Dead Baby Found in Bundle of Rags

Despite the incredibly suspicious circumstances surrounding the discovery of the body of a newborn baby in 1842, the mother was convicted only of concealment of birth.

On Tuesday 7th June a servant named Mary Bruce failed to show for work in Sandon Street, the message being sent by her parents that she was being asked to perform duties that she wasn't fit for. When further enquiries were made by the Mary Cole, the mistress of the house, she established that a live in servant named Elizabeth Russell had undergone 'something different to the usual course of nature.'

Two days later Agnes Harding, a nurse to Miss Cole's family, was sent for to examine Elizabeth, who admitted she had been in the family way for seven months and had put the body of  a baby boy in the privy. A police constable recovered the body and a doctor who carried out a post mortem asked for two other surgeons to be present. They concluded that the pregnancy had gone its full term and that the baby had been born alive due to the lungs having absorbed air. The only abnormalities were injuries to the head, which appeared to have been caused by a sharp instrument.

Elizabeth was taken to the Bridewell where she shared a cell with a woman called Ann Smith who had been arrested for a breach of the peace. When asked by Ann why she was there, Elizabeth replied that it was in relation to a child and she had panicked when the baby didn't cry, tying a handkerchief around the neck. Her intention, she said, was to remove the baby from the privy and go to Wales.

At the inquest which was held before Mr P F Curry on 13th June the doctors, Ann and Agnes gave their evidence along with young Mary Bruce, who was only eleven years old. She said that on the day in question, she saw an infant sized bundle of rags being placed in the privy by Elizabeth, who said they had been left by some workmen. Mary went on to say she asked Elizabeth if she could have the rags, but this request was refused on the grounds they were dirty.

In summing up, Mr Curry praised the advances in anatomical science and stated that this was one of the clearest cases that had ever come before him, leading to the jury returning a verdict of wilful murder and Elizabeth being committed for trial and remanded at Kirkdale gaol.

At the assizes on 8th August Elizabeth's counsel suggested that due to Mary Bruce's young age and Ann Smith's bad character they were not reliable witnesses. They then called into question the medical evidence, saying it was possible any head injuries could have been caused when the child was laid down, Elizabeth believing it to be already dead. 

The trial judge told the jury that they had to take into account the state of mind the parties were in at the time of the events. After an hours deliberation, Elizabeth was acquitted of murder but found guilty of concealment of birth. She was then sentenced to two years imprisonment.

The Thirteen Year Old Prostitute Killer

A teenager who retaliated against a prostitute who had hit him by stabbing her in the neck was found guilty of manslaughter and given an extremely lenient sentence by the judge.

On the evening of Thursday 28th April 1842 Elizabeth Smith, who was said to run a 'house of ill fame' in a court off Preston Street, went out to purchase a candle. She was abused on the street by one of the local ladies of the night, 25 year old Eliza May.

Mrs Smith's thirteen year old son William was in the street making a toy boat and persuaded his mother to return inside and said that he would go for the candle. However May blocked his way and began beating him about the head. This led to him retaliating by stabbing her in the neck with a small knife that he had been using.

The incident was seen by a passing surgeon, Dr Williams and he took May to the druggists in Whitechapel. Due to the severity of the bleeding, a car was called to take her to the Infirmary but she was dead on arrival. A post mortem found that the jugular vein had been severed. Smith had initially absconded but was caught by police the following day.

On Saturday 30th April an inquest took place before the Borough Coroner Mr P F Curry and returned a verdict of manslaughter. Smith was committed to the assizes for a trial which took place on 6th August. The jury found him guilty but recommended mercy on account of his 'extreme youth' and the judge, saying that their had been provocation, imposed a sentence of just one weeks imprisonment.

Stool Killing

A man who battered his wife to death with a stool narrowly avoided a murder convicttion and was instead found guilty of manslaughter and transported for life.

On 15th June 1846 a labourer called Charles Lear was sat on the steps of his home in Gore Street, Toxteth Park, when he saw a mug thrown onto the street from a house nearby. Kate Wignall who lived there came to the door but was pulled back in by her husband Richard who then shut it.


Five minutes later Kate opened the door again but this time she was on her knees and Richard was beating her about the head with a stool. She then fell down and Richard kicked her in the ribs before raising his cap above his head and shouting 'That is the way to do business.' He then went to his father's house nearby while other neighbours, disturbed by the commotion, rushed to the aid of Kate who was bleeding heavily from facial wounds.

A police inspector named Samuel Maddox arrived shortly afterwards, only to find that Kate had died from her injuries after being taken down into the cellar. Richard Wignall had tried to escape but was restrained by a joiner named William Ellis, who had heard the cries of 'murder' but at first taken no notice as he felt it was a generally disturbed neighbourhood. Ellis handed Wignall over to Inspector Maddox, who also seized the stool which had been used as a weapon.

Wignall was taken to the Bridewell where he said an argument broke out over him forgetting to repair some panes of glass. A post mortem was carried out on Kate's body and found that all the organs were healthy. There was bruising in various places, while the cause of death was put down to effusion on the brain.

A coroner's inquest returned a verdict of wilful murder and Wignall was remanded in Kirkdale gaol pending his committal to the assizes. All he had to say was that he was drunk at the time and his wife was not a sober woman.

Wignall appeared before Mr Justice Wightman on 28th August. Due to the fact an argument had occurred the jury found him guilty of manslaughter although added that it was 'one of the most aggravated cases on record.' In addressing Wignall before sentence the judge told him it was an awful crime that had deprived a mother of her son and a child of both parents. He then ordered that Wignall be transported for life and he landed at Tasmania early the following year.

Two Months Jail For Wife killing

A man who habitually abused his wife and eventually caused her death after elbowing her in the face was sentenced to just two months imprisonment.

On the evening of Saturday 1st October 1864 John Robinson, a forty year old tinplate layer asked his wife Catherine for money for ale, but she refused his request. John then struck her with his elbow in the face and stomach, leading to her screaming for help from the landlady of the house where they lodged in Cavendish Street, which was situated where the St Johns Ambulance offices off Scotland Road are now.  

The landlady Mrs Winter tried to stop the bleeding but was unable to do so, but John would not get out of bed to assist in taking his wife to the dispensary. When heavily pregnant Catherine threw some blood at her husband he threatened to knock her downstairs if she asked him again.

In the early hours John eventually agreed to go to the dispensary, from where they were referred to the Northern Hospital. As she was being helped there, Catherine said to her husband 'Take more time for I am dropping, this is the last walk I will have.'

On the Monday Catherine was visited in hospital  by a detective. She said the bleeding had started when she fell over after carrying some tins on her head, then it had occurred again after being punched in the face by John. He was then arrested and taken to the police office where he admitted assaulting his wife, but said he had only slapped her with the back of his hand.

Catherine gave birth to a stillborn male child on 6th October, doctors estimating that she was eight months into her pregnancy. Heavily effected by the loss of blood, her condition deteriorated and she died on 18th October. A post mortem revealed that both bones in the nose were broken as a result of considerable violence. 

At the inquest two days later the couple's fourteen year old son said that his parents had quarreled for as long as he can remember and that his father had often said whilst drunk that he would kill her one day. Mrs Winter said that another lodger had drawn her attention to the attack and that she feared Catherine was being killed. The jury returned a verdict of manslaughter and the Deputy Coroner Mr Wybergh remanded John pending his trial at the assizes.

At the Liverpool Assizes on 14th December the defence pleaded that Catherine had contributed to her own death by carrying the tins on her head. John was found guilty but with a recommendation for mercy. The judge, Mr Justice Mellor, said there were mitigating factors on the case and James was sentenced to a period of imprisonment of just two more months.

Justified Killing of a Father

A man who killed his father as he believed he was about to do harm to family members was set free after a trial found that his actions were justified. 

On the afternoon of 31st May 1909 William Haughton, a 57 year old father of five, went on one of his regular drinking sprees and returned to his home in Chesterton Street, Garston, demanding his tea. When his wife gave him some cold meat he threw it back at her then filled a basin with water and poured it over her as she sat motionless in a chair. 

Haughton went back out and returned at 10pm, by which time his wife and two teenage daughters were in bed. He stayed downstairs for a while playing a piano but at 11.30pm went upstairs and demanded some work trousers. His eldest son, also William, was woken by the commotion and remonstrated with his father, leading to the two men exchanging punches.

A few hours later Haughton died in hospital, having given a statement saying he had been hit four or five times on the head with a poker as he lay defenceless on the floor. A post mortem revealed that his skull had been fractured in two places. However when he was arrested  the son William said the two men had fallen down together and fearing for his safety, he had struck out with the poker in self defence.

William was charged with murder and appeared before Lord Chief Coleridge on 20th July. A statement that he had made on arrest was read out, in which he said 'I am sorry for what I have done, I hit him over the head five times with a poker to prevent him ill using my mother who is an invalid. I heard him beating my mother , I rushed and done my best to stop him.' William's sixteen year old sister Emily told the court that her brother was the one who put most money into the house and that her father had him pinned to the ground when he got hold of the poker.

The Reverend T P Howe gave William a character reference, saying he had been attending church twice a day for three years and that he was a 'quiet, inoffensive and respectable member of the community.' In the final submission, William's defence counsel suggested that his intervention was justified and that if he hadn't done so, his father may well have been there on trial instead. 

Without leaving their box the jury returned a verdict of not guilty of both manslaughter and murder. There was loud applause from the public gallery which was quickly suppressed. After the judge said 'Simple justice has been done, there is no occasion for applause' William was released.

Benefit of Doubt For 'Poor Friendless Woman'

A woman whose baby was found strangled in a basket was sentenced to just twelve months in prison after being found guilty only of infanticide.

In the summer of 1908 Alice Spelman, who was originally from Derby, worked at a hotel in the North Wales coastal resort of Llandudno, In the October she went to Liverpool and took lodgings in Vine Street, where she discovered she was pregnant two months later.

Alice took on a job as a general servant in Mill Street in February 1909 and was immediately asked by her mistress if she was pregnant, which she denied. On 6th March Alice was taken ill and taken in a cab to the Workhouse Hospital in Smithdown Road carrying a basket. When this was searched it was found to contain the body of a newborn child, which had a handkerchief tied around its neck with the ends stuffed in the mouth.

A post mortem showed that the baby had lived and died from strangulation and when she was arrested Alice said her mind was blank, all she could remember was that the child was born. When she appeared at the assizes Alice's defence counsel described her as a 'poor friendless woman' and said she had been orphaned at the age of five, with the evidence of strangulation being inconclusive. This was enough to sew the seeds of doubt in the jury and Alice was found guilty only of infanticide, leading to a sentence of just twelve months imprisonment.

Killed Over Uncooked Fish

A man who was convicted of manslaughter in 1909 after stabbing his wife when they rowed over his uncooked supper was sentenced to just seven years imprisonment. 

Denis Smith was a  an auctioneers porter who lived in Oakes Street with his wife Sarah, twelve year old son Joseph and eight year old nephew Owen. On Tuesday 9th February that year he returned home at around 330pm having already had a lot to drink. He then sent his wife out for more beer which they drank together with a neighbour. 

At suppertime told Sarah to go and get some fish but she was out for some time, leading to him berating her on her return. Sarah refused to cook the fish and was soon running out of the house screaming murder, with Smith chasing her. When he returned to the house and went asleep though, Sarah then decided to cook the fish and wake him, only for him to refuse to eat it as he believed it hadn't been done enough.

After more arguing Smith got out of bed and picked up a knife, swiping it at Sarah's face, catching her just under her left ear. After he was unable to stop the bleeding, Smith and his son took Sarah the short distance to the Royal Infirmary, both telling doctors that the wound was self inflicted. With suspicion not yet aroused, Smith left saying he was going to change his bloodstained shirt. However he didn't return and when Sarah died soon after admission, the police soon caught up with him at his sister's house in Islington.

On 11th March Smith appeared at the Liverpool Assizes before Lord Alverstone. Joseph repeatedly broke down crying as he gave evidence that his father had picked up the knife and brandished it at her. Smith too wept in the dock, as the defence counsel's submission that Sarah had fallen on the knife was rejected.

In summing up the judge said it would be unsafe to convict on the murder charge as there was no prior motive and Smith had shown obvious remorse. This led to him being found guilty of manslaughter and after evidence was called as to his previous good character and of his wife's drunken habits, Lord Alverstone imposed a sentence of just seven years imprisonment.