Foul Deeds in Kensington and Chelsea

by John J Eddleston

  Margaret and James White had a second married daughter, Fanny Spinks, who lived with her husband and her nine-year-old son, Thomas James Spinks. Later that same day, at some time between 2.00pm and 2.30pm, Thomas Spinks called at his grandparent’s house to give Margaret some money from his mother.

  When Thomas arrived, he found his grandfather asleep on his bed and his grandmother sitting on a chair in the front room. After handing over the money, Thomas went out to play in the street but very soon afterwards, James White called him in and asked him to make some tea. As Thomas did as his grandfather had asked, James turned to Margaret and asked her for some bread. She replied that there was none in the house and, because he had done little work, there was no money to buy any. James immediately seized hold of his wife and threw her off the chair and onto the floor where she hit her head against a table. Little Thomas, fearful of what he had seen, ran to Johannah Healy’s house, at number 1A.

  Thomas didn’t really have to tell Mrs Healey what was going on as she could plainly hear the argument from next door. She told Thomas to run off and find a constable and in a few minutes, the boy found Constable William Swinden, who was on duty in Fulham Road. The officer went back to Eden Place and warned James White not to disturb the peace any further. At the time, Margaret White was still lying on the floor and the constable believed that she might well be drunk. He chose not to interfere further and did not make any examination of Margaret, to see if she was injured in any way. Soon after this, Thomas Spinks left Eden Place to return home.

  At 3.15pm, there was another visitor to the Whites’ home at Eden Place. Rebecca Robson lived at 66 Sidney Street and she had left some boots with James, to be mended. When she arrived, Rebecca saw that Margaret White was still lying on the floor, close to the table but now, she was quite naked, apart from a thin black boddice. James was lying on his bed and Rebecca heard him mutter something like, ‘I suppose there will be no more work done today.’ He then shouted out for his wife to get up and, when she did not move, he jumped from the bed, picked up a poker from the fireplace and made to strike his wife with it.

  It was at that point that Rebecca Robson knocked loudly on the open door to attract James’s attention. He turned and saw his visitor for the first time, and asked her to come in. This, however, did nothing to dissuade James from his intended course of action for, even as he spoke, he landed a tremendous blow on Margaret, with the poker.

  Rebecca cried, ‘Oh, have mercy and don’t hit the poor creature with the poker.’ James replied, ‘I don’t care if I kill her.’ Rebecca turned and said that she was going to find a policeman. She then left and returned home. Rather surprisingly, in view of what she had witnessed, since Rebecca did not see a policeman on her way, she did not bother to report the matter at all.

  At 4.30pm, James White was knocking on the front door of another neighbour, Louisa Mayhew, who lived at 4 Eden Place. James explained that he wanted her help to get his wife onto the bed. Louisa went to James’s house and found Margaret still lying on the floor, her clothing having seemingly been torn from her. She helped James to put his wife on the bed and he then left the house to get himself some more beer. Louisa then went to her own house to tell her husband, Walter, what she had seen.

  By this time, Thomas Spinks had arrived home and told his mother that his grandfather had hit his grandmother. Fanny Spinks then went to Eden Place herself, taking Thomas with her. They arrived at about 6.00pm and, after seeing Margaret lying on the bed, went to fetch the doctor.

  Doctor Daniel Lehaine arrived at Eden Place within the hour, but by then, Margaret White was dead. James was back in his house now and, once the doctor had made his examination, asked if his wife were dead. Told that she was, James replied, ‘A bloody good job too. Fetch me my coat and I will go to the police station.’

  In fact, James did not leave the house as he had said. It was Dr Lehaine who called at the police station to report what he had seen and some time afterwards, Constable William Davey arrived to take James into custody. He readily admitted that he had struck his wife three times with the poker and, on the way to the station stated, ‘We have lived happily together for forty-one years, but if she had done as I told her, I should not have killed her.’

  James was charged with murder by Inspector Charles Ross at the King’s Road police station and, when asked if he had anything he wished to say, replied, ‘She came home drunk, and laid down on the floor. I tried all I could to persuade her to lay down on the bed, and I pulled all the clothes off her, and beat her with the poker. That is how she got killed. When she would not get up, I beat her on the head and body with the poker. I am sorry for it now, but it was done in the heat of passion.’

  James White’s trial took place on 23 April. In addition to the evidence already detailed, Dr Lehaine, who had performed the post-mortem, was able to report that Margaret’s skull was badly fractured and the wounds would have required at least two heavy blows with the knob end of the poker found at the scene. He was also able to tell the court that when he first arrived at Eden Place, James had threatened him and said he would attack him with the same poker.

  The guilty verdict was little more than a formality, though the jury did add a strong recommendation to mercy on account of James’s age and the fact that the crime did not appear to be premeditated. Despite that, the statutory death sentence was intoned but, eventually, the recommendation was taken into account and James’s sentence was commuted to one of imprisonment.

  Chapter 19

  John Thomas Lawrence

  1890

  Mary Ann Morgan lived in a room on the top floor of 59 Lower North Street, Chelsea. There were other lodgers in the house and, on the ground floor, lived John Thomas Lawrence and his wife Sophia, who ran a shop, which sold meat for cats.

  On Thursday, 20 February 1890, Mary Ann returned home from her work at around noon and, as she walked up the stairs, she passed the rooms of the Lawrences. As she did so, Mary Ann heard Sophia say, ‘You had better kill me at once you brute.’ This was followed by the sounds of scuffling, and a thud.

  At approximately 12.20pm, John Lawrence shouted for Mary Ann Morgan to come down, saying that he wanted her help. Mary Ann duly descended the stairs but, when she reached the ground floor, she found Lawrence, who was extremely drunk, supporting himself on the banisters. As for Sophia, she lay on her back at the foot of the staircase.

  Mary Ann demanded to know what Lawrence had done, but he simply told her that it was none of her business. He then demanded that Mary Ann help him get his wife to bed. Fearful, perhaps, that she might be the next target of his temper, Mary Ann helped Lawrence to get his wife to their bedroom, but before they could put the injured woman onto her bed, Lawrence left the room, leaving Mary Ann to manage things herself.

  There was no way that Mary Ann Morgan could get Sophia to bed without further assistance, so she called for help and Mrs Hilsden, another lodger, came to her aid. Together the two women managed to manoeuvre Sophia to bed, where they undressed her. To their horror they discovered that Sophia, who was very pregnant at the time, was bleeding badly from her lower parts. Mary Ann wasted no time in calling out the doctor.

  Dr William John Frankish arrived at the house at around 2.30pm. He treated Sophia for what might be premature labour and then left, believing that he had done all he could to help.

  At some time between 4.00pm and 4.30pm, Alfred William Odell, who was Sophia’s brother, called to visit her. He heard the story of the argument between Lawrence and Sophia, saw that her condition had not improved and went back to Dr Frankish’s surgery at 102 Sloane Street. Dr Frankish was not there, so Odell left a message asking him to call at Lower North Street, as soon as he returned.

  Dr Frankish returned to Lower North Street at around 6.15pm. Now, for the first time, he made a thorough examination of his patient and found a wound on her left side, midway between her navel and the edge of her ribs. He treated this wound and left the house again, saying that he would retur
n in a few hours, to check on Sophia’s progress.

  At 9.30pm, the doctor did return and found that Sophia had, if anything, grown even weaker. Dr Frankish then changed the dressing on Sophia’s wound but it was to no avail. At 11.30pm that same night, Sophia Lawrence died in her bed. As for John Thomas Lawrence, who had already been taken into custody, he was now charged with the murder of his wife.

  The inquest on the dead woman took place at the Prince of Wales Tavern in Exeter Street, Chelsea, on Saturday, 22 February. Here, the jury returned a verdict of manslaughter against Lawrence. However, a later appearance at the Westminster police court, ruled that Lawrence should be charged with murder.

  Lawrence’s trial for murder took place on 3 March 1890, before the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Coleridge. The case for the Crown was led by Mr Charles Mathews, who was assisted by Mr Horace Avory. Lawrence’s defence rested in the hands of Mr Warburton.

  John Alfred George Lawrence was the son of the prisoner and he testified that he had been at home on the morning of 20 February and had heard his parents arguing. Even before John left home, at 3.45am, his father was already very drunk. John returned home at 4.00pm to find his mother lying in bed and his father sitting on a chair in the room. He asked his mother what the problem was, but she did not answer him. That evening, at around 8.00pm, John was in the kitchen with his father who suddenly said, quite calmly, ‘I threw the knife at mother.’

  Alfred Odell told the court that it had been his intention to visit his sister Sophia on 20 February, but his visit was brought forward when he received a message from Mary Ann Morgan, saying that his sister was very ill. Later, at around 5.30pm, Alfred was in the kitchen when Lawrence came in and said, ‘Alf, I have done it. I suppose I shall be bloody well hanged for it.’

  Detective Samuel Cluny was called to the house at 7.15pm. Having spoken to Dr Frankish, Cluny went to speak to Lawrence who was asleep in an armchair at the time. Cluny woke Lawrence and told him that he would be taken to the police station and charged with stabbing his wife. Lawrence offered no resistance and, when charged at the station, burst into tears. He did the same later that same night, when the charge was changed to one of murder.

  In addition to telling of his visits to the house in Lower North Street, and his treatment of Sophia Lawrence, Dr Frankish was able to tell of his findings at the subsequent post-mortem.

  Sophia had suffered a single stab wound and the knife had severed a large vein over her intestines and had also wounded the left lobe of her liver. In order to inflict such a wound, a knife would have had to have been thrown with considerable force.

  With his own confession to his son and his brother-in-law, there could be no doubt that Lawrence was directly responsible for his wife’s death, but the jury accepted that he had not intended to kill her and duly returned a verdict that he was only guilty of manslaughter. Forty-five-year-old Lawrence was then sentenced to ten years in prison.

  How the Illustrated Police News showed the finding of one of the victims of Walter Miller. Author’s Collection

  The finding of the body of Augusta Dawes in Holland Park Terrace. A sketch from the Illustrated Police News. Author’s Collection

  The Imperial Institute where Madan Lal Dhingra shot two men dead. Author’s Collection

  A plan of the room where Alice Jane Money claimed the life of her child, Norah. The National Archives

  Madan Lal Dhingra. Author’s Collection

  The location of the Cross Keys public house where Frances Buxton was murdered. Alan Godfrey Maps

  The document detailing the commuting of the death sentence on Ronald True. The National Archives

  It was on these steps that O’Sullivan and Dunne shot dead their victim, Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson. Author’s Collection

  Sir Henry Wilson, the murdered man. Author’s Collection

  The storeroom where George Frank Harvey killed George Hamblin. The National Archives

  The key to the storeroom. It was used as an exhibit at Harvey’s trial. The National Archives

  The body of George Hamblin, in situ. The National Archives

  One of the many letters Harold Dorian Trevor wrote to the authorities whilst he was in custody. The National Archives

  Number 17 Finborough Road, where George Epton killed Winifred Mulholland. He lived in the flat with the balcony. The National Archives

  A close up of the facial injuries Winifred suffered. The round-shaped wound was inflicted by a hammer. There was an identical mark on her other cheek. The National Archives

  The body of Winifred Mulholland. The National Archives

  Winifred Mulholland in life. The National Archives

  The killer, George Cyril Epton. The National Archives

  Thomas John Ley. Author’s Collection

  John George Haigh. Author’s Collection

  Haigh’s final victim, Mrs Olive Durand-Deacon. Author’s Collection

  The police search of the yard at Crawley. Author’s Collection

  The public queuing outside Lewes courthouse for the trial of John George Haigh. Author’s Collection

  Christine Granville. Author’s Collection

  The killer, Dennis George Muldowney. Author’s Collection

  Part of the report on Muldowney’s execution. The National Archives

  Christine Granville’s body in the foyer of the Shelborne Hotel. The National Archives

  A police picture of Christine’s body. Note the murder weapon lying off to the left. The National Archives

  The reception area of the Aban Court Hotel. The National Archives

  The body of George Smart, as it was discovered. The National Archives

  A close-up of George Smart’s body, once it had been turned over by the doctor, for examination. The National Archives

  The flat at 17 Walpole Street where Robert Lipman killed Claudie Delbarre. Her rooms were on the top floor. The National Archives

  The body of Claudie Delbarre, in her bed. The National Archives

  Robert Lipman, the killer from New York. The National Archives

  Chapter 20

  Owen Leonard

  1891

  Robert Mumford had lodged at 22 Swinbrook Road, West Kensington, for some years and knew all the other people who had rooms in the same building. He was used to their comings and goings and also knew that sometimes they argued.

  On 30 September 1891, Mumford had retired for the night at 10.00pm and was soon in a deep sleep. However, just over an hour later, at some time after 11.00pm, Mumford was woken from his slumbers, by the noise of quarrelling and scuffling coming from the rooms upstairs.

  Mumford knew that those rooms were occupied by Owen Leonard and his partner, Mary Jane Byrne. Even as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, Mumford heard Mary’s voice shouting, ‘Don’t kill me’, followed by the noise of someone running out on to the landing. Still, it was nothing to do with him and Mumford decided that it would be better not to interfere.

  Ten minutes after this, Mumford heard screaming coming from the street outside. There was obviously no way he was going to get back to sleep until, at the very least, he went downstairs and told the argumentative couple to keep quiet. However, when he went down into the street he found Mary Byrne lying on the ground outside the house, writhing in pain and moaning. This was obviously a most serious assault, so Mumford went off to find a policeman.

  In fact, Robert Mumford found two constables and, returning to Swinbrook Road, one of the officers attended to the injured woman whilst the other went upstairs to arrest Owen Leonard on a charge of assault. As the prisoner was escorted past the scene he was heard to shout to Mary, ‘Ain’t you dead yet?’

  Mary Byrne was taken to St Mary’s Hospital where, despite medical treatment, her condition grew steadily worse. On 6 October, her condition was so bad that Leonard was escorted to the hospital, from prison, so that he could be present when Mary’s dying deposition was taken. Mary died that same night and the following morning, 7 October, Owen Leonard was
charged with manslaughter.

  Leonard’s trial took place on 16 November, before Mr Justice Hawkins. The first witness was Kate Byrne, the daughter of the dead woman. She confirmed that although they were not married, Owen and Mary had been living together for some twenty-one years. Kate had last seen her mother alive, at St Mary’s Hospital, just before she passed away.

  After Robert Mumford had given his evidence, Henry Houghton, another lodger at 22 Swinbrook Road, took the stand. He said he had first heard a disturbance at around 11.30pm on 30 September. At one stage he heard Leonard shout, ‘Out of the window you go.’ This was followed by the sound of a sash-window being opened, and then immediately by a scream. There was then a sickening thud as Mary hit the ground. Henry was unable to say if Leonard had thrown Mary out of the window or if she had jumped in order to escape him.