Derbyshire Murders

by Martin Baggoley

  Sir,

  Mary Wright is condemned to be executed for the murder of her illegitimate child at Bonsall. The story of Mary’s life is one of sad interest just now, and is fraught with many a warning for young men and for young women alike. There are cynical men who will say she ought to have known better. No doubt, but those who always do as they know are not inhabitants of a world like this. The anguish through which Mary passed before she could gather courage sufficient to take the idol of her heart – her little child – and place it in a cold pond, and walk into it herself with fond desire to take the dear babe with her into another world, can never by us be known. Far be it from me to justify murder, or law breaking of any kind. I only take up pen to plead for this girl’s life, who cannot plead for herself, to say that she is deserving of mercy. Jesus Christ I think would – ah does – look with pity upon this lone woman in her sad plight. If ever a case fairly on its face bore traces of mental suffering and motherly love it is this one, and it requires no reproving words to bring home its lessons with awful force.

  The law wisely provides that her Majesty may, if she so desire, remit the death punishment in a case like this. I appeal to our sisters, to men who have daughters, to do what they can to create and sustain a public sentiment in favour of a reprieve for this woman. There ought to be petitions, and I am sure they will be largely signed.

  Truly yours,

  W. Wilkinson.

  3, Howard Street, New Normanton

  Several petitions were signed by many thousands of people, and on 5 August 1880 Mary was informed by the governor of Derby Gaol that a reprieve had been granted, and her sentence commuted to one of ten years penal servitude. On her arrival in prison, medical tests confirmed that she had not been pregnant after all.

  Initially she was sent to Millbank Penitentiary for a short time, before being transferred to Woking Female Prison, where she served seven years. She was released into the care of her father on 20 March 1887. One hopes she found some happiness in her life thereafter.

  9

  THE CHAMBER POT KILLING

  Matlock Bridge, 1883

  Twenty-two years after the conviction of George Smith for the callous and premeditated murder of his father, another parricide occurred in the county, but this case was of a wholly different nature.

  George Marchant, a retired coachman, and his wife, Mary Ann rented out rooms to guests in their home, ‘The Cottage’ on Chesterfield Road, Matlock Bridge. On Tuesday, 27 February 1883, the Revd Julius Benn and his son, William Rutherford Benn, booked a suite of two adjoining bedrooms and a sitting room. The Revd Benn told the Marchants that he was hoping for a quiet and peaceful stay, which might be for just a few days or possibly for several weeks. He explained that his son was recovering from an illness and it was their intention to visit the town’s renowned Smedley’s Hydropathic establishment.

  Sixty-year-old Julius Benn was a powerfully built man, measuring 6ft in height. He was a native of Manchester, and in his younger days had been a master at the Congregational Day School in Hyde, Cheshire. He later worked in London, where he remained for a number of years before taking a post in a boys’ Reformatory School at Driffield in Huntingdonshire. He subsequently returned to London where for the previous fifteen years he had been the minister of the Old Gravel Lane Meeting House in Wapping. He was a well-known and highly respected figure in the capital’s East End, where he was known for his efforts to improve the educational opportunities available to the youngsters of the poor in the area.

  His son, twenty-eight-year-old William, was quiet and introspective. He was the third of his parents’ seven children, and had been considering following his father into the ministry. He was intelligent, could speak several languages, and until the end of 1882 he had been employed as a clerk in the City of London. He had been married in December of that year, to Florence Nicholson, but started to suffer from depression very soon afterwards. It had been hoped that taking time off work and resting at home would lead to an improvement in his health. However, his condition deteriorated to the extent that in January he was admitted into the Bethnal House Asylum, in which he remained for six weeks until 20 February. His condition had seemingly improved and he was discharged with a recommendation by asylum staff that he should continue his convalescence, and they suggested that an ideal place to do so would be the Matlocks in Derbyshire.

  The Revd Julius Benn took his son William to Matlock Bridge to improve his health. (Author’s collection)

  The Benns enjoyed several long walks in the delightful Derbyshire countryside, and visited beauty spots including Millers Dale. (Author’s collection)

  The Benns also visited the Heights of Abraham. (Author’s collection)

  To the Marchants, the father and son seemed devoted to each other. Following their arrival they were in each other’s company continuously, and took long walks together. On the Thursday they headed for Buxton and returned by way of Millers Dale, and on Friday they visited Riber Castle and explored the caverns.

  On Saturday morning they walked to the Heights of Abraham and during the afternoon travelled by train to Comerford, from where they walked back through Matlock Bath. They returned to their lodgings in the early evening, and, after tea and having written several letters, the two men set off together for another walk. They returned at 9 p.m., and after William had taken his sleeping draught, as he had done every night since his arrival, the two men went to bed.

  Matlock Bath was visited by father and son. (Author’s collection)

  At seven o’clock on the Sunday morning, the Marchants were woken by a loud banging noise. Initially they thought it was Mrs Marchant’s mother, Mrs Julian, who lived with them. Mrs Marchant went to her mother’s room to make sure she was all right, only to be told that her mother had not been responsible for the noise. Mrs Marchant returned to her room and stayed in bed for another hour, before getting up to prepare breakfast for her guests.

  As the Benns had not come down for breakfast at their usual time of eight thirty, Mrs Marchant took a tray of food to their room. She knocked on their door but there was no reply, and she thought that they must have decided to sleep in until later as they were probably tired after the previous day’s exertions. Furthermore, knowing that William took a nightly sleeping draught, she was reluctant to try and wake him up suddenly as she believed it was dangerous to do so.

  The two men had not risen by midday, so their landlady took two cups of tea to their room, but there was still no reply when she knocked on the door, although she did hear a grunting sound coming from within the room. She waited for her husband to return from church one hour later, and told him of being unable to rouse their guests. He immediately went to the bedroom and after his repeated knocking on the door, opened it very slowly.

  Standing in the doorway was William, who was wearing a nightshirt soaked in blood, and Mr Marchant also noticed that he had a deep wound to his throat. The young man did not speak but pointed towards the bed, on which his father, who had suffered a terrible head wound, was lying motionless. There was blood on the bed, the floor, all of the walls and the ceiling. A terrified Mr Marchant, fearing for his own life and that of his wife, rushed downstairs, grabbed her and ran out of the house to find help.

  Within minutes, Dr Moxon and Dr Hunter arrived at the house, together with local police officers Sergeant Gee and Constable Smith. On reaching the bedroom, they found that the door had again been locked. However, when they called out to William, he opened it to them. Once inside the room, Dr Moxon said ‘Good morning’ to William, as he pushed him gently down into a chair, before tending to his throat wound, which he stitched and bound. He wrapped him in a blanket and he was then taken into an adjoining room by the police officers.

  Given the extent of the wound to his head, it was obvious to the doctors that Julius was beyond medical help. There were no signs of a struggle, and they concluded that the fierce blows that had caused the damage must have been delivered while the victim was asleep. A s
earch of the room revealed a large earthenware chamber pot under the bed, onto which blood and hairs from the victim were stuck: this was clearly the weapon used in the assault. The search also led to the discovery of a penknife, which had blood on the handle and blade, and which had been used by William to inflict the wounds to his throat in an unsuccessful suicide attempt.

  Superintendent Sharpe travelled from Wirksworth to take charge of the murder investigation. (Author’s collection)

  Later that afternoon, Superintendent Sharpe arrived from Wirksworth to assume responsibility for the investigation. His first act was to charge William with the murder of his father, to which he replied simply, ‘Yes I did it’. Once he had been charged, William was taken to Derby Infirmary to receive treatment for the injuries to his throat.

  The inquest into the victim’s death opened at the Queen’s Head at Matlock Bridge on the day after the discovery of his body. The body was formally identified by the nephew of the deceased, Charles Mycock of Hyde, and the hearing was adjourned until the following day to enable the remainder of the Benn family to travel north from London to be present at the hearing. It resumed as scheduled before Mr A.O. Brookes, Deputy Coroner for the High Peak District. William was not present at the hearing as he was still receiving treatment in the infirmary.

  Following evidence given by the Marchants, the police officers who attended the crime scene, and details of William’s confession to killing his father, Dr Moxon was called to the stand to give the medical evidence. He confirmed that the injuries to Julius were confined to the right side of the head, face and neck, and such was the force that had been used in inflicting the blows, that side of the head was completely shattered, and the right eye had been destroyed. He had found three wounds, the most serious of which had penetrated the skull, and this he believed had been caused by the chamber pot. There were two stab wounds to the upper and lower part of the ear, the lobe of which had been almost severed, and these injuries he determined had been caused by the penknife found at the scene. He concluded that the blow from the chamber pot had caused severe brain damage and had been the cause of death. He estimated that the victim had been dead for between five and six hours before his body had been discovered.

  Following his arrest, William Benn was taken to Derby Infirmary for treatment to his self-inflicted wounds. (Author’s collection)

  In answer to a question from a member of the jury, the deputy coroner confirmed that the inquest was not the appropriate tribunal at which to decide upon the state of mind of the accused man at the time his father had been killed. However, he assured the jury that it would be an important factor at his trial. It took the jury no time whatsoever to commit the accused to the next assizes, charged with wilful murder.

  However, there would be no trial. William recovered from his physical injuries, but he was declared insane and was detained in an asylum under mental health legislation. Nevertheless, his family, including his wife Florence, remained supportive. In 1891, William’s brother John, by then a leading politician, was advised by William’s doctors that he had made a full recovery. John therefore approached the Home Secretary and gave his assurance that if William was released he would assume full personal responsibility for his brother’s future behaviour.

  The Home Secretary agreed to release him, and after being detained for eight years, William was released and returned to live with Florence in Balham, London. Twelve months later their daughter Margaret was born, but tragically there was to be no happy ending. Three years later Florence died and William’s mental health again deteriorated badly. He was once again declared insane and was sent to Broadmoor, the asylum for the criminally insane, where he would spend the remainder of his life.

  His daughter, Margaret, was raised by relatives and adopted the family name of Rutherford. At school she became interested in the theatre and decided upon an acting career. Margaret Rutherford made her West End debut in 1933 and became one of the country’s leading and best-loved actresses. She appeared in many films and portrayed Agatha Christie’s famous amateur detective, Miss Marple, in several, in which she solved a number of murders. She won an Oscar in 1963 and died in 1972.

  10

  MURDERED FOR THE INSURANCE MONEY

  Swanwick, 1889

  It was the afternoon of Tuesday, 28 May 1889, and miner George Horton was walking home, having finished his shift at the Alfreton Colliery a few minutes earlier. He was approached by PC Samuel James, who wasted no time in advising him that he was being arrested for the murder of Kate, his eight-year-old daughter, eight days earlier. The police had suspected Horton almost from the moment the girl’s body had been discovered, but they had been waiting for the results of an analysis of her stomach contents before arresting him. These had now been received, and the police were certain they provided enough evidence to demonstrate that Kate had been deliberately poisoned by her father. He made no reply to the constable before being taken to Alfreton police station.

  The alleged crime had taken place at the family home on Swanwick Lane, where Horton, whose wife had died nine months earlier, lived with five of his seven children. The two eldest girls were living away from home; Annie Elizabeth was in domestic service, and Rose Rachel was living with relatives in Lincolnshire, a decision which at the time Horton said had been made to ease the financial burden on the family following his wife’s death. The Hortons lived in a relatively large house, which comprised two dwellings that had been knocked into one, and he had taken in lodgers to supplement his income. These were Mr and Mrs Browskill and their five children.

  Downstairs, the scullery and living area were shared by both families, but upstairs, where each family had two bedrooms, there was a wall between them, which prevented any direct communication. On the Horton side of the wall, the father shared a bedroom with Kate and Joseph, and the other was shared by George, Charlotte and Sarah Jane.

  Swanwick, where George Horton lived with his family. (Author’s collection)

  Kate had always been a healthy and lively little girl, until the evening of Sunday, 19 May, when she returned from chapel with her family, and began to complain of stomach pains. She went to bed at seven o’clock and managed to sleep reasonably well. The following morning, at 5.30 a.m., Henry Browskill knocked on the adjoining bedroom wall as he usually did, to wake George Horton up in time for him to go to work. Sarah Jane, who was in the bedroom next to that of her father’s, heard Kate ask him for a glass of water. She heard her father reply, ‘I don’t have enough time. If you want some water you will have to go downstairs and get it yourself.’ This reply surprised Sarah Jane as Kate seemed to have been in a great deal of distress. A few minutes later she heard her father close the front door behind him as he left for the pit.

  Sarah Jane and George were still in bed when a few minutes later Kate came into their bedroom. She was clearly in great pain and told her brother and sister that ‘Daddy gave me something blue out of a bottle in a cup’. Sarah Jane carried Kate downstairs, and laid her down on the sofa, while George went to fetch Mrs Browskill and another neighbour, Mrs Evans. By the time the two women arrived, Kate was barely conscious, but she did manage to tell the two women about the blue liquid she had been given by her father.

  The road leading from Swanwick to Alfreton, along which George Horton walked to work. (Author’s collection)

  The youngster was suffering from acute stomach pains, her hands were tightly clenched, her legs were stiff, and her eyes and mouth twitched rapidly. Mrs Evans gave her a glass of water and sent for a doctor. However, Kate died twenty minutes later, before medical assistance arrived.

  Henry Browskill rushed to Alfreton Colliery to inform Kate’s father of the tragic news. However, when he arrived he was told that Horton had not turned up for work that morning. Henry waited for an hour at the pit gates, but as his neighbour did not arrive, he returned home to find that Horton was already there. He had come home unexpectedly at half-past eight to be told Kate had died. To those present at the sce
ne he appeared to be genuinely distraught, and cried uncontrollably as he kissed the little girl’s cheeks repeatedly. Sarah Jane mentioned that Kate had told them he had given her a blue liquid earlier that morning but he denied this most vehemently.

  The morning his daughter died, her father walked into these fields rather than going to work. (Author’s collection)

  He insisted that he would not have gone to work if he had suspected Kate had been unwell, but when the police later learnt that he had not gone to the colliery that morning, it would fuel their suspicions of his responsibility for the little girl’s death, as it suggested some foreknowledge on his part of what was about to occur. Frank Hall, one of Horton’s workmates, told the police that he was walking towards the pit that morning, about 100 yards behind Horton, who, as he neared the gates to the colliery, unexpectedly left the main road and walked away from the pit and into a nearby field.

  Horton was later seen in the fields by farmhand William Chapman who knew him well, and who recalled asking if he wanted to buy some food at the farm. Horton replied that he had simply decided to take a walk, adding, ‘I may not see you for three or four days’.

  Later that afternoon, young George returned home from school and was slapped across the face by his father, who had been told that his son had mentioned Kate’s death to his school friends, and told them that his father had given her a mysterious blue drink shortly before she died.

  The local coroner, Mr C.G. Busby opened the inquest the day following Kate’s death, at the Boot and Slipper Inn, Swanwick, but immediately adjourned the hearing to allow a post-mortem to be performed by Dr John Bingham of Alfreton. He also ordered that the dead girl’s stomach contents should be sent to the district’s analyst Mr A.H. Allen in Sheffield, to test for possible traces of poison.