Man Kills Niece During Epileptic Fit

A terrible tragedy occurred in 1881 when a 6 year old girl was killed by her cousin whilst he was having a fit, leading to the judge handing out a severe rebuke for the man's parents.

Henry Taylor, a 25 year old labourer, lived with his parents at Trowbridge Place (off Brownlow Hill). Also living there was his cousin Agnes Blanche Jones, who had been adopted by the Taylors, having been the illegitimate daughter of Mrs Taylor's sister. On the 29th January of that year he suffered a severe seizure that prevented him from going to work, then on the evening of 2nd February his mother saw the signs of another one coming on.

Henry's mother sat up watching him for some time, but at 1am as he got more agitated she persuaded him to go to bed. As soon as he got upstairs his mother heard gurgling and a scream, but Henry shouted down that everything was okay. When she got a lamp and went up however, she found him standing with  a knife in his hands and Agnes lying on a sofa bleeding heavily.

A doctor and policeman were sent for and Agnes was declared dead at the scene, her head almost severed from the body. Henry told the officer that he had done it and handed him the knife, before being taken into custody and making his first appearance before the police court the following morning.

Henry was tried the following week at the Liverpool Assizes, where evidence was produced to show that he had suffered epilepsy all his life. Once this had been heard the Mr Justice Stephen intervened and stopped the trial, saying a symptom of he disease was a tendency to get into a mad fury and kill people unconsciously. He ordered the jury to return a verdict of not guilty on the grounds of insanity.

After ordering Henry to be detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure, the judge was then very critical of Henry's parents, saying that it 'was lamentable they left the prisoner at large when it was clear he was not fit to be at liberty.'

Wife Battered in Parlour

In 1881 Everton man Joseph McEntee was hanged for killing his wife, whose body was found by fellow tenants whilst he went on the run.

Joseph, who worked as a tailor, lived with his wife Ellen (aged 50) in a three storey house at 89 Rose Place, occupying the parlour and top storey. Another family named the Penningtons rented the first floor.

On the morning of 5th April 1881 one of the Pennington children, a little girl came downstairs and found a blood soaked rag on the floor and noticed that the parlour door handle was missing. She then looked through the keyhole and saw the corpse of Ellen, but was told off by her mother for being nosey. However when Martha Pennington went down herself she looked and could only see the prisoner, but when he went out she opened the door using a stick and found the battered body of Ellen.

The police and a doctor were called, who ascertained that there were five stab wounds on the body and that the death had probably occurred the night before. A niece of Ellen came forward to say that she had called to see her at 10pm and Joseph had been evasive as to her whereabouts, and had appeared to step over something as he answered the door.

A description of Joseph was circulated around police stations and he was arrested that night in Garston in a drunken state, having pawned a watch there for 30 shillings. Although he had had his moustache and beard shaved off a police constable noticed the blood on his hands and boots, which were matted with hair. When he was searched he was found to have a door knob in his pocket and was reported to have said 'its all through drink' as he was arrested.

At his trial on 10th May, witnesses acknowledged that although the couple were known to drink heavily, they were not renowned for quarrelling and that Joseph had always provided well for Ellen. His defence counsel claimed that he had returned home to find Ellen murdered and been so bewildered that he just wandered about drinking in an aimless manner. In his summing up, Mr Justice Mathew stated that the defence had acknowledged that a murder had taken place and it was simply up to the jury to decide if the circumstantial evidence pointed to Joseph as the killer. After retiring for 20 minutes they returned a verdict of guilty.

When asked if he had anything to say, Joseph replied 'Its no use now I have been found guilty.' After being sentenced to death Joseph shook hands with his counsel and was taken down to the cells. Although his solicitors tried for a reprieve on the grounds that Joseph had no murderous intent this was refused. He was hanged at Kirkdale Gaol on 31st May, a crowd of several hundred gathering outside the walls. The thud of the 'drop' was clearly heard outside and one woman in the crowd wept bitterly, saying she had known him since he was a boy and he hadn't meant it.

Religious Mania Sees Mother Kill Child

In 1881 a tragedy occurred in Toxteth when a mother killed her child as she felt she was sending her to a better place after a fit of religious mania.

On Friday 17th June 1881 neighbours became concerned for the welfare of Annie Jackson of 2 Rhiwlas Street (below left) who hadn't been seen for several days. When Mrs Foggo, the wife of a bootmaker from High Park Street knocked on the door Annie answered wearing just a nightdress and said that she and her 4 year old daughter Rebecca had been in bed for three days, before going on to talk about religious matters.

For the next few days Mrs Foggo and the clergyman of the local church called but Annie continued to talk erratically. Eventually, on Monday 21st June, she told the curate 'It is no use I am lost' and the next day Mrs Foggo managed to get inside the house, where Annie told her that Rebecca had died and that she had killed her 'to save her soul.' A policemen attended and found a garter near Rebecca's body, which had red marks around the neck. Annie was removed to the Bridewell and then the workhouse hospital. A post mortem established that Rebecca had died from strangulation and that she had been well nourished.

Annie was detained in Whittingham Hospital in Nottinghamshire and she was not able to stand trial until the following February, an extremely long time lapse then. Mrs Foggo was a principal witness and told how Rebecca was loved and cherished by Annie, whose other child was being looked after by relatives in Cumberland. Although she had had an episode of despondency about 12 years earlier she appeared to now be well off and on affectionate terms with her husband, who was away at sea as a Master Mariner.

Annie's doctor told the court how she had been suffering from depression and had carried out the killing whilst in a melancholic state, while a doctor from Whittingham said that for 2 weeks afterwards she was 'quite stupified and lost to all around her.' He said that she was suffering delusions relating to religious views and was insane at the time the killing took place. 

The jury took just a few minutes to find Annie not guilty of murder on the grounds of insanity and she was detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure. On leaving the dock she muttered that she had made a wreck of her home and was responsible for her husband being miserable.