife three times with a pig-knife while she breast fed their
baby. They had repeatedly quarrelled and he had become dismayed at their
unhappy life. He refused legal aid and pleaded guilty at his trial, although
a petition for a reprieve was organised on the strength that he was drunk
when he committed the crime. Hassell walked to the scaffold with a firm
step but cried bitterly before he was hanged by Marwood.
1880
December 13th: William HERBERT (44)
Newgate
An Australian immigrant who had left his poverty stricken family back
home to make a vain attempt to claim on an inheritance, worth sixteen thousand
pounds per annum. During the summer he persuaded his sister-in-law, Jane
Messenger, to leave her husband and set up home with him. On 22 October
they were together in Finsbury Park when a witness saw him draw a pistol
and fire two shots at her before turning the gun on himself. He claimed
he had become disheartened at his financial state and decided they should
both die together.
1881
May 23rd: James HALL (53)
Leeds
A Sheffield cutler who killed his licentious wife, Pol'y, by splitting
her head in two with an axe. Shortly before midnight on 26 March, Hall's
daughter and her boyfriend walked home from the pub and found they were
unable to gain entry into the house. Looking through the window, she saw
her father standing over her mother holding a hatchet. After repeatedly
knocking on the window, Hall eventually opened the door and as the young
couple entered, Hall struck his daughter in the face with the weapon. Her
boyfriend managed to overpower Hall, while a neighbour who had been attracted
by the commotion, called the police. Once in custody, Hall confessed to
the murder and explained his motive. He claimed that three years earlier
he had come home from work unexpectedly and found his wife with another
man. He later forgave her but warned that if she was ever unfaithful again
he would kill her. At 11pm on the night of the crime. he came home from
the pub sooner than usual and found his wife on the sofa with a neighbour.
William Londe. Mrs Hall grappled with her husband while the man made his
escape. Then. in a violent, drunken rage. Hall picked up a hatchet and
attacked her. His daughter denied that her mother was an adultress, as
did Londe. who claimed he was nowhere near the house on the night in question.
Sentenced to death at Leeds Assizes and hanged by Marwood.
1882
August 22nd: Thomas HAYNES (40)
Cork
A farmer from Inneshannon, County Cork, convicted of the murder of
his wife Ellen on 25 March. During a drunken quarrel he stabbed her several
times, and as she lay bleeding on the ground he proceeded to kick her to
death. Haynes made a vain attempt to cheat the gallows by trying to cut
his own throat before he was hanged by two local men. Their identities
were kept secret, and they were offered the appointment after Marwood failed
to arrive at the prison.
1882
September 11th: Francis HYNES
Limerick
A young man from a wealthy family, sentenced to death by Mr Justice
Lawson on 12 August, for the murder of John Doloughty, an old shepherd.
Doloughty was a father of seven who was employed as a herdsman on an evicted
farm at Moyresik, two miles from Ennis, County Clare. On 9 July Doloughty
went into Ennis to attend lunchtime mass and as he walked home he was ambushed
and shot in the chest and head. The shot had blown away both his eyes.
A passer-by discovered the body and as he looked around for any clues
he heard a rustle in the bushes and recognised Hynes, who fired at him
but only managed to inflict minor wounds. Other passers-by managed to detain
the gunman until police arrived. It was thought the crime was committed
because Doloughty worked on the evicted farm and that Hynes was sympathetic
to the evicted man's plight. He had been one of a gang who had recently
destroyed some property on the land. Hanged by Marwood. who was accompanied
to the gaol by six English and two Irish detectives, following threats
made to him about coming back to Ireland.
1883
January 15th: Patrick HIGGINS (55)
Galway
Convicted of the murder of Joseph and John Huddy at Clougbrack, Lough
Mask, on 3 January 1882. The two men were bailiffs employed by Lord Ardilaun.
They were requested to evict Higgins and his family from a farm they rented
on the Lord's land when they fell behind with the payments. As the bailiffs
called at the farm, Patrick Higgins and his two accomplices attacked the
men. Patrick Higgins attacked Joseph Huddy with a stone and knocked him
down. while Thomas Higgins shot dead the younger Huddy. The three accused
then forced witnesses at gunpoint to assist them in tying up the two men
and carry the bodies to Lough Mask. The bodies were later found chained
together under a spur near the Lough. Hanged by Marwood.
1883
January 17th: Thomas HIGGINS
Michael FLYNN
Galway
Convicted along with Patrick HIGGINS, at a special sitting of the Dublin
Special Commission, of the murder of the Huddys. Hanged by Marwood, who
had hanged Patrick Higgins on the same scaffold three days earlier.
1884
October 6th: Thomas HARRIS (48)
Newgate
A respectable looking market gardener and father of eleven, sentenced
to death at the Old Bailey for the murder of his wife at Kilburn on 9 August.
Harris was alleged to have cut her throat with a razor but pleaded insanity
and claimed to have no recollection of the events on the night of her death.
Hanged alongside ORROCK by James Berry and Richard Chester.
1884
November 24th: Kay HOWARTH (25)
Manchester
On 3 October, Richard Dugdale (37), a commercial traveller from Wakefield,
arrived in Bolton to do business with many of the town centre publicans.
While in one pub he met up with Robert Hall, an old business friend, who
invited Dugdale to join him for a drink. As they sat in the bar they were
joined by Kay Howarth, who was well known to Hall as a local layabout and
thief, and despite Hall's attempts to rid them of Howarth's presence, the
three men visited a number of local bars as Dugdale carried out some business.
At one pub, Dugdale returned to the table brandishing a large cheque which
he put in his bag along with the rest of the money he had collected. At
6.15pm, Hall had to return home. Anxious that his now very drunk friend
should not be left to walk the unfamiliar streets alone with so much money,
he asked Howarth to escort him back to his hotel. Later that night a man
stumbled over the body of Dugdale in a secluded street. He had head and
throat wounds and the horrific gash in his neck left the man in no doubt
that he was dead. A suicide note left beside the body was soon dismissed
as a fake by the police. and investigations soon led them to Robert Hall.
He told detectives he had left Dugdale in the company of Howarth. and a
visit to the latter's room uncovered some of the dead man's possessions
and money; they also found large traces of blood on Howarth's clothing.
Howarth was tried before Mr Justice Smith at Manchester Assizes, convicted
of murder and sentenced to death.
1886
February 1st: John HORTON (36)
Devizes
John Horton shared a house at Bradford-on-Avon with his aged father,
who was having a relationship with their housekeeper, Charlotte Lindsay.
On 21 November 1885, Horton and his father had a fierce quarrel over the
woman while out walking and they squared up. Horton beat his father to
death, inflicting terrible injuries. He then went back to the house and
attacked Miss Lindsay with a razor; she died on the following morning.
Horton was convicted at Wiltshire Assizes on 13 January. In his defence
he claimed that he hadn't intended to kill them and that many of the witnesses
at the trial had falsely testified against him. He was hanged by James
Berry who gave him a drop of six feet.
1886
June 15th: Edward HEWITT (34)
Gloucester
Times were hard for Edward Hewitt and his wife Sarah (43), as he, like
thousands of other men, was unable to find regular work. He visited neighbouring
towns to find work, and after securing a week's employment in Sharpness,
he returned to Gloucester with his wages. He handed the money to his wife
to buy food, keeping a little for himself to enjoy some ale. Returning
from a public house drunk, he demanded more money from his wife; when she
refused, he kicked her to death in a rage. Sentenced to death after a short
trial and hanged by Berry. At the inquest after the execution, it was revealed
that when the doctor had made his way down into the pit immediately after
the drop to examine the body, he found the heart still beating and when
he lifted the white hood, he noted that the man's features exhibited traces
of extreme agony: the eyes stared from their sockets, and his tongue which
he had bitten through, protruded from his mouth.
1886
December 13th: George HARMER (28)
Norwich
On 14 August, Harmer, a plasterer and petty thief, was released from
gaol and went to visit a friend. As they sat down to breakfast, Harmer
mentioned that he intended to rob a wealthy recluse, Henry Last, a carpenter
who lived nearby. On 20 August, Harmer approached the old man with a drawing
which he asked to be made into a model, and later that day Last was found
battered to death in his bed. Harmer was seen to be flash with money and
was able to redeem some of his clothes that he'd had to pawn only the day
before. He was soon arrested and made a full confession. Hanged by Berry.
1887
August 22nd: Henry HOBSON (54)
Leeds
On 23 July, Mrs Ada Stodhart, the wife of a Sheffield engineer, was
having a morning drink with her maid in the kitchen, when she was surprised
to see Hobson call at the house. She recognised him as a former employee
of her mother's who had been recently dismissed for drunkenness, but she
opened the door and asked him what he wanted. Hobson said he was passing
and could he have a drink of water. He was given the drink and left, only
to return fifteen minutes later and ask for a piece of rope. While Mrs
Stodhart went to fetch some from the cellar, Hobson took out a knife and
attacked the maid. Her screams attracted the attention of Mrs Stodhart
who came running to investigate. only to be attacked by Hobson when she
came into the kitchen. The maid rushed into the street screaming 'Murder!'
Hobson took to his heels but was arrested later that day. At his trial
at Leeds Assizes. he admitted that he had cut Mrs Stodhart's throat as
revenge for being dismissed from his job, and that he had since been unable
to find suitable employment. Hanged by Billington.
1887
November 14th: William HUNTER (32)
Carlisle
A native of Glasgow, working as a blacksmith in Manchester, Hunter
had been 'tramping' from Wigton to Carlisle with Mary Steele and her daughter
Isabella. Hunter had a wife back in Manchester but had been with Steele
for the last three months. On 8 September while approaching Carlisle Isabella
told Hunter she was tired. He called her to come to him and when she refused,
he walked up to her, grabbed her by the throat then kicked her, as the
girl's mother screamed that he had better not have hurt her 'we-un.' Hunter
then carried Isabella into a field where he said he would revive her with
water. The girl's body was later found dead. Hunter had cut her throat
with a pocket knife then turned the weapon on himself. He was tried before
Mr Justice Day at Carlisle Assizes and as the judge passed sentence, Hunter's
wife, who had made the journey up from Manchester to offer her support,
collapsed in the court. She was carried outside and later discovered that
someone had picked her pocket and stolen the money her friends had clubbed
together for her expenses. Hanged by Berry.
1889
August 7th: Lawrence Maurice HICKEY
Dublin
Convicted at Maryboro Assizes in July, for the murder of his brother-in-
law. Dennis Daly (40), a wealthy farmer. On Thursday 22 November 1888,
Daly was found shot dead on a road leading from Tralee to Castleisland.
During the investigation, police learned of a family feud that had been
going on for several months, and questioned Hickey and another man. The
other man, also a relative. was acquitted. Hickey was convicted and hanged
by James Berry.
1889
August 21st: George HORTON (37)
Derby
A miner from Stanwick, convicted of the murder of his young daughter,
whom he poisoned in order to obtain a small sum of insurance money. He
was in a terrible state in the condemned cell and suffered continually
from nervous fever. Hanged by James Berry.
1889
December 31st: William Thomas HOOK (40)
Maidstone
Sentenced to death by Mr Justice Denman, at Kent Assizes, for the murder
of his wife Julia, at Gravesend. She had left him and taken their two sons,
and in a jealous rage, he beat her head in. There was a very moving scene
when he was visited in the condemned cell by his two sons. Hanged by Berry.
1890
January 7th: Charles Lister HIGGENBOTHAM (63)
Warwick
A former employee of Birmingham Corporation, convicted of the murder
of his landlady, Winifred Whittaker Phillips (76), whom he killed by cutting
her throat with a carving knife. He had no friends and no one took any
notice of his fate after conviction. He was hanged by Berry, who gave him
a drop of four feet six inches, but the force of the drop re-opened an
old neck wound and blood gushed all over the walls of the pit. Death was
seen to be instantaneous but the blood continued to spurt for several minutes.
1890
August 26th: James HARRISON (30)
Leeds
A labourer from Bowling, near Bradford, convicted of the murder of
his wife Hannah, whom he battered to death in May. Harrison lived with
his wife and the woman who had adopted him as a child. He was an easy going
hard working man who was kind to his wife and mother, always giving them
money when he received his wages. His wife was quick tempered and would
often provoke her husband into violence. At 5am on the morning of 12 May,
Harrison left his bed and went downstairs to light the fire. He was still
enraged by something his wife had done on the previous evening, and after
starting the fire he picked up the poker, went back to the bedroom, and
battered her to death. He immediately confessed and at his trial at West
Riding Assizes before Mr Justice Charles on 6 August, he pleaded guilty
through extreme provocation. The jury recommended him to mercy but it was
ignored and he was hanged by James Billington.
1892
Januany 12th: James HEANEY
Mullingar
Convicted of the brutal murder of his wife at Longford. Heaney cut
her to pieces with a scythe while in a rage. He claimed that he had been
provoked into the assault after she struck him with a spade. Hanged by
Thomas Scott, who was officiating at his first execution.
1892
April 19th: Daniel HANDLEY
Wexford
Convicted, along with his younger brother James (15), of the murder
of an aged widow, Mary Ann Lyons, who was found battered to death at home
in Bandarren, County Wicklow in 1890. James Handley was reprieved because
of his age and was sent to Mountjoy Prison. Daniel Handley was hanged by
Thomas Scott.
1893
April 4th: Edward HEMMINGS (26)
Leeds
A collier from Normanton, convicted of the murder of his wife at Handsworth,
near Sheffield, on 16 February. They had married in September but he soon
became very jealous of her talking to any other men. They moved to new
lodgings and immediately he was jealous when she became very friendly with
several of the lodgers at the house. In a rage, he killed her as she slept,
attacking her with an axe and then cutting her throat. He fled from the
house and discarded the axe which police later found under a railway arch.
He was arrested at Normanton, and after conviction he left a full confession.
Hanged by James Billington.
1893
August 15th: John Thomas HEWITT (19)
Stafford
Convicted of the murder of William Masfen, a gentleman farmer from
Cannock, who was shot dead after catching Hewitt poaching on his land.
Hewitt pleaded that the shooting was an accident, and that the gun had
gone off during a struggle. Evidence was shown in court that the shot had
been fired from a distance and there was no way that the wound could have
been inflicted at close range. Hanged by Thomas Scott, of Huddersfield,
who was officiating as number one at his first execution in England.
1893
November 28th: Emanuel HAMER (33)
Manchester
Hamer was one of a gang of painters working on a small row of terrace
houses in Salford, one of which was occupied by a Mrs Tyrer (74). For several
days she had supplied the men with hot water for their tea break but had
made it clear she didn't like Hamer because she thought he was crude and
rough spoken. At 6pm on 28 October. Mrs Tyrer's next door neighbour, a
Mr Denson. heard a bang which he thought may have been a fall, and rushed
to her front door to see if he could be of any help. Unable to open the
door, he hurried around the back and found Hamer in the yard, who attempted
to run away. Denson managed to detain him while another neighbour contacted
the police. Mrs Tyrer was found lying in a pool of blood inside the house,
and later died in hospital from massive head injuries. Hamer was convicted
at Manchester Assizes on 10 December before Mr Justice Grantham. No motive
was ever clearly established although police suspected that he had gone
to the house to commit robbery and was surprised by the victim, whom he
then pushed down the stairs. Hanged by James Billington.
1894
January 2nd: William HARRIS
Warwick
Aka William Haynes. Florence Clifford (17), Harris's girlfriend, lodged
with him and his mother at Ashtown. She became upset at his ill treatment
and told her mother, who advised her to come home. On 20 September, Florence
and her mother went to the lodgings to collect her things. Mrs Clifford
waited outside as her daughter entered, and soon after she saw the shadow
of a man swinging an axe. She rushed inside and saw Harris leaning over
her daughter, and as she entered the room Harris stood up and chased her
out into the street. He then disappeared, but later gave himself up. After
he had been sentenced to death on 13 December, he turned to the packed
courtroom and declared: 'I wish I could have got her mother as well. I
would have chopped her into mincemeat and made sausages of her, and then
I should have been satisfied.' Hanged by James Billington.
1895
August 13th: Robert Heseltine HUDSON
York
Convicted of the murder of his wife Kate, and son Heseltine, whom he
stabbed to death between 21 May and 8 June, and then buried their bodies
on the Yorkshire Moors. He never attempted to cover his tracks and confessed
when arrested at Birmingham on 22 June. Hanged by James Billington.
1896
August 4th: Joseph HIRST (26)
Manchester
Hirst, a bricklayer, and his sweetheart Martha Ann Goddard (20), a
laundress, had lived in various parts of the country before they settled
in Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester. Soon after, Martha gave birth to a
baby girl. In March they moved again to new lodgings but still in the same
district. On 2 April, they left the house carrying the child, after telling
their landlady they were taking her to Stockport to be cared for by Hirst's
mother. Hirst and Goddard returned later without the child; soon afterwards
a body was found floating in a nearby canal. Acting on information received,
the police called on the couple, and after satisfying themselves that it
was their child in the canal. they charged them with murder. They stood
trial at Manchester Assizes on 14 July. Although Goddard was to be charged
as an accessory. the prosecution offered no evidence against her and she
was discharged. Hirst confessed that he had strangled the child after he
had become tired of it. Hanged by James Billington.
1897
February 9th: Robert HAYMAN
Maidstone
Convicted of the murder of Esther Allchin (51), a widow with whom he
lived. The couple quarrelled in a public house at Plaxtol, near Sevenoaks,
Kent, because she had been drinking with another man. On leaving the premises,
he knocked her down and kicked her about the head and body while wearing
a pair of heavy boots. The body was found hidden in a shed the following
day. Hanged by James Billington.
1898
January 14th: Patrick HESTOR
Tullamore
Convicted of the murder of Bernard Keegan, his father in law. the previous
October. Hanged by Scott.
1898
February 22nd: George William HOWE (34)
Manchester
John Kirby Pickup was the manager of a Burnley brickworks where George
Howe was employed until he was sacked shortly before Christmas 1897. Howe
blamed the manager for his dismissal and began to harbour a grudge against
him. On New Year's Eve, Pickup was found beside a level crossing. He had
been beaten about the head with a stick and died later in hospital. Howe
was an immediate suspect and when questioned he confessed. Sentenced to
death at Manchester Assizes and hanged by James and Thomas Billington.
1898
March 12th: John HERDMAN (52)
Edinburgh
A printer convicted of the murder of Jane Calder, his paramour, whom
he killed during a drunken quarrel at Hogmanay. The police surgeon stated
that death was caused by a severe kicking and several stab wounds. The
doctor claimed that the bruises were the worst he had ever seen. Herdman
was sentenced to death at Edinburgh High Court and a petition of 11,000
signatures failed to stop the sentence being carried out by James Billington.
1899
January 7th: Patrick HOLMES (24)
Kilkenny
A farm labourer from Paulstown. Kilkenny. convicted at his second trial
of the murder of Ellen Lawlor (70) on 4 July 1898. The jury at the first
trial had failed to reach a verdict. Mrs Lawlor lived alone in a secluded
house from v here she ran a huckster's business. and the local people thought
her to be a wealthy woman. Holmes robbed her then battered her to death
to prevent her identifying him. The authorities had to erect a new scaffold
as it was over fifty years since the last execution at Kilkenny. Scott
was the hangman.
1900
July 17th: Alfred HIGHFIELD (21)
Newgate
A barman who brutally murdered his girlfriend, Edith Poole, by cutting
her throat on Drury Lane on 13 May. They had been together for six years
and were due to be married in August but following a quarrel on Easter
Monday, she broke off the engagement. Highfield killed her when she made
it clear that the relation- ship was finished. Hanged by James Billington.
1900
December 4th: Joseph HOLDEN (57)
Manchester
An unemployed turner and father of seven, convicted of the murder of
his grandson, John Dawes (9), whom he threw into a quarry at Bury on 5
September. Holden had been lodging with his daughter until she asked him
to leave because of his drinking. In revenge, he killed the child and told
the police he had done it to get even with his daughter. Sentenced to death
by Mr Justice Darling at Manchester Assizes on 12 November, he was hanged
by James Billington and William Warbrick.
1873
January 13th: John HAYES (29)
Hugh SLANE (22) Durham
On the evening of 26 November, Slane went into a Spennymoor tobacconist
shop run by Joseph Waine (33) and began to quarrel with a customer called
Wilson. Slane accused Wilson of causing a disturbance in a public house.
Wilson replied that he was mistaken because he hadn't been in the pub and
was certainly no troublemaker. Slane insisted that he was the man, and
eventually Waine had to intervene saying there must have been a mistake
and asked him to leave. Slane asked the tobacconist for a box of matches
which. after purchasing, he threw into Waine's face before dragging him
into the street. He whistled for his friends who were waiting around the
corner and
together they kicked him to death on the pavement as Waine's wife watched
helplessly. Four men stood trial for the murder and all were sentenced
to death. Terence Rice (19) and George Beesly (27) were granted a reprieve
on 5 January. Slane and Hayes were hanged by Calcraft.
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