21 replies to this topic

[SKYMAN]

For a town of its size ST HELENS has had its share of murders,
and not all accounted for,
before my time there was that police officer,was his name EARP,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[tessmop]

Hi Skyman,during the second world war a scottish soldier who was on leave murdered a local girl in Coopers st.He was hanged for it.

[HORT]

From memory, this case was a murder in Rutland Street not Cooper Street. The lady was Gladys Appleton who lived in Bishop Road.

[tessmop]

Thanks for that Hort,it's one of my late Mums storys,now I know who it was.

[Kneeshin]

SKYMAN, on 21 December 2011 - 08:38 PM, said:

For a town of its size ST HELENS has had its share of murders,
and not all accounted for,
before my time there was that police officer,was his name EARP,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

THe police officer was Adams and he was shoot in Boundary rd nearer to the baths He was taken to the Nags Head and then taken to the hospilal on a hand cart he survived the shooting They never caught Earp who's nic name was Wyatt I think it was in 1911?

[kizzy]

Have a book to hand which records this tale. It was 1905 and the incident made the national newspapers. David Earp was a well-known local poacher who was seen by the local beat bobby PC Adams brandishing a gun on a corner in Boundary Rd. near to the Nags Head pub. During a chase Adams was shot and carried into the pub by a couple of locals. Earp made off along Knowsley Road and hid near Eccleston Police station where he shot another policeman, Constable Howells of the Lancashire force. Earp used a knife on Howells who was badly injured before making his getaway. Earps address was given as 44 Silkstone St. though he disappeared that night and was never caught. If anyone's interested the books titled 'The Way We Were' by Frank Sheen. My copy is from the local library.

[Handsome Johnny]

there have been quite a few in rainhill...........and only 1 was attributed to a patient from the asylum.

Edited by Handsome Johnny, 30 December 2011 - 01:49 PM.

[kizzy]

PS. Edit to my last post ^ A gun was used on Adams but not Constable Howells, he was attacked with a knife.

[Phyll]

One of my ancestors, James Clitheroe was charged with Murder and was Hanged in 1864.

16/04/1864 James Clitheroe
THE EXECUTION OF JAMES CLITHEROE

Of St. Helen's, for the Murder of Mary Woods, this day. James Clitheroe, the culprit in this remarkable case, suffered death on Saturday, in front of the Kirkdale gaol, near Liverpool, though efforts had been made to secure a reprieve. The circumstances in connexion are of a somewhat peculiar description. Clitheroe was a married man with a family, but his affections appear to have been divided between his wife and Mary "Woods, a poor paralytic woman, who earned a living by keeping a school and selling small beer. The prisoner was in the habit of sharing the murdered woman's bed, and as his neighbours knew of this he was twitted by them, in the intense- ly acrimonious manner peculiar to vulgar and uneducated people, as to " the poor cripple Mary "Woods " being enciente by him. This seems to have annoyed Clitheroe very much, and his mortification and chagrin ecting upon a morbid temperament prompted him to murder. On the night of the 28th of December last he visited Mary "Woods' house, and went to bed with her as was his wont, but early next morning he cut her throat and his own too, though the wound was only fatal in the case of the woman. Later in the morning the school children were unable to gain admission to the house as usual, and, as no one answered the door after repeated knocks, an entrance was effected at the rear of the premises, and an investigation took place. In an up- stairs room the police found Marj' "Woods and the prisoner in bed together — the woman quite dead, and with her throat cut, and the man in an exhausted condition, with his throat cut also. The blood upon the woman's throat was dry, and she had evidently been dead for several hours ; whereas the blood upon Clitheroe was fresh, and his wound must have been recently inflicted, because the blood was flowin" freely from the arteries of the neck when the police first entered. The prisoner, when asked what he had been doing, stated that he and Mary "Woods had agreed to cut their throats, saying, " We made it up to cut our throats, She told me that the razor was in the drawer, under the looking-glass. I fetched the razor, got into bed, and first cut my own throat." The prisoner never deviated from this account of the trans- action, either before or after the trial, but it must have been untrue in point of fact, because the strong and irresistible probability is, that the woman's throat was cut at five o'clock in the morning, and that she was dead several hours before the prisoner made the attempt upon his own life. "When the prisoner was on his trial, Mr Justice Willes directed the jury that if the prisoner counselled, assisted, or directed the woman to destroy herself, he was guilty of murder.

THE EXECUTION. The culprit, who was pinioned by Calcraft in the usual way, struggled hard. To the last he persisted in the story of suicide. The crowd was not so great as had been expected. After hanging the usual time, the body was cut down, and the crowd soon after dispersed.

Edited by Phyll, 31 December 2011 - 06:40 AM.

[tessmop]

What a story Phyll,what conclusion did you arrive at after reading it?

[Phyll]

Hi Tess, Well when I first found out about this, I thought, how come no one told me about this.
I guess it was a skeleton hidden deep in the cupboard.
I also thought, how sad that a love affair should end this way and how awful it must have been
for his Family who were left behind. A terrible tragic story.

[Nanny Ogg]

Wow, Phyll, that's quite something, and like so many things, no way to ever know the truth about it. "Justice" was a lot more harsh in those days. I'm not sure I'm happy with the pendulum swing the other way which we have nowadays, but at least you can't be hung for either a sheep OR a lamb. At least, not if you can avoid the shepherd catching you first.

[HORT]

The murder of Gladys Appleton. mentioned earlier took place in the grounds of the Elms in Cowley Hill Lane.
From Walton prison Records

John Gorden Davidson 12th July 44

Davidson 19, hung for strangling Gladys May Appleton 27, on the grounds of The Elms, Cowley Hill Lane,St Helens, 19th March, 1944


I presume the Elms is the old Maternity Hospital mentioned in another topic.

[tessmop]

Good find that Hort,you're right the Elms was the old maternity hospital,I wonder if she was a nurse working there,my late Mums story was that she was on her way home from work.

[jeb]

the ELMES is mid way between RUTLAND ST and WINDLE ST it was not a nursing home but something thing to do with the war effort.the girl in question I beleive was on her way home from some where near the NAGGS HEAD, SHE WAS FOUND ON THE FRONT LAWN. I lived near by and avoided passing that way for along while