Murder - Crimes - History - Bootle and North Liverpool

Your place to talk about your Bootle memories
Post Reply
User avatar
filsgreen
Posts: 3392
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 8:28 am

You dig up done great murder stories, Joe. Sad for the victims though, thanks.
User avatar
fatboyjoe90
Posts: 5648
Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:29 pm
Location: merseyside

Thanks Phil. :wink:
Cheers Joe.
everliver
Posts: 619
Joined: Sun Jul 30, 2017 11:20 am

Joe thank you great murder stories again so sad for the victims of the crimes.

Keep them coming, Joe

Regards Bob
smoked out
Posts: 1009
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 12:38 am

I once caught a bit of a murder story with a local connection of sorts and could not it later for the rest of it , a woman murdered in freshfield on a farm owned by the marsh family , peter marsh connection being the baggy in canal street bootle , any knowledge about that one.
Here for entertainment
Shelagh
Posts: 1873
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2015 4:40 pm

Interesting case Joe, and all so close to home..
Mary's house, Gordon Avenue, just over the road from me.
Plots where Mary's body found, later to become tennis courts, these where behind houses on Brooke rd. almost opposite Brooke Hotel!
Would have been very dark and desolate in February 1920, (bad enough now) Mary would have had to walk alongside dimly lit railway path to reach friends house in Park View, either that, or across railway on Brooke rd. no modern houses built in area at that time, so very dark and isolated!
For whatever reason, secret liaisons got out of hand, resulting in a murder and a suicide..so tragic for all concerned!!

Thanks for the story, Joe!
User avatar
fatboyjoe90
Posts: 5648
Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:29 pm
Location: merseyside

Thanks for your comments Bob and Shelagh. :wink: :)
Smoked sorry I couldn’t find anything out in that case. :(
Cheers Joe.
User avatar
fatboyjoe90
Posts: 5648
Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:29 pm
Location: merseyside

The Flat Iron Murder not posted.
When a man battered the caretaker of a block of flats to death with an iron he continued to sleep next to her body every day for eighteen days.

On 18th March 1950 police officers forced their way into a locked basement flat at 6 Victoria Road in Waterloo due to the caretaker, Catherine Cassidy, not having been seen for a few weeks. They found the decomposing body of Miss Cassidy slumped in a chair and a copy of the Liverpool Echo newspaper, dated 28th February of that year.

The next day officers detained a 68 year old man named Charles Kimmance at Alexandra Dock. As he was approached he said 'I know what its for, its for Miss Cassidy, I can stop worrying now'. At the station Kimmance, who had been lodging with Cassidy for about two years, made a full confession to killing her with a flat iron and admitted having slept there every night for a fortnight afterwards knowing she was dead.
Image
Alexandra Dock image by Sue Adair.

When Kimmance appeared at a committal hearing on 13th April he saluted the examining magistrate. A pathologist confirmed that the injuries were consistent with being hit with an iron and that the blows had been very severe. A detective said that Kimmance hardly stopped talking as he was being taken to the police station after his arrest.

On 14th June Kimmance appeared at St George's Hall where Dr Francis Brisby from Walton Gaol that he was prone to impaired mental capacity due to a seizure that was suffered five years earlier. A consultant psychiatrist from Walton Hospital said his brain was capable of violent reactions and at the time of the killing, he would not have known that what he was doing was wrong.

A statement was read out from Kimmance that he had made on his arrest. It said that he had been concerned about Cassidy's drinking and when he tried to seize a ten shilling note from her she hit him with a piece of wood. It went on to say 'The blood went to my head, I got a flat iron and smashed her on the head with it. She said something and I clouted her again. Every night up to two nights ago I went back to her but she was just the same'.

Kimmance was found guilty but insane and ordered to be detained during the King's pleasure.
Cheers Joe.
Shelagh
Posts: 1873
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2015 4:40 pm

Thanks Joe, poor woman, what a death, sounds like the murderer got a fair hearing!
Didn't realise St Georges court was still in use at that time!
So many murders around Liverpool - worse than Midsomer :(
User avatar
filsgreen
Posts: 3392
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 8:28 am

Ta Joe.
User avatar
fatboyjoe90
Posts: 5648
Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:29 pm
Location: merseyside

Thank you for your comments, Phil and Shelagh, they are much appreciated. :wink: :)
Cheers Joe.
User avatar
fatboyjoe90
Posts: 5648
Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:29 pm
Location: merseyside

Baby Buried in Aintree
A servant suspected of suffocating her newborn baby and burying him in the garden was charged with murder, but instead convicted only of concealment of birth.

On the morning of Thursday 7th September 1865 Mary Banks, the 45 year old wife of a farmer in Old Roan Lane (now Aintree Lane), noticed that her servant Eliza Molyneux no longer appeared to be pregnant. When Mrs Banks saw the state of seventeen year old Eliza's room she challenged her but she denied having given birth.

Mrs Banks sent for Dr Irvine to examine Eliza, but she then admitted having given birth to a stillborn male child which was now buried in the garden. The doctor searched the garden and found the body, while a police officer was called to apprehend Eliza.

A postmortem by Dr Irvine established that the baby had been alive when born and death was as a result of suffocation. This was believed to have been caused by a pebble that was found in the throat that could not have got their accidentally. The mouth was closed and the body had been lying face down, two feet underground.

The inquest took place on 9th September at the Blue Anchor Inn and returned a verdict of wilful murder. The coroner, Dr Driffield, then committed Eliza to the assizes for trial.

On 14th December Eliza was indicted only for concealment of birth, the Grand jury having thrown out the bill for murder as they believed the evidence did not conclusively show that Eliza had killed the baby, or that it had ever been alive. After pleading guilty she was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment.

She was lucky to get away with that. :shock:
Cheers Joe.
User avatar
filsgreen
Posts: 3392
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 8:28 am

Thanks for the story, Joe, she was indeed lucky to only get a year in jail.
User avatar
fatboyjoe90
Posts: 5648
Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:29 pm
Location: merseyside

Thanks for that Phil. :wink:
Cheers Joe.
User avatar
fatboyjoe90
Posts: 5648
Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:29 pm
Location: merseyside

Woman Kills Sister in Law in Fight
When a two sisters in law had a fight in Gascoyne Street one died after hitting her head on the pavement, leading to the other being convicted of manslaughter.

Image Bevington Street

Around midnight on Monday 14th August 1865 Jane Goodier returned to her home at Bevington Street, which she shared with her husband who worked as a labourer. When asked how there was a large amount of her hair missing she said that she had been drinking at her brother's home in Gascoyne Street and that his wife, Alice Vallally, had 'licked her.'

Two days later Jane had two fits and was confined to bed. Her condition gradually grew worse and she died on the Saturday. The previous day, police had apprehended Alice and charged her with dangerous assault.

At the inquest, held before Mr P F Curry, evidence was given by Elizabeth Lloyd, Jane's step daughter. She had been to Bevington Street on the evening in question and saw Alice hit Jane with a shovel after Jane had helped herself to some broth. She then described how Alice then jumped on top of Jane and pulled some hair from her head, egged on by her husband, Jane's brother. Elizabeth said she helped Jane get up and they left the property to go home, only to be chased by Alice.

A man named John Mitchell said he had seen Alice attack Jane in the street and helped the victim to Eldon Place. The last of three blows, he said, led to Jane hitting her head on some paving stones and becoming dazed. A neighbour of Alice's named Jane Robertson told the coroner that she had seen the two women fighting in the house, but that Jane had threatened Alice with a knife and thrown a jug at her before leaving, leading to Alice chasing after her.

Dr Samuel, who conducted the postmortem, was of the opinion that Jane had died from head injuries as a result of hitting her head on the paving stone after the fall. This led to the jury returning a verdict of manslaughter and Alice was committed to the assizes on a coroner's warrant.

At the assizes on 14th December Alice was found guilty of manslaughter but recommended to mercy by the jury. The judge, Mr Baron Pigott, told her there had been a great deal of provocation and as she had already served four months on remand, imposed a sentence of just one month in prison.
Cheers Joe.
Shelagh
Posts: 1873
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2015 4:40 pm

How hard it was for people back then, imagine fighting over a bowl of broth, then ending up with a murder :shock:
Desperate times, difficult to deal with!
Thanks for the story, Joe :)
User avatar
fatboyjoe90
Posts: 5648
Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:29 pm
Location: merseyside

Shelagh, you're right it seems so pointless fighting over a bowl of broth, as you say it’s very hard to imagine. :wink:
Cheers Joe.
lynne99
Posts: 1206
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2010 2:55 pm
Location: Rugby

My family lived in Gascoyne street in the 1860s so would have been living there then. It is a very short road, but when you look at how many houses and courts they packed into it, it must have been a very poor area and a bowl of broth might have been all the food they had. :(
everliver
Posts: 619
Joined: Sun Jul 30, 2017 11:20 am

Joe really enjoy this post some of the facts to the murders please please keep them coming.

Regards Bobby
User avatar
fatboyjoe90
Posts: 5648
Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:29 pm
Location: merseyside

Thanks for your comments Lynne and Bob. :wink: :)
Cheers Joe.
User avatar
fatboyjoe90
Posts: 5648
Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:29 pm
Location: merseyside

Boy's Body in Kit Bag

Shortly after the outbreak of World War 2 a seven year old boy was murdered in Liverpool, with the killer putting the body in a kit bag and dumping it under his bed.
Around midday on Saturday 16th September 1939 seven year old John Terence Court went out to play in Everton Road with his younger brother. The pair soon got separated after John was last seen talking to an eighteen year old mess-room steward named Robert Dillon, who was known to them both.
Image.
Everton Road

When John's mother and father were told of this they went to Dillon's home in Godfrey Street (situated where Everton Children's Centre now is) and were told by him that he had brought their son there and sent him away with some cigarette cards. Mr Court then reported John as missing, while Dillon went to the cinema.

At around 9pm that evening Dillon's mother was in his bedroom and noticed a large seaman's kitbag under his bed and asked what was in it. He immediately confessed to his crime, saying 'I'm sorry mum I went mad.' She informed the police and Detective Sergeant Hooley attended, finding several cuts on the neck of John's body. When he asked Dillon why he had done it he replied 'I don't know what made me do it, I lost my temper, I did not mean to do it.'

Dillon was taken into custody and when he appeared at the police court on 2nd October to be committed for trial a statement was read out from him. This stated that Dillon put his hand over John's mouth as he was looking at some cards. When the boy starred to wriggle, he punched him, then stabbed him in the neck and chest. Dillon had then stripped the body and put it in a bag, before washing the knife in the bathroom.

On 1st November Dillon appeared at the assizes, where two doctors gave evidence that appeared to indicate he did not know what he was doing. One described the attack, which resulted in twenty stab wounds, as frenzied and the other said it was during a fit and he was unaware of his actions. However, in summing up Mr Justice Stable said that if Dillon was not in control of his mind at the time, then he should not have been in a position to provide such a detailed statement in relation to the circumstances of the killing. After an hour's deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of guilty.

Dillon, who was described as 'dull and backwards' in syndicated press reports, showed no emotion as he was sentenced to death. However, on 27th November the verdict was quashed at the Court of Criminal Appeal and the verdict substituted with one of 'guilty but insane' leading to Dillon being detained at His Majesty's Pleasure.
Cheers Joe.
everliver
Posts: 619
Joined: Sun Jul 30, 2017 11:20 am

Joe Thanks again interesting stories very hard times in them days.

Bobby
lynne99
Posts: 1206
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2010 2:55 pm
Location: Rugby

Thanks as always Joe. You do a brilliant job finding this info for us to read. It gives a good insight into life in times past.
graham01
Posts: 616
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2009 10:23 pm

:D :D :D graham.
origin waterloo.present and future bootle.
User avatar
filsgreen
Posts: 3392
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 8:28 am

I misread the story, thanks for posting, Joe.
Last edited by filsgreen on Sun Sep 24, 2017 5:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Shelagh
Posts: 1873
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2015 4:40 pm

Very sad story indeed, innocent seven year old, "John Terence Court" probably excited at the thought of gaining a few more cigarette cards!
The family of the victim must have gone through hell at the trial..just can't imagine the anguish and pain..every parent's nightmare!!
Murderer "Robert Dillon" fortunate not to be executed!!

Thanks for another local story, Joe!
nicolas
Posts: 196
Joined: Mon Nov 04, 2013 8:10 am

Well said Shelagh, sad indeed, Thanks again Joe!
User avatar
fatboyjoe90
Posts: 5648
Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:29 pm
Location: merseyside

Thanks for your comments Bob, Lynne, Graham, Phil, Shelagh, and last but not least Nicolas. :wink: :)
Cheers Joe.
User avatar
fatboyjoe90
Posts: 5648
Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:29 pm
Location: merseyside

The Fazakerley Mystery
The shooting dead of a man who was looking for work in Fazakerley in 1892 was never solved after the two boys suspected of the offence couldn't be traced.

On the afternoon of Friday 2nd September that year Emily Mellor was in her home on Strawberry Lane when she saw a man turn the corner from Stopgate Lane and beckon her. Emily and her sister went out to see the man and he told them he had been shot by two boys, who had ran off towards the stiles.

Emily gave the man some water and beer and although in a state of exhaustion he did not appear to be in any great danger. A farmer named Mr Walker, who was working in afield opposite, said he had seen two boys, one aged about fourteen who was wearing a cape and the other younger, running across an orchard. As the man was having a drink of water he told Emily that he had been looking for Harrison's farm as there may be work available, and he had been shot in the back by a boy wearing a cape who was playing with some others.

The man got up and went into a rear yard and was found dead in a closet shortly afterwards. The police were sent for and the the body was removed to the Railway Hotel where it was photographed. There was a bullet hole in the back of the coat and the only personal effects was a small pocket knife. A description was circulated, describing the man as being 30-35 years old, five feet six inches tall, having brown hair an a moustache, and wearing a green coat and brown trousers.

A postmortem was performed by Dr Anderson, who found that the bullet had passed the spine and severed the mesenteric artery before resting in the stomach. There was no way in his opinion that the wound could have been self inflicted. However the police continued to investigate the suicide theory but accepted this couldn't be the case when no gun was found in the vicinity.
Image Samuel Brighouse.
The inquest was opened at the Railway Hotel on the following Monday before the coroner Samuel Brighouse. Evidence was heard from Emily, Dr Anderson and police officers, then the hearing was adjourned for a week to allow further enquiries to be made. That evening a lady named Anna Purchase called into the police office at Dale Street and asked for a description of the man who had been shot in Fazakerley. She was then taken to Fazakerley where she identified the body as that of her James Kellet, who she was co-habiting with in Kempston Street off London Road.

When the inquest resumed a boy named Charles Quillam who lived in Walton said that on they in question he had spoken to two boys by the entrance to Everton Cemetery. He said that one of the boys showed him a revolver and said they had walked one hundred miles as they were looking for a man who had stolen a cloak from their shop. A girl called Elizabeth Kinghorn recalled giving two boys some water in Stopgate Lane and that they then ran away as fast as they could. On the direction of the coroner, the jury returned a verdict of 'fatally shot by two boys unknown' and the mystery was never solved.
Cheers Joe.
User avatar
fatboyjoe90
Posts: 5648
Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:29 pm
Location: merseyside

Execution Ends 'Merry Life'
A teenager who killed two farm workers in an arson attack was hanged in 1882, bringing to an end what he described as a 'short life and a merry one.'

Originally from County Mayo in Ireland, Bernard Mullarkey came to England in 1879 at the age of 16. He had a brief spell in the army with the 95th Regiment of Foot, from which he deserted, before taking a series of labouring jobs and eventually ending up in Maghull where he worked for a farmer named John Sumner.

Mullarkey slept in an outhouse on the farm with three other workers, a father and son both named Thomas Cruise, and a man named Thomas Jordan. There appeared to be no ill feeling between them at first but during the month of September 1882 Mullarkey began to tell the others he would 'swing for them' and set fire to the outhouse. He also made a threat to do so whilst in conversation with a fellow drinker in a local pub.

On the 25th of that month, all four men went to Bradley's provisions shop in the evening and on returning to the farm, Mullarkey told the others he was going to the washhouse and they went to sleep in the loft. Soon afterwards though, one of them men was awoken by screams and saw that the barn was alight. As they desperately tried to put the flames out with sacks, one of them looked out of the window to see Mullarkey standing in a courtyard, having got the horses out of danger. Rather than get a nearby ladder to help, Mullarkey instead went away to find Mr Sumner and by the time he arrived back one of the three men, the elder Thomas Cruise, was dead.

After putting out the flames a police sergeant who arrived on the scene asked Mullarkey what he knew. Giving his name as Charles Rogers, he said that he had fallen asleep drunk in the washhouse and woke to find the building on fire, having no idea how it had started. The policeman was able to establish that the fire had been started from below the loft, indicating that none of the three men in there could have been responsible. Mr Cruise's body was also found to have received a blow to the head before the fire had started.

A Coroner's inquest returned a verdict of wilful murder and Mullarkey was committed for a trial that took place at Liverpool Assizes on 17th November. The evidence against him was largely circumstantial as nobody had seen him start the fire or enter the outhouse. However, in summing up, Justice Day pointed to the threats made a few days before, his odd behaviour at the time of the fire and the fact that those giving evidence as to his conduct had no reason to lie. Damningly, he also said that if Mullarkey set fire to the building knowing somebody was inside then it was murder.

Justice Day.
Image

The jury took just seventeen minutes to return a verdict of guilty.


On being sentenced to death by, Mullarkey replied : 'Well sir, you can only judge a fellow on this earth. You can not judge me in the next, where we shall all be judged. I am as innocent of the crime I am going to swing for as the child who is not born yet.'

Whilst awaiting his fate in Kirkdale gaol Mullarkey was visited by two cousins, but he refused to allow his parents to spend what little money they had on coming to see him. In his final letter to them he wrote that he had been an indifferent son, but his life had been 'a short and merry one.' On 4th December Mullarkey got up at 6am, had a good breakfast and was attended to by Father Bonte. He was hanged by William Marwood, having walked firmly to the scaffold..

William Marwood.
Image
Cheers Joe.
User avatar
filsgreen
Posts: 3392
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 8:28 am

Thanks for the stories Joe, life appeared to be cheap in those days. Alcohol always appears somewhere in these tales.
lynne99
Posts: 1206
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2010 2:55 pm
Location: Rugby

Again as always Thanks Joe. I am so glad we don't hang people these days. It must have been very sad for all concerned and it did not bring the dead back. It also did not seen to put off would be murderers either.
Shelagh
Posts: 1873
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2015 4:40 pm

Another interesting story, Joe,
two boys with revolver, prepared to murder for the theft of a cloak :shock:
Poor victim, nothing found a on him, only a penknife, and he was only out looking for work..
Found dead in a closet (probably a privy) nobody deserves to die in that way!

Second story, the Irishman, Mullarkey, said he would set fire to the barn and kill them..
and true to his word, he did!!

Thanks for the stories, Joe!
User avatar
fatboyjoe90
Posts: 5648
Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:29 pm
Location: merseyside

Thanks for your comments Phil, Lynne and Shelagh glad you all enjoy reading them. :wink: :)
Cheers Joe.
User avatar
fatboyjoe90
Posts: 5648
Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:29 pm
Location: merseyside

Parental Neglect at Woolton
A distressing case in 1895 saw a woman jailed for two months after being prosecuted when her baby daughter died in the workhouse.

On 13th September 1895 Inspector Cole of the National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) attended 25 Rodick Street in Woolton, the home of a middle aged widow named Mary Rawlinson. It was a distressing sight, with Mary sat behind a box in which her six month old daughter was lying. The poor infant was emaciated, wearing wet clothes and covered in vermin. Two other girls, nine year old Mary and seven year old Ann were naked and also had vermin swarming all over them.

Rodick Street.
Image
Inspector Cole pleaded with Mary to take her children into the workhouse in Whiston but she refused, saying she would rather die on the streets than go there. She did however agree to go the following day and baby Alice was immediately taken from her and examined by a doctor. She was found to be almost skin and bone, weighing only seven and a half pounds, as opposed to the expected twelve pounds and four ounces for a baby of her age. Her skin was also covered in bites and sores and she died ten days later.

Dr Hall from the workhouse refused to issue a burial certificate and referred the matter to the coroner. On 30th September an inquest was held at Whiston workhouse and three women all said they had nursed Alice while her mother worked as a laundress in Cressington. They denied neglecting her in any way and felt she was healthy.

The doctor revealed that the postmortem had shown death was as a result of congestion on the brain and asked if this was down to neglect, he replied that it was his suspicion that it was. Mary denied any neglect, saying that she often went hungry herself to ensure her children were fed. She told how she used to receive three shillings a week relief from the guardians but this was withdrawn as Alice was illegitimate.

Image
The Coroner Samuel Brighouse expressed concern at the withdrawal of relief and asked Reverend Sylvester from the guardians to explain this. He insisted that it was only 'outdoor relief' that wasn't paid, and that Mary could be accommodated in the workhouse. Asked why this was, he said that paying money in the community would encourage women to have more illegitimate children. This received a rebuke from Brighouse, saying that the other children shouldn't be made to suffer as a result of this,
The jury returned a verdict of death by natural causes, saying they didn't believe Mary's actions had contributed to the death. However the NSPCC continued with the prosecution. On 4th October at the Woolton Sessions it was heard how Mary's husband had died a few years earlier and although she worked hard, she was also of drunken and dissolute habits. The prosecutor said that they were not seeking a manslaughter conviction, rather one for neglect of all three children, with that being a factor in Alice's death.

Evidence was heard from Dr Hall and a portress as to Alice's condition on being taken to the workhouse. They were of the opinion that she was improperly fed and that the bedding had been greatly neglected. After being found guilty the chair of the bench said it was some of the most harrowing evidence he ever heard. Saying he was sure neglect had accelerated death, he sentenced Mary to two months imprisonment with hard labour.
Cheers Joe.
User avatar
filsgreen
Posts: 3392
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 8:28 am

Victorian Britain, very similar to today. We have the undeserving poor now, just as they did then. Thanks for posting, Joe
Post Reply