Shocking Double Murder and Suicide

In 1951 a man shot his wife and mother in law dead before going on the run. He turn the gun on himself the following day as the police net closed in on him.

The double shooting took place on 16th April that year at 32 Underley Street, off Smithdown Road, where Archbishop Blanch school now stands. Lilian Parr lived there with her 25 year old daughter Lilian (known as Beryl) and 29 year old son in law Walter Beech. The young couple were in disagreement over Walter's decision to rent two rooms locally, as Beryl didn't want to leave her 55 year old widowed mother living alone.

At around 6.50pm their neighbour in number 30, Mrs Barber, heard a scream. After getting no answer when she knocked on the front door, she and her husband went round to the backyard and saw the bodies of Lilian and Beryl lying on the kitchen floor. Both had been shot in the chest. Another neighbour,Thomas Gladwinfield from number 34, ran to a phone box and dialled 999.

A huge manhunt was launched, with fifty officers searching local parks, gardens, cemeteries and wasteground for the murder weapon. A warning was issued to the pubic regarding approaching Walter, with the Liverpool echo stating "He may still be armed and is likely to be dangerous". He was described as five feet eleven and three quarter inches tall, slim build, fresh complexion, dark brown hair, clean shaven with blue eyes. He was last seen to be wearing a navy blue raincoat, brown gloves,a collar and tie.

Lilian was a cleaner at Olive Mount hospital and described as very nice and exceedingly popular. Beryl, a nurse at nearby Sefton General hospital, had been married to Walter,a gas welder, for five years and was expecting their first child. For three years of the marriage, Walter had been in prison after being found guilty of housebreaking with firearms in Blundellsands. Friends of Lilian described her as "one of the most pleasant of girls" but that Walter did not like her having friends and was jealous of the mother-daughter relationship.

Around 24 hours after the killings, police received a tip off that Walter was in the Princes Park Hotel, on Upper Stanhope Street. Two detective sergeants went there and saw him at the bar with a lady, then asked him to step into another room of the pub. He have his name as Ray Lewis and said he was a seafarer from a Dutch ship, who had taken rooms across the road. On being told by the detectives that they knew who he was, Walter then took the gun from under his armpit and shouted "Stand back or you will get it, you are not taking me".

In an incredible act of bravery, DS John Beaverstock edged forward and said "Don't be a fool, put that gun away". Walter then pointed the gun towards the stomachs of Beaverstock and his colleague DS Joseph Gillbanks, shouting "Stop, it is loaded and you will get it". He then turned the gun around and shot himself in the head, toppling over. A search of Walter found he was carrying  copy of a newspaper containing reports of the killing she had committed.

The lady Walter was with identified herself as Elizabeth Pierce, a 25 year old waitress from Ireland. She said she had first met him on the Monday evening and had a drink then arranged to meet him the following afternoon, but denied spending the night with him. Elizabeth described Walter as "a nice quiet young man".

Lilian and Beryl were buried together at Allerton Cemetery, while Walter was laid in an unmarked public grave at Anfield Cemetery. Neither grave has any maker indicating who is buried there.

Toxteth Mother Unfit to Plead

A mother who drowned her son in 1959 was detained at Her Majesty's pleasure after a medical expert declared her unfit to plead.

On the afternoon of 18th December 1959 Jessie Parkinson, a 34 year old divorcee who lived with her father in Alt Street, Toxteth, drowned her 21 month old son Henry by holding his head under water in the bath. 

The poor child's body was then dressed in nightclothes and placed in a bed. The tragic scene was then discovered by Jessie's father when he returned home from work. He called an ambulance and when it arrived Jessie tried running away, but was caught by the driver. Henry was pronounced dead on arrival at the Royal Liverpool Hospital.

On being arrested, Jessie first told the police that a man had killed Henry and escaped down a grid. When she was told the grid cover had not been disturbed she then said "I held it under the water for a long time, I don't want it to suffer anymore. He is in his proper place, the cemetery".

At her committal hearing in January, a pathologist said that Henry had been well nourished. Jessie's sister and father said she was mentally balanced and had loved her son. She was further remanded in custody pending a Crown Court trial.

On 9th February 1960 Jessie appeared at Liverpool Crown court where evidence as given by Dr Calder, Chief Medical Officer at Manchester's Strangeways gaol. He said that Jessie was unfit to plead and the judge ordered that she be detained at Her Majesty's pleasure.

An Unsolved Christmas Day Killing

When a woman was found dead beneath a Liverpool office block one Christmas Day there was insufficient evidence to charge the only suspect in the case.

At around 830am on 25th December 1919 two messenger boys from the Union Telegraph Cable Company were running down Covent Garden when they came across a horrific find. The badly bruised and bloodied naked body of a female was huddled up in a recess overlooking the basement of the Oriel Chambers office block.

The boys found a policeman who on searching the immediate area located a pile of rain soaked clothing on the opposite side of the road. On examination it was found to be badly torn and was believed to belong to the woman. A purse with some coins was also discovered in the roadway.

Police enquiries established that the woman went by the names of both Elizabeth McDermott and Isabella Wilson. She was described as an 'Unfortunate' who was aged in her fifties and lived in a lodging house in Richmond Row. The keeper there had not seen her for 24 hours before she was found, but had not raised any alarm as she was often being taken into custody by the police.

On Saturday 27th December John Brien, a 23 year old seaman, was arrested on a steamer in the docks on suspicion of being implicated in the death. Magistrates granted a remand until the Monday so further enquiries could be conducted. Brien admitted leaving his ship on Christmas Eve and spending four hours with a friend and another female on Scotland Road. The female had then shown him to the Pier Head around midnight, and the next he knew he was being woken and arrested by the police. 

An inquest was opened on 29th December. The lodging house keeper, Mary Maguire, said she knew the victim as Elizabeth Wilson and that she had recently spent time in the workhouse hospital with injuries to her arm after being run over by a tramcar.  A police officer said that the woman was originally from Greenock, had been in court many times and usually gave the name Elizabeth McDermott. It was not known if she had ever married but McDermott was her father's name and her mother was Wilson. The coroner adjourned the inquest pending further enquiries while over at the police court, a prosecution request for a further remand of eight days for Brien was agreed. 

On 6th January 1920 Brien was again remanded for a week, appearing unmoved by the ongoing delay. His relaxed attitude was arguably vindicated the following week, when he was freed. At another hearing, the prosecutor said to the stipendiary magistrate "Although the circumstances under which the arrest was effected were distinctly suspicious there was not sufficient evidence to ask the bench to send the prisoner for trial at the assizes. I am now satisfied there is no evidence to place before the court". 

On being told he could go free, Brien bowed his head to the bench and left the court. Nobody was ever convicted in relation to the death of whoever the female was that was found dead at Covent Garden on Christmas Day 1919.

A Badly Burnt and Mutilated Childs Body

An open verdict as returned at an inquest in 1904 after the discovery of a newborn baby's body in Toxteth.

On Tuesday 6th September 1904 the charred remains of a baby girl were found in an entry behind Fernhill Street. The body was wrapped in a copy of the Liverpool Echo newspaper, dated 29th August.

Detective Inspector Holmes made extensive enquiries but could find no information about the identity of the mother or child. Dr Nathan Raw said that the body was black from extensive burning making the features unrecognisable. The left arm was detached from the shoulder and left leg almost severed.

Dr Raw also stated that the head had been severely battered, however he was unable to say whether the violence had taken place before or after death. 

With there being no evidence as to the identity of the baby girl or whether she had been alive when the horrific injuries were sustained, the inquest jury had no option but to return an open verdict and the case was never solved. 

Bootle Paraffin Lamp Tragedy

A Bootle woman was charged with manslaughter after it was alleged that her daughter died as a a result of her throwing a paraffin lamp that exploded. However due to conflicting evidence she was cleared when the case came to court.

Sixty year old Alice Leonard sent the afternoon and evening of Saturday 19th November 1910 drinking with her landlady at her lodgings in Aber Street, Bootle, which was situated off Irlam Road. At around 11pm she went up to the room that she rented where her 21 year old son William was sleeping. 

The pair started quarrelling and when Alice slapped him, causing his nose to bleed, they were broken up by Alice's married daughter Annie Walsh. William attempted to hit his mother with a mug and it resulted in a paraffin oil lamp coming off the mantelpiece. William moved out the way and it hit the floor and exploded, setting fire to Annie's clothing. 

Annie rolled around in agony and although a neighbour extinguished the flames, she died in Bootle Hospital soon afterwards but not before she was able to make a disposition. She stated that her husband was a patient at Rainhill Hospital and her mother did not touch the lamp.

Bootle Hospital (Sunwukong 88 shared under
Creative Commons sharealike license)

An inquest before the coroner Samuel Brighouse at Bootle Police Court heard conflicting evidence. William said that his mother had accidentally swept the lamp in his direction whilst rushing at him as he threw a pint mug at her. The landlady Mrs Books said she saw and heard nothing, while a female warder from Pacific Road police station said Alice had admitted throwing the lamp. A verdict of manslaughter was returned.

When Alice appeared at the assizes the following February, the Daily Post headlined the case A DISGRACEFUL STORY OF A DRUNKEN WOMANHOOD. Alice's landlady Mrs Brooks said she had been drinking with Alice on the night in question and admitted being locked up for drunkenness many times. After telling the judge she had one child, he responded "you ought to be ashamed of yourself, go away". 

Just as he did at the inquest, William Leonard told the court that his mother had not picked up the lamp, but knocked it accidentally. Annie's dying deposition was read out, in which she had stated that she herself he picked up the lamp and dropped it.

After hearing the evidence the judge directed the jury to return a verdict of not guilty, as the only two witnesses to the incident had both said Alice did not  pick up the lamp  and it was an accident.

Prior to discharging Alice, the judge told her that it was a discreditable and disgraceful case and that it was sufficient punishment knowing her daughter's death was a result of her drunken habits. Describing her and Mrs Brooks as a "disgrace to the city" he remarked that he hoped she would abstain from drink for the remainder of her life.

An Irritating Victim

When two workmen clashed leading to one hitting the other with a pitch fork causing death, the irritating conduct of the victim led to leniency in court.

On 28th April 1863 a group of night soil men were emptying middens in the Islington area. One of them, Thomas Wignall, had been drinking and was obstructing the others as they went about their duties. 

When William Bibby told Wignall to go and sit down if he wasn't willing to work. Wignall responded by telling Bibby to put his pitchfork down and have a fight. Bibby instead simply struck Wignall on the head with the fork, which he had been using to load manure into a cart. 

Wignall died from a fractured skull on 2nd May. The coroners inquest returned a verdict of manslaughter and Bibby was committed for trial at the next assizes the following August.

Appearing before Mr Justice Blackburn evidence was heard that Wignall was "in liquor, irritating and obstructive to his fellow workmen" and had struck them with both his fist and fork. Bibby's defence was that he had been "provoked beyond endurance".

The jury found Bibby guilty but with a recommendation for mercy. He was then sentenced to just one month in prison.

Wife Killed by a Chisel

A man whose wife died after he stabbed her with a chisel was found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter but still given the maximum possible sentence.

In 1863 blacksmith George Gibson and his wife Margaret lived unhappily in a house in Circus Street, which is long gone and was situated north of Islington.

On 20th June that year, following another drunken quarrel, the couple's landlady Mrs Quirk gave them notice to leave the house where they had been residing for just three months. Gibson then picked up an ash pan and threatened his wife with it, who responded by slapping him in the face. 

Later that night at around 11.45pm, Gibson returned home in a drunken state and complained to Margaret of noise in an adjoining room. Picking up a chisel, he said he would go and see what was going on but when Margaret asked if he was going mad, Gibson stabbed her in the side.

Margaret ran out into the street for assistance and was taken to the  Dispensary. The wound was dressed and she returned home to bed. By then Gibson had been taken into custody and charged with attempted murder. A police officer found him wiping blood off the chisel and stating it had been a "family row".  

Six days later, with doctors giving Margaret little hope of recovery, depositions were taken by the magistrates clerk. She made her statement with some reluctance, saying he was a good man when sober and she hoped he could be shown leniency so he could look after their children. 

Margaret passed away 24 hours later. An inquest heard evidence from Mrs Quirk that Gibson had once showed her a sharp pointed article saying that it was to murder Margaret with. A verdict of wilful murder was returned and Gibson was committed for trial on a coroners warrant. 

At the assizes court on 20th August prosecuting counsel described Gibson as "scarcely ever sober, quarrelsome and of violent disposition". The Daily Post reported that he was a "powerfully built man", despite having been on a prison diet for two months.

Other residents of the house testified that they had heard Gibson say to her that he would have her life and swing at Kirkdale for it. His wife's own deposition was read out and this probably saved him from being found guilty of murder and the jury instead went for the lesser charge of manslaughter. 

Prior to sentencing, Gibson said "I am heartily sorry for what I have done, I remember nothing of it. Please have mercy on me". Mr Justice Blackburn was in no mood for leniency however, saying that wives needed protecting from violence and brutality of their husbands. Gibson was then sentenced to transportation for life.