A Greek Tragedy in Scotland Road

In 1898, a Greek man living in Liverpool was found guilty but insane after he killed his wife by cutting her throat. 

Emmanuel Mavromatis, a 50 year old cotton porter originally from Greece, had settled in Liverpool in the 1870s. In 1898 he lived in Louis Street, off Scotland Road, with his wife Elizabeth, who he had been married to for fifteen years. Things were not going well, with his wife telling friends early in the year that she wanted to seek employment as a domestic servant and leave him.

Drawing of Mavromatis
in Liverpool Echo

On the morning of Sunday, 27th April, the couple's neighbour, Samuel Widdup, heard cries of "murder" from the property, then a deathly silence. He went to investigate and was met by another neighbour, Margaret Simpson, who had also heard the cries. She went inside and saw Mavromatis coming out of the kitchen, wiping his bloodied hands on a towel. He casually said to her, "I have killed my wife."

Margaret ran outside and told a man called Hercules Shalliday, who lived opposite, what Mavromatis had said. Hercules went in and saw Mavromatis pale and trembling. When asked what the matter was, he replied "I have killed my wife, she called me a liar, me can't help it all the while bother." He then pointed to the kitchen and  said, "She is in there." Hercules could see that Elizabeth was quite dead, her throat having been cut. 

A police constable was soon at the house, and Mavromatis pointed to the fire grate, where he had discarded the bloodied knife. He remained calm and rational as he was taken to the Bridewell in Cheapside. A postmortem found that the wound was eight inches long and three inches deep. Death was due to haemorrhage. She wa buried in a public grave at Anfield Cemetery.

Little over a week later, on 10th May, Mavromatis was on trial at the Liverpool Assizes. Samuel Widdup acknowledged that he had never previously heard the couple argue or seen them in drink. PC Davies said that as Mavromatis was being conveyed to the bridewell, he had said "She talked about breaking my neck every day."

The defence counsel, Mr Segar, described Mavromatis as a temperate and industrious man who had lived in perfect happiness with Elizabeth until the previous year. However, he suffered a head injury when a bale of cotton fell in him. This caused dizziness, and he was further injured when he fell into a cellar. The doctor who had treated him for concussion testified that he did not believe Mavromatis to be of sound mind. Dr. Wigglesworth of the Rainhill Asylum gave evidence of his examination of the prisoner at Walton gaol. In his opinion, he was suffering from delusions and not feigning it. He believed that Mavromatis knew what he was doing when he killed his wife, but did not think that he was doing wrong.

In addressing the jury in his summing up, the judge said that the question for them was whether Mavromatis knew if he was committing a criminal act. Without leaving their box, the jury returned a verdict of guilty but insane. Mavromatis was then detained at Her Majesty's pleasure.

Genoa Tragedy for a Garstonian

In 1903, in the Italian port of Genoa, a Garston man who stood up to a fellow sailor who had a knife was stabbed and died from his wounds. 

On 6th May that year, the steamer Regnant left Garston for Swansea, where she took on a cargo of coal before sailing to Genoa. On 31st May, the crew were given shore leave, which was usual for a Sunday. Jack Davies, who was a fireman on the vessel, went to a bar with four of his colleagues and the donkeyman, a Greek who was only known by his Christian name of Antonio.

Entrance to the cemetery where Jack was buried

When a quarrel broke out between Antonio and one of the firemen, the Greek pulled out a knife. Jack attempted to calm things down, but the barman took a revolver from under the bar and threatened to shoot Antonio. This quelled the disturbance, and they all returned to the ship.

As the firemen were taking tea together, Antonio came out of his cabin and could be seen to be still in an excited state. All except Jack ran away, but when one of them shouted to him, "Jack, he has a knife", he replied, "Never mind; stand up like a man and face him." Initially, it looked like Antonio would walk past, but without warning, he gave Jack a backward lunge in the chest. Jack fell down, and Antonio then thrust the knife, which was hidden up his sleeve, into his heart and calmly walked off the ship.

The wound was bleeding profusely and within fifteen minutes, Jack had passed away. An Italian police officer, seeing blood on Antonio's hands and clothes, acted quickly and took him into custody. 

On 2nd June, Jack was buried in the English portion of the Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno, where a service was conducted by the chaplain of the English Mission. The second officer, Mr R.Jones, attended on behalf of the crew. 

When the Regnant arrived back in Garston on 24th June, there was a huge shock at the news of Jack's death. He was around 40 years old and well known locally, having spent much of his life at sea and also worked in the graving dock and shipbuilder's yard. He was a member of the Royal Naval Reserve, and a friend described him as "a quiet harmless little fellow and the best man who ever took up a shovel."

Fatal Accident at a Shooting Gallery

When the proprietor of a shooting gallery was shot dead in 1904, no charges were brought against the man who pulled the trigger. 

On the evening of 12th March that year, Ernest Lacy attended a shooting saloon in Mill Street with two friends. The proprietor was 66-year-old Adolph Fleisher, who was originally from Leipzig in Germany and had moved to Liverpool in 1870. 

Lacy took two shots at a row of pipes, and as he was aiming for another, Adolph shouted, “Look out there.” Lacy fired at exactly the same time Adolph entered the line of fire. He fell instantly and was immediately attended to by his wife, Eliza. Lacy put the gun down and walked to the couple, but returned to his Menzies Street home after a few minutes, as Adolph was still alive. 

Adolph was taken to the Northern Hospital in Great Howard Street, where doctors were unable to extract a bullet that had lodged in his brain. He lingered in a semi-conscious state until 21st March when he passed away. Whilst Adolph was in hospital, police tried to trace Lacy without success.

On 24th March, Lacy read an account of Adolph’s death in a newspaper and he immediately handed himself in to the office of the Coroner, Mr T. E. Sampson. The inquest took place on the same day, and Lacy was able to state what had happened and also explain that he had been unaware of the seriousness of Adolph’s condition. Various other witnesses testified that Adolph stooped down as he walked in front of Lacy. This led to a verdict of death by misadventure.