Man 'Does Wife In'

When a man strangled his wife he went looking for the police himself to confess to his crime.

At 550am on the morning of 30th October 1935 a police car was flagged down on the corner of Berry Street and Knight Street by 42 year old Robert Williams.  He then said to the officer, Constable Cass ' 'I have been looking for a policeman for an hour, I think I have done the wife in.'

Constable Cass accompanied Williams to his home where he found his wife dead in bed with scratches on her throat. Williams turned to the officer and said 'I have been sleeping on the sofa for a short time, we have been leading a cat and dogs life for about two years.'

Williams was taken before the police court later that day and as the prosecutor Mr J R Bishop read out the details of the case he shouted 'I never made that statement its wrong, all wrong.' Mr Bishop added that Professor MacFall had made an examination of the body and found death to be from strangulation.

When Williams appeared at the Manchester Assizes on 25th November 1935 he was found to be guilty of murder but insane. This led to him him being detained at the King's pleasure.