A Calendar of Yorkshire Killings and Suspicious Deaths

Introduction

This book has more than 190 cases that occurred in Yorkshire. By Yorkshire I mean the county of the three ridings (It is this shape that is on the book cover) not the modern local government version. In this book Middlesbrough and Redcar are places in Yorkshire, I use the Genuki gazetteer to define county location, there is a link to the site at the end of the book. There is a snippet of general interest for each day; those starting with a year are Yorkshire related. Those that do not start with a year are related to Britain. I have avoided recent cases as the victim’s families are still grieving but there are two exceptions to this. When police officers have been killed I have included them as we owe them a debt of gratitude. I have also included recent cases where the killer had been convicted of killing before and then killed again. Some of these cases have occurred since my earlier book Yorkshire’s Multiple Killers. If you spot an error you can contact me via Twitter or Facebook (Links at back of the book).

January 1

1891 Ten girls aged between 9 and 14 died after being engulfed in flames when their costumes caught fire during a concert at St John’s School, Lower Wortley.

It was New Year’s Day 1960 and the East House pub in Spital Hill, Sheffield was busy. In the smoke room there was a group of men stood around the piano having a sing song. The pub had got an extension and at 22.45 a man got up and went over to the group, as he got near he pulled out a gun and fired at the men. The gunman then fled out of the back door into the yard, witnesses followed him out and saw him go into the lavatory so they jammed the door to prevent his escape.

PC Robertson and PC Hastings were the first officers to arrive at the pub; they went to arrest the gunman. They asked him to push the gun under the door then come out. When he failed to respond they forced their way in and disarmed him. His gun was found to be cocked with a live round in it.

On the floor in the smoke room, Michael Martin MacFarlane, a 21 year old steel worker was dead; four other men were rushed to hospital. Within a few hour two of the men who had been shot in the head, Thomas Michael Owen, a 29 year old soldier and George Frederick Morris, a 32 year old furnace man, died.

The next morning Mohamed Ismail, a 30 year old unemployed Somali labourer of Spital Hill, made a six minute court appearance during which he was charged with triple capital murder. At the committal hearing on the 28th January, Fred Shutt said that Ismail was talking, drinking and smoking as usual. A likely motive for the incident was revealed. Ismail had been talking to two women earlier on New Year’s day, he had told them that he was fed up with living but suicide was against his religion, if he killed himself he would go to hell. He thought that if he killed someone and was then killed for doing it, then he would not go to hell.

At Sheffield Assizes on Thursday 25th February 1960 Ismail was found unfit to plead to the triple capital murder charge. Justice Edmund Davies ordered that he be detained in strict custody until Her Majesty's pleasure be known.

January 2

867 York is seized by Vikings

At 23.00 on the evening of Friday 2nd January 1931, John Sprentall was checking that the premises that he managed were secure. The warehouse was in Robinson Street, Dewsbury and as he approached the yard at the rear he noticed that the left hand side of the gate was open. He went to the warehouse door and checked that it was locked, seeing that it was he made his way back to the gate. As he got near to it he saw a person on the ground, she was between the open gate and another warehouse that was in the yard. He noticed blood on the woman and ran to alert the police. PC Arthur Edward Kidd was on patrol when John found him and told him about the body. When he got to the scene he saw that the woman was face down on the ground. Some of her clothing was in disarray and some celery tops were covering her head. He turned her over and seeing a gag in her mouth he removed it, she was breathing but only just. An ambulance arrived and she was put into it with PC Kidd accompanying her but she died before it got to Dewsbury Infirmary. It was only when her body was in the Infirmary’s mortuary that PC Kidd realised he knew the woman. She was Margaret Schofield, a 56 year old unemployed weaver who lodged in Halifax Road, Dewsbury.

The yard was now the focal point of a murder investigation. When it was searched a beer bottle was found near to where she had been found, there was blood and some hairs on it. A December issue of the Burnley Express and Advertiser was also found. Further enquiries revealed that Margaret had been supplementing her dole money by prostitution. She had been seen heading towards Robinson Street at 22.25 that night; she kept looking back as if expecting someone to follow her.

On the Sunday, Chief Inspector Collins and Detective Sergeant Ayto from Scotland Yard arrived in the town to help the inquiry. Dewsbury’s Chief Constable, J E Pritchard had asked for assistance as he thought that it would be a hard case to solve. He was right it, remains unsolved. Ten days after the murder a man confessed to the murder but after questioning he admitted he had made it up. In August 1941 another man confessed and appeared before magistrates 4 times before the case was dropped.

January 3

William Joyce Lord Haw-Haw was executed at Wandsworth Prison in 1946 for treason.

Mrs Mary Hannah Price, a 31 year old mother of three, had been separated from her husband for five years. On Sunday 18 December 1955 she and her boyfriend Jan Moczygemba, a 28 year old miner employed at Markham Main Colliery, took lodgings in Lowther Road, Wheatley, Doncaster. They had met at the Victoria Hotel in Hemsworth in September and were soon living together and in the following four months had lived in Doncaster, Hemsworth and Stoke on Trent. On Tuesday 27 December she had moved out and gone to live with her mother in Cargrave Crescent, Hemsworth. On Tuesday 3 January Mary went to see her sister in South Kirkby. Jan called for her there and Mary left with him on his motorbike. She did not return to her mother’s house, Mary’s sister and mother never saw her again.

Farm labourer Harry Ascough was walking in a field at Hampole Lane, Moorhouse on Saturday 7 January when he saw a foot protruding from a bundle of straw bales. Alerting his employer they lifted the bales and found a woman sitting upright with a ligature around her neck. It only took a few hours to identify the woman as Mary. Jan was soon arrested and charged with murder.

The case came to trial at Sheffield Assizes on Monday 27 February. The prosecution case was that on Tuesday 3 January Moczygemba had asked a fellow Polish miner, Aleksander Luczak, if it was possible to murder somebody with the fingers. He said that it was but that the police always caught the killer and they were hanged. He missed work on Wednesday 4 January and on Thursday he asked Aleksander if the police could find finger prints on farm fencing or doors and would they rub off if somebody else put their fingers on them.

Moczygemba’s version of the events that he had given in the police interviews was told to the jury. He said that there had been a row about an Italian girl this had led him to tell Mary that he knew she was going with other men for money even though he gave her his wages. He had then taken his belt off and hit her with it before strangling her with it. He said he felt sorry but not for her, only himself.

Detective Chief Inspector C. Lodge was asked by Mr Drabble if a man named Hennel had confessed to the murder. He replied that he had. Justice Streatfield ruled that it was hearsay and inadmissible. On Tuesday DCI Lodge was recalled, he said that Hennel had retracted the confession on the day he had made it and the police were satisfied that it was a false confession.

When Moczygemba went into the witness box the first question his counsel asked was if he had heard that Hennel had confessed to the crime. He replied yes. He was then asked who had killed Mrs Price. ‘I did. I don’t want to blame this man’. He said that on the evening of the 3rd January he and Mary had each drunk 4 rums and 4 half pints off beer before setting off to take her home. On the way they had stopped and a row developed when she said he did not want to marry her. He said that she was going with other men and she had hit him before telling him that the baby she was carrying was not his. He had lost control and strangled her. On Wednesday 29 February the jury found him guilty of murder and he was sentenced to death. There were no executions in 1956 and he was reprieved. When executions resumed in 1957 strangling a woman was no longer a capital offence.

January 5

1875 Seven miners were killed in an explosion at Aldwarke Main Colliery near Rotherham.

On Wednesday 6 January 1875 PC Jackson went to the house called Brick Field in Newsham near Thirsk. He had heard reports concerning 17 year old Ann Elizabeth Nendick who lived there with her step father Thomas Checkley, a 44 year old brick maker and his 2 young sons. Having failed to get satisfactory answers about Ann from Thomas he left. The next day PC Jackson accompanied by Police Inspector Nickolson returned to Brick Field. Thomas was questioned again and after a while he told the officers that the baby’s body was in a space enclosed in an outer wall. Inspector Nicholson used a ladder to recover the body. A post mortem found that the baby had been born alive and a ligature had been found around its neck. The left arm was missing and the right arm was detached from the body which was blistered. It appeared that an attempt had been made to boil the body. Ann and Thomas were charged with murder.

The case was heard at York on Saturday 20 March before Justice Coleridge. The prosecution case was that no preparations had been made for the baby’s arrival and it was killed on the 5th January because Thomas was the father. In his summing up Justice Coleridge told the jury that they might find different verdicts for each of the accused. After 25 minutes the jury found Ann guilty of concealing the birth and Checkley guilty of manslaughter. Ann was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. When Justice Coleridge addressed Checkley he made it clear that he considered him lucky to have been convicted of the lesser offence of manslaughter. He then sentenced him to be sent to slavery for the term of your natural life.

January 6

Vikings defeated King Alfred at the battle of Chippenham in 878.

On Friday 6 January 1922 George Victor Robinson a signal linesman was at home on holiday. Around 11.30 that morning his mother Edith Alexandra Robinson, 51 was kneeling in front of the fire place cleaning the fire irons in her home in Clothhall Gate, Mexborough. Her husband, George was stood shaving with his back to her. Edith said something to him; their son did not hear what she said. George did and turning round he bent down and cut her throat. Her son rushed to her as she slumped to the floor, as he held her he heard his father say That will put an end to it. Now I will cut my own. He then cut his own throat and collapsed to the floor. Edith died but George survived his suicide attempt.

On Tuesday 21 March, George Henry Robinson a 50 year old miner appeared at Leeds Assizes charged with murder and attempted suicide. The jury heard George Victor’s account of how his mother died but he also spoke well of his father. They also heard that Edith had previously kept home for her brother in law, George Scholefield. At the time of her death he was aged 79 and was living with them. George suspected that Edith and her brother in law’s relationship had been more than that. When he gave his evidence he claimed that he could not remember anything until he recovered in the hospital. He could not remember what Edith had said that had provoked him.

The jury which included three women retired to consider their verdict. After a while they filed back into court, their foreman passed Judge A.J. Ashton K.C a card with their unanimous verdict. Justice Ashton read it and said he could not accept it, their verdict was guilty but without premeditation. He told them to make up their minds as to whether he had an intention to kill his wife or not. They went to reconsider their verdict and after a while Justice Ashton summoned them and explained the law regarding manslaughter. They deliberated again and he again rejected their verdict. They retired for a third time then returned with a verdict of guilty of murder with a strong recommendation to mercy. He was reprieved and served 10 years before he was released.

January 8

Food rationing introduced in 1940.

On Monday 8 January 1877 Inspector Eli Haigh was informed that a death had occurred in Brighouse so he went to the house. When he saw the body of 45 year old Elizabeth Kershaw he ordered that she be undressed. Her body was covered in various coloured bruises and both of her eyes were bloody and black and she had a deep cut on the back of her head. He asked Elizabeth’s sister in law Maria Kershaw, what had happened. He was told that Elizabeth had fallen down the stairs on the Sunday and had spilt some paraffin; Maria had not noticed the cut as Elizabeth always wore a handkerchief. Checking the steps he could find no blood nor was there any smell of paraffin. An inquest was held on the Tuesday at the Albion Inn (in 2007 it became a Chinese restaurant) on Halifax Road. Elizabeth’s brother James Kershaw told the inquest that following the death of their parents he had taken her in to avoid her going to the workhouse as she could not take care of herself and could only do simple tasks if supervised. Various witnesses described how they had seen Maria ill-treating Elizabeth. The inquest lasted 5 hours and the jury returned a manslaughter verdict against Maria.

The Albion, Halifax Road, Brighouse

She appeared at the Assizes at Leeds in March. Once again witnesses told of Maria’s ill treatment of Elizabeth and the defence put forward that most of the injuries had been caused during epileptic fits and Dr Hoyle agreed that some of them could have been caused by fits but the extent of bruising indicated that they had been deliberately inflicted by someone. Samuel Kershaw, another brother of Elizabeth, said that Maria was generally a kind woman. The jury convicted Maria of manslaughter but recommended mercy because of her previous good character. Justice Lopes sentenced her the next day to 10 years, he pointed out that poor afflicted creatures like Elizabeth, to whom is denied the full power of reason the laws of England are made for all and especially to protect the weak.

January 9

Income Tax came into force in 1799 having been announced in William Pitt's budget in December 1798.

Thomas Beaumont and his mates called Crowther and Wilson had been drinking in Rotherham on Sunday 9 January 1859 and at 23.00 that night they set off home in a merry state. When they got to Kimberworth they called at a house and asked for some beer. The householder, Isaiah Westwood, took offence and rose from his chair. The three youths took to their heels but Isaiah chased after them and when he caught up with Thomas he hit him and threw him over a low wall, he then returned home. A passer-by saw Thomas slumped on a pile of stones and took him to the Midland Ironworks where medical aid was unable to help him. Before he died of a dislocated vertebra in his neck he made a deposition to a magistrate about what had happened.

Westwood appeared at York Assizes on Tuesday 8 March 1859 on a charge of manslaughter. He was defended by Mr Seymour who said that Thomas had fallen over the low wall whilst attempting to escape from Westwood. The jury had a brief consultation before finding him guilty of manslaughter but made a strong recommendation to mercy which the judge respected as Westwood was sentenced to imprisonment for one week.

January 12

The National Trust was founded in 1895.

At about 21.00 on Monday 11 January 1847 John Riley closed up his tobacconist shop in Sheffield. Accompanied by Mr Waterman he made his way to the New Cattle Market Inn, on the way there he asked a cabman named Collis to call for him at the inn at 22.30. John was enjoying the evening so when Collis called at 22.30 he asked him to wait. At 23.45 John asked the landlady to tell Mr Collis to go and if he called at his shop tomorrow he would be paid for his time. John left at 00.30 to make his way home on foot; it was about 1 mile along the road to Grimesthorpe. He arrived home at 1.40, his wife had waited up for him and she saw that he had been attacked. At 9.00 that morning Mr Jackson, a surgeon, was summoned and he attended each day until John died on the Saturday.

In April 3 men were arrested and the case against them was examined. Information about the selling of John's watch was given. It was decided that there was no case against William Challoner but there was a case against the brothers James and George Bradley. They were sent to York Castle to stand trial at the next assizes charged with murder and theft.

On Wednesday 21 July they appeared before Justice Wightman. Mr Sergeant Wilkins prosecuted, Mr Matthews represented George and Mr Overend defended James. The prosecution case was that John had been assaulted and robbed and had died from the injuries he received. Mr Overend told the jury that the three doctors could not agree on all the details concerning the cause of the injuries and he argued that although the witnesses had stated that John was not drunk when he left the inn the alcohol had started to affect him as he made his way home. In this drunken state he had fallen and suffered the various injuries found on him. The watch and money had fallen out of his pocket when he fell and he had not been robbed. The watch had been found not stolen. The jury gave the brothers the benefit of the doubt on the murder charge and acquitted them. On the robbery charge they were convicted. When Justice Wightman sentenced them he told them that if they had not inflicted the injuries then robbing him in the condition they found him was scarcely less guilty. He then sentenced them to the maximum; both were sentenced to 15 years transportation. James Bradley replied That's nowt.

January 13

1895 River Ouse at York froze over, skating on it continued for a fortnight.

At 14.15 on Saturday 13 January 1945, 79 year old shopkeeper, Miss Eleanor Carnally Hammerton was found dead in the passageway of her shop that was also her home. She was discovered after another shopkeeper had been alerted by a customer who could not get a reply when he had called at her shop in Ecclesall Road, Sheffield. The police spent 2 days searching the house and shop and a jemmy and 2 pokers were found. As she lived alone and had no assistant the police could not tell what, if anything, had been taken. Eleanor did not do a brisk trade at her drapery shop but she was also the chairwoman of the local National Savings club and that could have attracted her killer.

The inquest opened on Wednesday 17 January and only took evidence concerning Eleanor’s identity. A temporary police station was set up at the Civil Defence depot for the duration of the investigation. By March the inquiry had wound down after the leads had been followed up.

The breakthrough came on Wednesday 28 March when 33 year old Ernest Bramham, a hawker of no fixed address, was questioned by Superintendent A Allen. Bramham was being questioned about a burglary at a warehouse. During questioning he is alleged to have confessed to killing Eleanor. He was then charged with her murder.

The trial was on Friday 27 April before Justice Humphreys. Superintendent Allen was questioned by Bramham’s counsel, Mr C. Paley Scott QC, about the alleged statement. Mr Scott put it to Superintendent Allen that every word in the statement had been extracted in answer to questions he had asked Bramham. He replied that it was a voluntary statement. Justice Humphreys intervened and asked him if he was sure that he had put no pressure on Bramham to say anything. He replied No, my lord. Bramham had told him who he had borrowed the jemmy from. They had shown the man the jemmy found at the shop and he had identified it as the one he had lent to Bramham.

He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. An appeal was launched based on Justice Humphrey’s decision to allow Bramham’s criminal record to be disclosed during the trial. On Monday 14 May Bramham abandoned the appeal. The next day he was reprieved and sent to Broadmoor.

January 15

Henry VIII becomes became head of the Church of England in 1535.

James M’Connell, 26 and Robert Searle, 23, both marine firemen, had been hired to clean out the ash pans below the boiler on the steamer Shappo whilst it was in Hull docks on Friday 15 January 1875. Shortly after 9.00 that morning James, known as Scottie, rushed out of the stoke hole saying Rob had stabbed him. James was taken to the Infirmary by a fish cart but he died soon after arriving. A search of the Shappo resulted in Searle (also known as Edgeley) found in the coal bunker, he had a wound to his throat, a knife was found next to him. He was also taken to the Infirmary where he remained until the 9th March. When he was released he appeared at Hull’s Police Court where he was charged with murder, a few days later he appeared at York Assizes.

His trial was held on Friday 19 March. The jury were told that James and Searle had worked together on another ship, called the Stowell, a few months earlier. They had been paid at Lynn but by the time Searle returned home he had no money and most of his clothes were missing; he told his wife that Scottie was to blame. Friday 15 January was the first time they had worked together since that incident. On the way to the Infirmary, Scottie said that Rob had told him to come nearer and he had, Rob had then stabbed him whilst saying Take that . The knife used had been taking from his landlady but Searle’s job had no requirement for a knife. His defence was insanity however the grudge and the knife seemed to be the deciding factors for the jury but it still took them half an hour to find him guilty of murder. In early April he was certified insane reprieved.

January 16

1813 A total of 14 Luddites were executed at York Castle in 2 groups of 7.

PC Russell was on patrol in the Kirkstall area of Leeds, on the evening of Friday the 16 January 1920, when he was told that a serious assault was taking place in a nearby property. Arriving at Evanston Row he tried the door but it was locked so he smashed the kitchen window to gain entry. He found a man and woman on the floor both had wounds to their throats. The man stirred