Ex Soldier Dumps Lover's Body in Country Lane

An ex soldier killed his lover and dumped her body in Croxteth Park after she refused to leave her husband for him.

During the summer of 1909 22 year old Benjamin Scholey was discharged from the army and renewed his acquaintance with ex girlfriend Minnie Heard, who was now married with two children and known as Minnie Gascoigne, living in Upper Baker Street with her husband who was a tea packer.

Scholey begged her to go to Ireland with him, but she refused to leave her children and on 4^th October he avenged this by taking her life. On that day the couple met on Butler Street and spent the afternoon drinking before going to West Derby where Scholey strangled Minnie with his belt and left the body in a brook off Croxteth Hall Lane. He then returned home and told his mother what he had done before burning all Minnie’s letters and going to another pub, where he told the barman what he had done.

Later that evening Scholey was arrested for being drunk and disorderly but told the police officer he should be charged with murder. He then accompanied officers to West Derby where a search was conducted and Minnie’s body was found in a brook with Scholey’s belt lying next to it. The corpse was taken to the Dog and Gun Inn 

At his trial Scholey admitted drinking a large amount of whisky on the morning of the murder but that he remembered nothing else about the day until he found himself under arrest. He was found guilty but the jury’s recommendation of mercy on account of his age and previous good character meant that the death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by the Home Secretary.