Man Kills wife Over Lodger

A man who killed his wife as he was unhappy at her relationship with their lodger was convicted of manslaughter and transported.

In the early hours of Sunday 28th July 1844 Owen Leonard, a tailor who lived at 37 Peter Street, accused his wife Bridget of what the Liverpool Mail described as 'being in terms of more than ordinary intimacy' with one of their lodgers. The man denied the accusation but Bridget refunded his rent so that he would leave and the peace be kept, or so she thought.

Bridget then went upstairs to light a candle in the room of two other lodgers, Mr and Mrs Livingston. Her husband remained downstairs and locked the door but when Bridget returned downstairs she was punched to the ground. Leonard then grabbed her hair and slit her throat with a razor. He then cut her nose, arms and legs whilst their terrified fourteen year old son James looked on. Her screams woke several people in the neighbourhood who began to gather outside the door, leading to Leonard opening it and kicking his wife down the steps. A stretcher was procured and Bridget was rushed to the Northern Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Police officers arrested Leonard as he was washing his hands and recovered a blood stained razor from under the table. He was sixty years old and described as being of diminutive stature. Both he and Bridget had been born in Ireland.

An inquest took place before the borough coroner Mr P F Curry on the Monday. As it opened Leonard sat in a state of anxiety and trepidation but he grew calmer as the proceedings went on. The principle witness was their son James, who explained how a row had broken out around midnight and that Leonard was 'tipsy but sufficiently sober to know what he was about.' James then described how after the lodger had left the door was bolted, window blinds shut and then his father set about beating and slashing his mother. James said that he managed to escape to look for a policeman but when he returned his mother was on the steps unable to speak.

After giving his evidence James was then challenged by his father over his account. This led to him admitting that his mother had struck his father first, but only after some ill language was used against her. Police Constable Thomas Dunn said that when he arrested Leonard he replied that he had done what he did as his wife was an 'old bitch.'  Mr Livingston said that he saw the disagreement take place between Leonard and the other lodger, then went to bed with his wife, chatting for a few moments as Bridget lit the candle. The next he heard was the screams of James, who was outside the house begging for help as his father was killing his mother.

Michael Hambleton, who lived opposite, said that he was woken by screams and went over to see Leonard stood over his wife, whose nose was cut off. He ran for a policeman and when he returned Bridget was on the steps. Another neighbour Margaret Peacock told how she tried to stem the flow of blood with her apron and when Leonard saw her do this said to her 'I will do the same to you.'

Edward Parker, the house surgeon at the Northern Hospital, explained that on carrying out a postmortem he found that the jugular vein had been severed. Two other arteries were cut in half and some of the wounds were as long as eight inches. In his opinion, no single wound had caused death, rather a haemorrhage had occurred from all of them. After the jury returned a verdict of wilful murder, Leonard was committed to the forthcoming assizes for trial.

On 29th August Leonard appeared before Baron Pollock, looking about the court with an air of indifference. The prosecutor Mr Hulton outlined the facts of the case and then called the same witnesses who had given evidence at the coroner's inquest. Dr Chalmer, surgeon to Kirkdale gaol, then gave his opinion that Leonard was of sound mind and fully conscious of what was going on.

Mr McAubrey, defending Leonard, contested that Leonard had no prior motive and acted out of passion. He then called two of his daughters, Margaret and Ann, who both said his mood had changed in recent years and that he had become more paranoid about his wife's activities, even refusing to drink tea that she had made for him. John Goodwin, a master tailor, said he had employed Leonard at times and he could be irrational and rambling, often walking away when given instructions. 

In summing up, Baron Pollock asked the jury to consider to what extent Leonard was destitute of reason and how much control he had of his actions. A verdict if manslaughter was returned and he was sentenced to be transported for life. In September the following year, he was one of 250 convicts to arrive at Norfolk Island n board the Hyberadad.

Deadly Assault on Pregnant Woman

A woman who violently assaulted a neighbour led to the baby being stillborn and the mother dying of her injuries, with the killer being transported for seven years.

On 31st August 1844 Mary Sooghan and Catherine Gillis, who both resided in Craven Street, got into an argument which also involved Catherine's daughter Mary Quiggins. 58 year old Gillis then spat in Sooghan's face before pulling her up by her hair and throwing her to the ground.

3 weeks later on 22nd September Sooghan complained of a pain in her right side and a doctor was called. She was found to be in a slow labour and losing blood. Three days later she gave birth to a stillborn male child and was admitted to the Infirmary.

Sooghan's condition gradually deteriorated and she died on 9th October. A post mortem was carried out and found that was inflammation of the womb. At the inquest the following day Dr Callon told the Coroner that this was a result of external violence and had been the cause of death. A verdict of manslaughter was returned against Gillis, but Quiggins was acquitted of aiding and abetting.

On 17th December Gillis appeared before the Lancashire Winter Assizes and although she admitted what happened, maintained that she had been struck in the face first. Her defence counsel also alluded to her previous good character describing her as a 'quiet, peaceable, industrious woman.' This cut little ice with the judge and jury though and she was found guilty. Telling her that it was one of the most aggravated cases he had ever dealt with, the judge sentenced Gillis to seven years transportation.

Alleged Infanticide at Edge Hill

A woman who was put on trial for the murder of her baby in 1844 was acquitted but still sentenced to two years imprisonment for concealment of birth.

In September of that year Mary Baxter took up lodgings in Sidney Place. She was soon asked by other females there if she was pregnant, which she denied. On the evening of 28th October Mary went to bed much earlier than the other three females who shared her room. The following morning when daylight broke she was heard by Sarah Bennett, the landlady going out to the yard and returning to bed.

Later in the morning Mary got up to go to a local house to do some laundry work, but when Mrs Bennett was making up the beds she saw blood on the sheet. She then went to the yard and found blood in a bucket of water, leading to her going to where Mary was working and demanding an explanation.

Mary admitted that she had given birth to a child and put it in the outhouse. A search found the body of a baby boy there with a cord tied around his neck. Mary was arrested and charged with infanticide, being committed to the next South Lancashire Assizes.

21 year old Mary was described by the Lancashire General Advertiser as a 'rather good looking young woman' when she was placed at the bar on 14th December. As the surgeon who conducted the postmortem could not be sure the child was born alive, she was acquitted of murder but found guilty of concealment of birth. She was sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labour.

Toxteth Police Killer Transported

In 1844 a policeman was killed whilst on duty in Toxteth, with his killer being transported for life.

At 1am on Sunday 15th December 1844 Constable John Tegisson was returning home after his shift when he came across a man and woman arguing in Whitfield Street (now Byles Street) off Park Road. When  he told them to go inside 19 year old William Jones, a park ranger, refused and threatened to knock Tegisson down if he touched him. Tegisson called for assistance by knocking his stick on the floor and two colleagues Richard Fairclough and Thomas Price arrived on the scene.

The two other officers told Tegisson they would handle the situation and as he continued his walk home, he heard a stick knock again and returned to find both Price and Fairclough bleeding. Jones had attacked both officers with a poker but Fairclough came off far worse as Price's hat had cushioned his blow.

Fairclough was taken to a local surgeon's house by Tegisson, who then called for more assistance to apprehend Jones. As he was arrested he told the officers he would go quietly and didn't need to be poked about with sticks. At Dr Samuel Hodgson's house at 17 Park Road Fairclough was found to have had a fractured skull and suffered convulsions. He was taken to the Southern Hospital where he died on the Monday afternoon, with death being attributed to brain irritation caused by bone protruding into it. He left a pregnant wife and three children.

At the police court the following Thursday Jones's sister Mary told how he had come home in a terrible rage after drinking demanded supper before starting to smash things up in the house. She had gone into the street to call out for police as loud as she could as he hoped he could be taken to the Bridewell. Jones was remanded pending trial at the Assizes and showed a total carelessness during the proceedings, looking over to a friend and twitching his neckerchief as if to say 'this is a hanging job.'

The following April Jones was convicted of 'manslaughter of the most aggravated character' and sentenced to transportation for life.

Justifiable Homicide On The High Seas

In 1844 a ship's cook killed his captain in the Bay of Biscay but was acquitted of murder after claiming to have acted in self defence.

Elisha Halsey was a father of four who lived in Charleston, South Carolina. He was Captain of the Thomas Bennett, which sailed from Liverpool for Charleston on 3rd August 1844.

On the afternoon of 8th August First Mate William Gibbons heard a commotion on deck and rushed up to see Captain Halsey lying on his back with a wound to his neck. Within a minute he was dead, having not been able to say anything. Cook John Kent was stood nearby and said that if he had not have stabbed Halsey, he would have been killed himself.

Kent was overpowered by Gibbons and other crew members and put in irons, the vessel turning back for Liverpool where it arrived on the 14th. At the Coroner's inquest in Lord Street, crew members told how Halsey has regularly been drunk on board the ship and finding fault in many things, especially in respect of how food was prepared and served. Steward George Houghton Monro told how he had seen Halsey drink almost a pint of brandy then  go into the galley and demand his dinner instantly and brandishing a carving knife before dragging Kent away by his collar. This knife was shown to the jury, in addition to the sailor's knife that Kent had stabbed Halsey with.

Both Halsey and Kent were described by crew members as good men, but it was admitted that Halsey had been drinking liquor far more on the return voyage than the one from Charleston to Liverpool. Other American seamen gave evidence in respect of Halsey's good character and the surgeon who conducted the post mortem stated that the liver was in a healthy condition. With the killing having taken place on an American vessel and the victim an American citizen, the US consul was keen to have Kent (who lived in Great Howard Street) extradited there for trial. However, the jury returned a verdict of 'Justifiable Homicide', which under English law meant he could be released without any further charges and on 21st August Home Secretary Sir James Graham ordered Kent's release.

Halsey was interred in St James Cemetery in a service that was attended by many American seamen who were in Liverpool at the time. 44 of them signed a testimonial that he was nothing other than a sober man.