Sectarian Slur Was No Defence

A man who stabbed another to death in Bevington Hill was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for life after the jury refused to accept his plea that the killing took place in self defence after he was called a 'Papist'.

On 8th May 1868 some workers from the Allinsons Brewery in Gildart Street went for a drink after work in a pub in Bevington Hill. When one of them, Richard Cropper, left on his own at about 930pm he encountered 26 year old butcher Edward Bailey outside, who said to him 'You're the one who has come to kill the Papists.'

When Bailey responded that he didn't want to kill anyone, especially a Papist as he was one himself, Cropper reacted angrily and challenged him to a fight. As the men squared up to each other, Cropper's colleague Arthur Brock came out of he pub and persuaded him to walk away and go home. As Cropper headed home, Brock and Bailey got into an argument, leading to the latter taking a knife out of a sheath that was around his waist and plunging it into Brock's chest.

Brock staggered off and collapsed after about 100 yards. By the time a doctor arrived, he was dead, the knife having gone between two ribs and protruded four inches into his body. Police soon found Bailey at his home in as court off nearby Ennerdale Street and he was taken into custody. A post mortem found that Brock had died from an internal haemorrhage caused as a result of a puncture to the heart.

Bailey was charged with murder and stood trial before Baron Kelly on 20th August. Witnesses said they had seen both Cropper and Brock act aggressively and Bailey's employers testified to his good character. But his claim that he had been rounded on by three men calling him a Papist and that he acted in self defence was not accepted. Due to the element of provocation however, he was found guilty of manslaughter rather than murder.

The judge showed no leniency in passing sentence, saying it was a most aggravated form of manslaughter. As he was sentenced to penal servitude for life, Bailey's wife let out several shrieks and had to be removed from the courtroom.

Thrown From a Cart

A foreign sailor who was a passenger in a cart was killed after a teenager tampered with the bolts leading to him being thrown to his death.

On Friday 10th February 1826 Christian Andersen, a Norwegian seaman aboard the Sylph, drank in beerhouses around the Baltic Triangle before getting into a cart in Kitchen Street. It was owned by Mr Pye, who was a miller in Wavertree and objected to Andersen's intoxicated state. 

A row ensued and whilst the pair were arguing, an 18 year old named Ralph Clarke unfastened the bolts that connected the cart to the shafts that were around the horse's body. Several people saw this and alerted Mr Pye, who refastened the bolts. However Clarke immediately removed the bolts again, just as Mr Pye was driving his horses on. This time there was no time for him to be made aware and as the horses moved off, the cart tilted and Andersen was thrown out of it, landing head first onto some stones.

Andersen was taken  to the South Dispensary in an insensible state, where he was found to have a fracture to his skull. He never regained consciousness and died later that evening. Clarke had been taken into custody at the scene and on the Monday an inquest jury found him guilty of manslaughter. He was committed to Lancaster Assizes for trial, where he was sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labour.

Killer Walks Free as Judgement Respited

A man Kirkdale man who killed another man after he made offensive remarks about the woman he was with walked free from court after the judge was satisfied he had not intended to cause any serious harm to his victim.

On the evening of 2nd August 1825 Mathias Kelly was walking next to a field near Kirkdale Gaol with a lady called Mary Calton. A man called John Warn, who neither of them knew, shouted something insulting to the couple and threw a brick at his elbow. Kelly responded by throwing the brick back and then struck Warn when he feared having the brick thrown back at him. This didn't deter Warn, who threw the brick at Kelly's head and cutting it. Kelly then punched Warn in the face and he fell backwards onto the ground.

A friend of Warn's called the Watch and Kelly quickly left the scene with Colton, not realising the extent of Warn's injuries. Kelly arrived at his mothers house in Sir Thomas Street at 11pm and had the wound dressed by his mother's servant Mary Allen. At around the same time Warn was arriving at the Infirmary suffering from bleeding to a three inch wound to the head. He was examined by a surgeon and died a few days later, never having regained consciousness. An officer of the Watch who had stopped Kelly when he saw him bleeding recalled this and had the foresight to take further details, then managed to take him into custody.

Kelly was tried at Lancaster at the end of that month. Witnesses testified that the place where the altercation took place contained lots of loose rubble, and doctors who examined Warn felt the injury from which he died was a result of being cut as he fell down, not the actual blow. With others testifying to Kelly's good character, the jury concluded that Kelly was guilty of manslaughter and that he had been provoked in the first instance. Jusice Bayley then respited sentence, effectively letting Kelly go free in the knowledge he would be re-sentenced should he get into any further trouble.

Gaol Killer Transported

A prisoner who stabbed another to death whilst in Kirkdale Gaol was extremely fortunate to evade a murder conviction and was instead transported for life after being found guilty of manslaughter.

George Metham, who had already returned to England after being transported for seven years, was coming to the end of a custodial sentence at Kirkdale in May 1825. He was transferred to another part of the prison where inmates could mix more freely, but taking advantage of these privileges led to the killing that would see him take to the seas again.

Metham took a sum of money with him when he moved and managed to add to this by successful gambling. However a group of prisoners led by William Hudson decided to rob Metham of this money, but their plan was communicated to him by another inmate. Methan sent word back that he had a knife and would use it if attacked.

On the evening of 16th May Metham finished in the workshop at about 8pm and was taken to the day-room by a turnkey. Metham had the knife on him at that point as he had been using it to cut bread, and he quickly hid it in his clothing without shutting it. On entering the room where the other prisoners were he stood with his back to the wall, ready to fight off any attack if it came.

For several minutes some other prisoners, who were unaware that Metham had been tipped off, tried to entice him away from the wall but he stayed where he was. Eventually Hudson went up and grabbed Metham by the collar, then tried to bundle him to the ground. Metham responded by drawing the knife and stabbing his attacker in the belly.

Hudson died two days after the incident and Metham was charged with murder and appeared before Justice Bayley at Lancaster Assizes on Saturday 20th August. That he had stabbed Hudson to death was not denied, it was just a case of determining whether or not it was self defence. A prisoners gave evidence stating that Hudson had planned to rob Metham, while another old how there had been no previous ill feeling between the two, with Metham having twice given Hudson tobacco in the preceding days.

The only evidence in respect of any intention to cause harm came from Metham himself, whose testimony did not do him many favours. In admitting that he had the knife in anticipation of the attack, the judge suggested that this could be tantamount to premeditated murder given the robbery should not have caused any physical harm and the idea of a prisoner having money in gaol was absurd. However, it was also pointed out that Metham admitted to having used the knife to cut bread just beforehand and may not have had time to close it before hiding it from the turnkey. Another factor in Metham's favour was that he only had the knife as a precaution and did nothing to provoke any attack.

After deliberating for an hour the jury returned a verdict of guilty of manslaughter, the foreman saying they believed it was of the most aggravated character. The judge wasted no time on a prisoner who had already been transported once, telling him that this time it would be for life. On 1st August 1826, Metham arrived at Van Dieman's Land (now Tasmania) aboard the Woodman, on which he sailed with 149 other convicts.

Pawn Tickets Catch Murderer

A man who committed murdered a relative of his wife's employer during a burglary in 1832 was caught when police found evidence he had pawned the stolen items.

20 year old plasterer John Thomas was originally from Oswestry in Shropshire and in December 1831 arrived in Everton to be with his new wife Elizabeth, who was a servant to Mr and Mrs Okell. They lived in Breck Road, which was then Breck Lane and part of Everton which was a village in its own right and not part of Liverpool. They ran a spirit vaults in Liverpool at Seddon Street, still in existence near the junction of Duke and Paradise Streets.

On the afternoon of Monday 9th January 1832 Elizabeth and Sarah Okell were in an upstairs room together when Sarah opened a drawer containing some silver plated cutlery. The following morning Sarah went to the spirit vaults, leaving her 25 year old niece Ellen Bancroft in the house. The property had some damp and Elizabeth had suggested that her husband may be able to fix the patches, but when he did go around on the premise of looking at them the next afternoon he had other ideas. Taking a poker that was next to the fire he hit Ellen over the head then forced open the draws and stole some of the sliver.

Thomas had waited until his wife had left the house before committing the act. When it happened she was at the spirit vaults with Sarah, having taken some caps there which she had been asked to make. At around 8pm Thomas went there to collect his wife, whispering something that Sarah was unable to hear. A couple of hours later Sarah returned to Everton, where she saw Ellen being removed to the Infirmary in a car. She had been found around 7pm by Sarah's nephew Samuel, who had climbed in through a kitchen window and found her sat in a chair covered with blood, while a bloodied poker was lying on the floor by her side. Ellen was conscious but confused and a doctor who attended dressed the wound before arranging for her to be taken to the Infirmary.

When Sarah went upstairs, she found that the dressing table draw had been smashed open and the cutlery was missing. Four spoons had already been pawed by then, having been taken by a man matching Thomas's description to Mr Little's pawnbrokers in Liverpool. On the Thursday evening police went to Mr & Mrs Thomas's lodgings, taking both into custody in relation to the assault and burglary. A search of the room found some damning evidence was found by way of a chisel which was the same size as what had been used to force open the draws, as well as pawn tickets for items of a similar nature to what had been stolen. 19 shillings was also found in Elizabeth's purse, the items having been pawned for 20 shillings.

Ellen lingered on in the Infirmary until the evening of 15th January, when she slipped away. She had been conscious the previous day though when Thomas was taken by police to see her and she identified him as the man who had come to the house to check the damp and then assaulted her. The inquest began the following day and lasted for three days, which included a visit to the Infirmary by the Coroner's jury to view the body. After a verdict of wilful murder against Thomas was returned he was committed to the Lancaster Assizes for trial but Elizabeth was discharged, having apparently been no more than an unwitting accessory to the crime. Ellen was buried in her home town of Weaverham, near Northwich, a week to the day after she was attacked.

At his trial on Friday 9th March there were plenty of witnesses who gave damning testimony against Thomas. In addition to the police evidence, a local resident said she had seen Thomas pacing back and forth along Breck Lane at about 4pm on the day of the burglary, while a joiner working at a nearby property positively identified him as having left the Okell's house, as did a stonemason who saw him running. The pawnbroker's assistant identified Thomas as having pawned the spoons, while Mrs Okell confirmed that they were the ones that had been taken. Dr Horton, surgeon at the Infirmary stated that Ellen's death was as a direct result of the wound.

After the prosecution closed their case, there was little defence Thomas could offer and in summing up, the judge said that if the jury were satisfied Thomas had entered the house and struck the fatal blow there was only one verdict they could return. It took just a few minutes for the foreman to announce a verdict of guilty. Thomas showed little emotion as the judge donned the black cap and sentenced him to death, telling him to spend the few moments left in this life to seeking mercy and forgiveness.

Thomas's execution took place just three days after the verdict, on the morning of Monday 12th March in front of a crowd of 3,000. On reaching the scaffold he shook hands with fellow convict William Heaton, who had been sentenced to death after murdering a man in Burtonwood. Both men were hanged simultaneously at 8.15pm, the Lancashire Advertiser  reporting that Thomas struggled a little. After being cut down, Thomas's body was sent to Liverpool where it was to be used by surgeons for dissection.

Six Weeks For A Life

In 1832 a man who killed another in a fight was sentenced to just weeks imprisonment while a robber was sentenced to death.

On 13th February that year John Jones and John Goodwin, both aged in their early twenties, were drinking in Wards public house in Hood Street, now part of Queen Square bus station. Both men were known as second rate fist fighters and began arguing, leading to them both agreeing to fight outside.

The two men fought for fifty minutes, with Goodwin eventually falling lifeless to the floor. He was taken to hospital where he lingered for two days before passing away. Jones was taken into custody and was committed for trial at Lancaster Castle.

On 11th March Jones was found guilty of 'killing and slaying' but was sentenced to just six weeks imprisonment with hard labour. At the same court sessions Thomas Singleton, a man who robbed Earl of Sefton of £10 at West Derby, was sentenced to death.

Policeman Killed on Election Day

The local elections of 1853 saw a  tragic incident in which a policeman was stabbed to death when he intervened in a row between a canvasser and a man in a pub.

On the 1st November of that year an election took place in Vauxhall ward and candidate Jonathan Evans arranged to meet a voter at Shaw's public house in Scotland Road. While he was waiting 19 year old Thomas Copeland, who was a well known neighbourhood ruffian, came in and demanded Evans buy him beer.

After Evans refused Copeland threatened him with violence and some of his associates, on hearing the commotion, began to gather around the pub entrance. Evans got away and headed for Marybone, where he found a policeman that returned to the pub to deal with the small crowd who had gathered. On being told to disperse they did, with the exception of Copeland who told Evans he was going to break his skull and also threatened the landlady, refusing to leave until he was given 4 pints of ale.

When more officers arrived Evans punched one of them on the head and then fled towards Cavendish Street, where he lodged in a court. Two constables and an inspector went inside and arrested Copeland, but as he was being led away he managed to stab one of them, Richard Sunderland, in the thigh. With blood streaming out of the wound, Sunderland said 'The Lord Receive My Soul' before collapsing. He was carried to the dispensary in Rose Hill but was dead within ten minutes, the femoral artery having been severed.

With Copeland under arrest, officers returned into his lodgings and found his sister casually washing a knife. His landlady said that after he had entered the property with the officers in pursuit, he had picked up a knife from the table and put it in his pocket.

At the inquest the following day, it was revealed that Sunderland left a wife and two young children. It was also stated by Superintendent Ryde that associates of Copeland had already been threatening witnesses to the crime. Copeland's sister's claim that she was washing a different knife to the murder weapon was immediately seized upon by the Coroner, who said he preferred disputes to be settled by a stand up fight rather than butchering by a knife.

After a verdict of wilful murder was returned, Copeland was committed for trial at the Lancashire Winter Assizes, where he appeared before Judge Baron Alderson on 8th December. Witnesses told how Copeland had ran into the court shouting he'd rip the officers and also that he had been seen to throw the knife over his shoulder shortly before Sunderland fell down. Among them was 8 year old Mary York, who saw Copeland take the knife from the table and also inflict the fatal thrust, which was three inches deep.

There was little point in Copeland trying to say he hadn't carried out the stabbing, so it was a case of going for damage limitation. It was pointed out that the police had no right to enter the property without a warrant for the type of offence committed, and also that there was no premeditation as he grabbed the knife in the heat of the moment. After an hour and a half's deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of manslaughter.

Baron Alderson told Copeland he was fortunate that the jury had found him guilty of the lesser offence, but that it was still one of great aggravation. He had already served three months in gaol for stabbing his brother but this time there was to be no leniency, as Alderson sentenced him to be 'transported beyond the seas for the term of his natural life.' There were some cries of support which were quickly quashed and Copeland then had to wait sixteen months for his voyage. After eight months on the Adelaide, he finally landed at Western Australia on 16th December 1855.