Uncle Strangles Baby Nephew

A man who killed his baby nephew because he was 'squawking' was declared unfit to plead when he appeared at court charged with the murder. 

At 920am on 6th November 1951 George Thomas McCready, a 35 year old seaman, walked into Rice Lane police station and said to the desk sergeant 'I have just strangled my nephew.' McCready was kept in custody while Superintendent Balmer of the murder squad went to his home at 30 Burleigh Road South, Everton. After seeing the body of 19 month old Thomas Boston, who was the son of McCready's sister, Balmer returned to Rice Lane and formally charged him with murder.

McCready was taken straight to Dale Street to appear before the Stipendiary Magistrate Arthur McFarland. Prosecutor Mr J. R. Bishop said that on being charged, McCready had replied 'I took the baby into the front bedroom and strangled him because he was squawking.' McCready remained silent throughout the hearing, during which he was granted legal aid and remanded.

The following February McCready appeared before Mr Justice Streatfield at the Liverpool Assizes. Evidence was heard from Dr Brisley, Chief Medical Officer of Walton Gaol, that he suffered epileptic insanity and suffered a number of fits while one remand. The judge accepted that McCready was unfit to plead and detained him at His Majesty's pleasure. 

Manslaughter by Furious Driving

A carter who didn't stop when he ran over a child was found guilty of manslaughter and jailed.

At 430pm on Friday 19th December 1845, eleven year old Mary Bruce was crossing from St James Church to Great George Street when she was knocked down by a cart being driven by Charles Murphy. She was crushed by the wheels passing over her body and died an hour later.

At the inquest several witnesses said that Murphy was driving at a rapid rate and at first didn't stop. A verdict of manslaughter was returned and he was committed to the assizes for trial.

The following April, 21 year old Murphy was found guilty. After hearing that he had been to jail five five times, including for furious driving, he was sentenced to nine months imprisonment. 

Tragedy of a Devoted Couple

When an elderly couple in Edge Hill fell upon hard times the husband believed there was no other way out other than for them to die together. 

In the early hours of 28th December 1933 police were called to 17 Royston Street in Edge Hill by the Annie Morris, sister of Jane Davies. On arrival officers were met by Jane's 63 year old husband, dairyman Joseph Davies who said to them "Go upstairs, I have done the missus in. See, I have done myself in too." On entering a bedroom they found his wife Jane with a very serious throat wound. There was no sign of any struggle and both Jane and Joseph were rushed to the Royal Infirmary.

Joseph received six stitches and within two days was declared fit to be put before magistrates, charged with attempted murder. On being told this by the detective sergeant, he replied "Something came over me"' At his first court appearance, Joseph stood silent in the dock as he was remanded for a week. He was described in the Liverpool Echo as tall and grey haired.

Jane had nine stitches and her wounds were not thought to be life threatening, but she died two weeks later on 14th January 1934 at Sefton General Hospital. This led to Joseph being charged with murder and on 25th January he appeared before the police court, where prosecutor Mr J. R. Bishop described he and Jane as 'a devoted couple who had fallen on hard times'. The court also heard how Jane was suffering from ill health and required hospital treatment.

A deposition taken from Jane was read out. which stated that in addition to her health concerns they had business worries and had remained awake until 5am on the night in question. Joseph then got up with the intention of doing away with himself, then returned with a razor and after seeing her husband lean over the bed she felt a sharp pain then recalled no more. Medical evidence was then heard that a postmortem revealed the cause of death to be pneumonia and heart disease. Doctors from the Royal Infirmary stated that Jane was expected to recover  in full at the time of her transfer, but it was then heard that at Sefton she had refused food.

Annie Morris told the court that she visited her sister daily, and that she had stayed overnight on 27th December. She added that Jane had been suffering from a pain in her side for two years and that this had now been discovered to be a tumour that needed surgery in the New Year. The couple were extremely worried about this and the potential impact on their business. 

After hearing all the evidence the magistrate said that the prima facie case for murder had not been made out, then committed Joseph for trial on the lesser charge of attempted murder, as well as attempted suicide. On 28th February Joseph pleased guilty to both charges and was sentenced to three days imprisonment, leading to his immediate release. He had wept throughout the proceedings, in which his defence barrister saying he had 'come to the conclusion there was nothing else to do but leave this life together.'

Eggs Dispute Ends in Death

A dispute between seamen over eggs ended with one of them dying on their ship's arrival in Liverpool and his attacker being convicted of manslaughter.

On 1st January 1867 the Caboceer docked at Aveiro in Portugal and in the afternoon the crew members were given leave to go ashore by the captain. That evening, back on the vessel, a dispute arose over ownership of a quantity of eggs that had brought aboard. This ended with 36 year old first mate Evan Matthias pulling the hair of able seaman Miles Dempsey, with so much force that his head bled. He then dragged Dempsey onto the deck and knelt on his chest with great force and hit him with a belaying pin.

Ten days later, twenty year old Dempsey complained of pains in his chest and was unable to resume his duties. He remained bedbound until the vessel arrived at Liverpool's King's Dock on 23rd February. He was taken to the workhouse hospital while Matthias was arrested and charged with assault. On the 28th Dempsey died, leading to Matthias being committed for a manslaughter trial at the assizes.

At the trial on 29th March evidence was heard that Matthias claimed all of the eggs were his, while other crew members had said they were to be shared out equally. It was also heard that Dempsey had a cold when he joined the Caboceer and this worsened when he spent a night on deck in the rain. The workhouse doctor said that he had dropsy and exhaustion, with a postmortem revealing chronic disease in the heart. In his opinion, death was accelerated by excitement occasioned by the assault. 

After the jury returned a verdict of guilty, sentence was deferred until the following day. Mr Justice Mellor told Matthias that taking all factors into consideration, Dempsey would probably not have died if he was in good health. However, he added that the jury had come to the right conclusion in points of law and that violence on ships was too common. He then imposed a sentence of five months imprisonment with hard labour. 

Unsolved Murder of a Boy in Anfield Cemetery

The killing of a teenage boy whose body was found in Anfield Cemetery has never been solved. 

Widowed mother Margaret Howell of Bidston View in Walton Road last saw her thirteen year old son Edward alive when he left home at 6.30am on Friday 11th June 1875. He was on his way to work as an apprentice stonemason for Mrs Stirling's monumental works at Anfield. 

Edward did return home for his dinner whilst his mother was out at work, but on going back out looking for bird nests he never returned. His disappearance was reported to the police and posters were distributed asking for information about his whereabouts. 

At 10.55am on Saturday 19th June a body was found in some trees at Anfield Cemetery by four dock labourers. It was removed to the deadhouse there. Margaret identified the body as that of her son, who appeared to have strangulation marks around his neck.

At the inquest on 22nd June Margaret was asked by The Coroner Mr Driffield about her son's passion for birdnesting. She explained how he had promised her he would only find one more nest then would stop. She also did not believe he would have gone looking for nests in the cemetery, but more likely met his death whilst trying to escape a beating from someone on whose land he had trespassed. She described him as 'generally a healthy boy'. His uncle John Garrity, who also worked as a mason at Mrs Stirling's yard, described him as 'well and hearty and never in strange mind.'

Richard A Cross, Home Secretary

Dr Matthew Hill of Bootle, who carried out the postmortem, said that he believed death was the result of strangulation with a cord or possibly a neck tie. Crucially, he suggested that the low state of decomposition indicated that Edward had not been killed at the cemetery, but more likely elsewhere before being carried and dumped there.  The cemetery's gardener George Priestly explained that he had twice been where the body was found that morning and not seen it, while the bushes and shrubs appeared to have been placed over it deliberately for concealment. This was confirmed by a police constable. 

Two brickmakers who worked in Cherry Lane told how they had been working at 6.45pm on the day Edward disappeared and had heard two screams from the direction of the cemetery. They also had passed through the cemetery the following Tuesday about fifteen yards from where the body was found, and noticed a cap that was later identified as being Edward's. They both said that they had heard one local resident was extremely strict with anybody who went on their land.

After the jury returned a verdict of 'wilful murder against a person or persons unknown' police made exhaustive enquiries but found no real clues to the killers identity. This led to the Home Secretary authorising a reward of £100 on 17th July to anyone who could provide information leading to a conviction. Such was the lack of information that he also granted Her Majesty's Pardon to any accomplice who would give evidence against the killer. Despite this, nobody came forward and the killing of Edward Howell remains unsolved. 

Killed By A Bale of Cotton

When a man died after being hit by a bale of cotton that was thrown down the stairs, two men were charged with manslaughter.

At 8am on 26th December 1861 William Gordon, a fifty year old letter carrier for the General Post Office, was delivering mail to the offices of Joynson & Maitland in Druid's Court, Dale Street. 

As he was climbing some stairs to the first floor he struck by a bale of cotton and knocked backwards. This bale was being taken to a waiting cart by two employees of cotton merchant Pierre Mussabini who occupied the top floor of the building. 

Gordon was taken by cab to the Royal Infirmary where he made a statement to police, saying that he had seen bales of cotton thrown about before and that nobody was in charge of it on this occasion. The two employees, Archibald Cunningham and Dennis Mulheren, were then questioned. They both claimed that Mulheren had been in front of the bale and slipped, causing it to topple over and crush Gordon.

At 10am the following day Gordon passed away at his home in Guilford Street, off Everton Road. A surgeon put his death down to fracture of the spine at the neck caused by external violence.  He was buried two days later at St James Cemetery, with about one hundred post office employees attending his funeral. 

At the inquest before the Coroner Mr P F Curry on 30th December, a verdict of manslaughter by gross negligence was returned, leading to Cunningham and Mulheren being committed for trial. Gordon had worked as a letter carrier for the Dale Street district for 28 years and all bars and hotels in the street agreed to take donations that could be passed to his widow.

On 26th March 1862 Cunningham and Mulheren, described as 'respectable looking' in Liverpool Mercury, appeared at the Spring Assizes. Their defence was that they were bringing the bale of cotton down the stairs in the usual manner and on slipping, Mulheren had jumped out of the way not knowing Gordon was about to go onto the stairs. This was accepted by the jury and both were found not guilty and discharged from the dock. 

Teenage Girl Accidentally Shot By Brother

There was a tragedy in 1888 when a fifteen year old girl was accidentally shot dead by her brother, who did not realise the gun was loaded. 

On the afternoon of Sunday 11th November that year at 62 Chatham Street, Catherine Lang asked her widowed mother Elizabeth for a book called Good Thoughts By Great Minds. She was told to go upstairs and see her brother Hugh as he had it. A few moments later Elizabeth heard the sound of a gunshot and on going to a bedroom to investigate, was pushed out the way by Hugh who was in a distressed state. 

Catherine was lying on the bed with a wound to the head, while a revolver was on the floor. A doctor was called but life was pronounced extinct and he stated that death had been instant. Hugh, who was a junior clerk and in a state of total shock, accompanied his grandfather John Dickson to the detective office. 

Hugh made a statement which read "My sister wanted a book which was in the room where my cousin sleeps. I went to get the book, she followed me. I was on my knees getting the book when I saw her sitting on the bed. I saw the revolver which I had in the box and pointed it at her in a playful manner. She said 'Oh, I am not frightened of it.' I must have pressed the trigger too tightly and it went off. I did not know it was loaded, although I must have loaded it myself. The revolver was my fathers."

John Lang, a commercial traveller, had died eleven years previously and detectives established that it had belonged to him. Hugh was detained at the detective office pending an inquest, which was arranged for two days later before Clarke Aspinall at the Coroner's Court. 

Hugh's mother Elizabeth explained that she was aware Hugh had a revolver belonging to his late father, but was unaware there were also cartridges. His uncle and cousin both said they had heard the shots and at first thought it was a firework. Hugh gave evidence himself, saying that he had two pistols and a revolver belonging to his late father, but he hadn't remembered which of them was loaded.

Mr Aspinall told the jury it was one of the most painful cases he had ever dealt with and it was for them to decide if the firing was accidental or not. They returned a verdict of accidental death, with a comment that firearms should not be allowed to come into the control of youths. The Coroner told Hugh that he was free to go and that it was clear he and his sister were greatly attached and he had been greatly affected by the incident.