The Christmas Eve Tram Tragedy

Ten children were left without a father after a senseless attack that took place on a tram on Christmas Eve.

Forty year old Edward Molloy was returning to his home at Glynn Street in Orrell on 24th December 1929 on the Bootle to Litherland tram. When he went to get off he felt a hand go into a pocket where he had a bottle of rum. When he gripped the hand in question he was grabbed around the throat and pushed onto the road. A man intervened but was knocked unconscious by the assailant, 30 year old labourer William Inman of Islington.

Two other men who were passing by went to help but were assaulted by Inman, leading to all four who had been hit lying spark out on the ground. Inman made the mistake of going to hospital for treatment where he acted irrationally leading to doctors calling the police.

Molloy went home with a wound on the head and spent Christmas there, giving evidence in the police court in the new year when Inman appeared there on charges of assault with intent to rob. However Molloy then developed blood poisoning and died in Walton hospital on 23rd January.

On 12th February at the Liverpool assizes Inman pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and wounding with intent. He was then shocked to learn that the Grand Jury had allowed a murder charge to go ahead as well. In addressing the jury, the prosecution counsel said that if they were satisfied Inman had intended to cause violence and Molloy died as a result, then he should be guilty of murder. Justice Roche did intervene though and pointed out that they should take account of what weapon was used.

Molloy's evidence to the police court was read out and when one witness tagged 'My Lord' to every answer he gave laughter broke out in the public gallery. The judge was not impressed and ordered it to be cleared, saying 'I will not have laughter during a murder trial, clear the gallery at once I will not have this court used as a place of amusement.' 

The medical evidence showed that the wound was not dangerous, but the source of the infection was Inman's fist and that it had been cleaned and treated properly. As a result of this,  Justice Roche indicated that he would be directing the jury to dismiss murder and only consider whether Inman was guilty of manslaughter.

Inman's only defence was that he was drunk and could remember nothing therefore was incapable of putting thought to any action. This was no excuse though and a guilty verdict was returned. Telling Inman that he was a violent man, Justice Roche sentenced him to seven years penal servitude.

Three Month Old Baby's Throat Cut

A mother who cut her baby's throat and attempted to take the life of herself and her eight year old daughter was detained after being found guilty but insane.

In the early hours of 1st June 1930 motor driver Charles McDonald was asleep in his Westcombe Road home only to be woken by the screams of his wife Sarah, who was 34 years old. On going into her bedroom she saw her sat upright with a razor in her hand and her throat bleeding, while their three month old baby daughter Alice was dead on the end of the bed.

Alongside was another eight year old girl Dorothy, who was alive but bleeding while three other children aged three, five and seven were unharmed having been asleep in their father's room. Charles fought to get the razor and cut his hand in the process, then ran outside wearing just a shirt. Neighbours were alerted by the screams and one ran to the police station on Anfield Road. 

As Sarah and the wounded child were being conveyed to Mill Road hospital in an ambulance under a police guard, her husband repeatedly asked why she did what she did. She replied that she intended to finish the girl off but on being formally charged said to then police sergeant 'I didn't mean to kill her, I didn't mean to harm anyone.' 

The family had been living happily until only recently when Sarah developed an ulcer which left her in severe pain. Her husband was well thought of by his employers and the children were all of respectable appearance. 

Sarah remained in hospital for two months and was not fit to attend court until 7th August, when she struggled to stand in the dock and had to be supported by two officials. She was committed for trial at the assizes, pleading not guilty to murder, attempted murder and attempted suicide. 

On 5th November a prison doctor said that he believed Sarah was suffering from a form of insanity that led her to think her husband was about to be attacked.  This led to a verdict of guilty but insane being returned. Sarah was ordered to be detained at His Majesty's Pleasure and was told by the judge 'You will be well looked after in hospital.'

Tale of an Unlucky Black Cat

Liverpool Magistrates' Court had to deal with a killing of a different kind in 1933 when a woman stole her neighbour's cat and had it destroyed.

On 24th January that year Stipendiary Magistrate Stuart Deacon was astonished to hear that Doris Walmsley, of Morningside Road in West Derby, had taken her neighbour's cat to a shelter to be destroyed. Walmsley had told the keeper worker Mary Pennell that she had done this at the cat's owners request as she hated animals and had put it out of her house.

The reality was that Walmsley had stolen the black tom cat and taken this action as she believed it had damaged her garden. Mr Deacon was confused as to why a shelter would destroy a cat and said to Pennell 'What are you, a professional murderer of cats, a shelter does not sound like a place where cats are brought to be killed. I understand a cat's shelter is where it lives and has its being but it appears to be another word for crematorium.' In reply, all Pennell could say was that she was a voluntary worker acting under instructions.

When Walmsley took the stand, she claimed that she was unaware that cats had any value and thought she could do what she wanted with it as it was in her garden. Mr Deacon was not impressed with such a stance, admonishing her by saying 'A cat is a domestic animal, it may have considerable value if it has a pedigree, it may be valuable in killing mice and it may be the object of someone's affection.'  He then fined her twenty shillings.

Man outlives his Murderer

An extraordinary case once occurred in Everton when a coroner's inquest concluded that a man had been murdered, even though he died four months after his killer.

On the evening of 28th April 1932 Camaliel Briscoe, a 50 year old cotton porter, carried out a frenzied attack on his uncle William Oversby, a retired horse keeper with whom he lodged in Lyell Street (off Thirlmere Road). This took place with a breadknife and involved Briscoe lashing out at William's face and neck, then turning on his daughter Elizabeth when she tried to intervene.  The whole incident was witnessed by Elizabeth's terrified daughter who was aged just 9.

Both the wounded were taken to the Mill Road Infirmary, where William was detained. 40 year old Elizabeth was allowed to return home and amazingly, when police accompanied her there, they found Briscoe dead in bed, his throat having been cut. Earlier he had been seen roaming the local area with a knife but despite police and civilians searching for him, he somehow got back into the house undetected.      

An inquest returned a verdict of suicide whilst of unsound mind on Briscoe. William never fully recovered and in August he was admitted to Fazakerley Hospital suffering from typhoid fever. He died on 10th August and at the inquest Dr Hodgson, the medical superintendent, saying he had died as a result of the fever and shock brought on by the injuries. The jury brought a verdict of  wilful murder against Briscoe, but did add for the record that he was of unsound mind at the time.

Children Thrown Into Canal By Mother

An unfaithful mother who had no idea where to turn threw her children into a canal then handed herself into the police when she couldn't go through with her own planned suicide.

In 1926 Annie Lavin was 28 years old and living in lodgings with with her husband Patrick and two young children. They were not getting on well with other tenants but had difficulties finding accommodation elsewhere, leading to Annie and the children moving in with her mother temporarily.

On 9th June of that year Annie's mother found that she had renewed a liaison with a married man, with whom she had had an affair prior to meeting Patrick. Annie was given an ultimatum to end this relationship or get out and not knowing what to do next, she spent most of the day wandering aimlessly around Stanley Park with the children, two year old Patricia and four year old Walter.

By the time dusk fell Annie had ended up looking over the bridge into the Leeds & Liverpool canal at Burlington Street. Seized by a sudden impulse that all three of them would be better off dead, she picked up the children one after the other and threw them into the water. She then hurried away from the scene, but after running about a quarter of a mile she confessed to a policeman what she had done.

Annie was conveyed to the Bridewell and other officers used lamps to search the water by the bridge. Walter's body was found around midnight but Patricia's was not recovered until 430am.  In Annie's blouse was a razor blade and a letter addressed to her husband which began: 'I was never as I should have been to you. You have been too good to me and I have played on that.' Annie told the police that she had not gone ahead with her own intended suicide as she was unable to climb over the bridge rail.

After being charged Annie appeared at the Magistrates' Court where she was remanded in custody. She sobbed violently in the dock and had to be helped out by a sympathetic wardress. At the inquest Annie's mother Mrs Richardson told the coroner that she had once attempted suicide on Christmas Eve and frequently ran away from home. After a verdict of wilful murder was returned she was committed for trial at the next Manchester assizes.    

On 8th July Annie's plea of insanity was accepted and she was detained at The King's Pleasure, being transferred to Broadmoor where she gave birth to another child who was immediately taken into care by the authorities.

Annie was released in 1931 and resumed her marriage with Patrick, who worked as a platelayer for the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board. They lived at Rushmere Road in Norris Green but after an initial period of happiness she soon began to brood again for the two dead children and the child who had been taken into care. On 3rd August 1932 after Patrick had left for work Annie wrote a note saying she had been ill and worrying for her children. She then gassed herself to death. At the inquest, a verdict of 'suicide while of unsound mind' was recorded.

Debt Ridden Mother Gasses Baby

A mother who hid a debt from her husband was detained indefinitely after gassing their baby daughter to death.

In 1932 Elizabeth Hughes, a 31 year old housewife, lived in Barlow

Lane in Kirkdale with her husband and two young children, aged eighteen and eight months. Her husband was a ship's steward but was out of work, leading to Elizabeth accruing debt without telling him.

On 25th November that year Elizabeth bought a gas hose and on returning home sent her husband out on an errand. She then fed the hose into the bedroom and turned it on, in an attempt to kill both her and the two children. When Mr Hughes arrived home he went upstairs to find eight month old Irene dead on the bed. He then took hold of eighteen month Arthur and took him the window and opened it. The little boy vomited, which probably saved his life. Elizabeth was unconscious on a sofa and taken to hospital where she made a full recovery.

When police searched the bedroom they found letters in Elizabeth's handwriting addressed to her husband and the coroner. To the coroner she wrote 'Please do not look down on my husband he knows nothing about this. To her husband she wrote 'Please forgive me, I cannot face what I have done if only you knew.' There was also a post office savings book in her mothers name, which Elizabeth was believed to have been using to claim payments she was not entitled to.

Elizabeth was arrested on her release from hospital the following day and charged with murder, attempted murder and attempted suicide. She said to the police 'So I won't see my baby any more, I did not mean to do it.' When she appeared at the magistrates' court on 7th December her husband appeared to have shown forgiveness, saying 'My wife is very kind in every way and a good mother, and one of the best wives.'

At the Liverpool assizes on 6th February 1933, Elizabeth was found guilty but insane and ordered by the judge to be detained at His Majesty's Pleasure.

Throat Cutting Husband Unfit to Plead

A man who cut his wife's throat when his health deteriorated after being made unemployed was detained at His Majesty's Pleasure after examination by a prison doctor.

At around noon on 13th January 1932 in Winter Street, Low Hill, 37 year old Ivor Derrick knocked at a neighbour's door heavily bleeding from his throat and wrists. When the neighbour went up to Ivor's bedroom he found the body of his 43 year old wife Beatrice, whose throat had been cut. A number of razor blade were lying on the floor.

Ivor, an unemployed coach painter, was treated at hospital and arrested on his discharge, telling the detective who took him into custody: 'I did it sir, I was doped with white stuff she put in the food. I done it with a razor blade, I ought to have done myself.' On being charged he replied 'I am not in good health' and he was committed for trial at the next Liverpool assizes.  

On 26th January Ivor appeared at St George's Hall, where evidence was heard from Dr William Higson, the senior medical officer at Walton gaol. He said he had been observing Ivor during his period of remand and was of the opinion that he was suffering from mental confusion. After accepting that he was unfit to plead, Mr Justice Swift ordered that Ivor be detained under the King's Pleasure.