The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-08-09 00:00:00

SENTENCED TO DEATH.

At the Leeds Assizes, on Tuesday, before Mr.
Justice Matthew, Joseph Laycock, hawker, was.
charged with the murder of his daughter, Sarah Ann
Laycock, at Sheffield, on the 10th of July. Mr.
Fenwiek and Mr. C. M. Atkinson conducted the.
prosecution; and the prisoner was defended by Mr..
Meysey-Thompson. The prisoner on being brought up,
or trial, seemed to be in a very prostrate condition.
For some time he cried bitterly, and apparently felt.
us position acutely. During the progress of the trial.
ae gradually became calmer, but throughout the
aroceedings he kept his head buried in his hands..
The dutails of the case were of a terrible character..
rho prisoner lived with his wife, Maria Laycock, in
Sheffield. They had four children—Sarah Ann, aged
eight years; Franci George, aged six years; Mary-
Ann, aged four years; and Joseph, aged two years.
At about six o'clock on the above day the,
prisoner saw a police-constable and made some
3omplaint to him about his wife drinking with
mother man. He was perfectly sober at
:hat time. At 10 o'clock the prisoner and his
wife were having some supper together. He asked
her to have some drink, and upon her refusing to take
Any he said, "You might as well have some while you
have the chance; it will be the last time you have the
:glance." They afterwards went home quietly together.
In the middle of the night a scream was heard, and
apon the prisoner's house being entered a horrible
sight presented itself. The body of his wife was found
an the floor in the kitchen. Her throat was cut, and
she was quite dead. The bodies of all the children
were found on the floor in a bed room upstairs. Their
throats had been cut, and they were all dead. The
prisoner was also lying on the floor in the bed
room, and close to his hand there was, a large
table knife covered with blood. His own throat
was also cut. A man named Pearson said to him,
"Good God, what have you done?" He made no
reply, but put his hands to his lips as if in the act of
prayer. Later on he said, "Let me die, let me die.'
The prisoner was at once taken to the hospital. While.
being attended to he said to the surgeon, "Let me
and "Cut my throat deeper." While he was in
the hospital he thought he saw his children on the-
wall, and asked them to go. He was taken into custody
on the 25th of July, and upon being charged with
murdering his wife and four children, he said, " It
was all through drink; it was about midnight when:
I did it." The prisoner was said to have been very
good to and fond of his children, but he had been in
trouble several times for assaults. • The facts were
undisputed, and the only defence set up was that the.
prisoner was not at the time responsible for his acts.
To support this contention several witnesses were•
called on his behalf, and from their evidence it was
shown that for some days previously to the 10th of '
July the prisoner had appeared very strange. Until
lie was seven years old he suffeKed from an affection.
in his head, for which he was attended by a medical
man. His grandfather on his mother's side and his,
father were both found drowned, but in each case an
open verdict was returned, and two brothers of his
mother committed suicide, the one by cutting his
throat and the other by throwing himself before an.
engine. The prisoner was also apparently subject t 0
delusions. The surgeon of the hospital at Sheffield
to which the prisoner was taken, gave evidence tend-
ing to show that he was not responsible for his acts at
the time he committed the crime with which he was
charged. The learned Judge, in summing up the case -
to the jury, said that when he first looked at the de
positions he came to the conclusion that it would not be
right that the case should go to the jury upon the
bare evidence the prosecution proposed to bring for-
ward; lie had, therefore, asked learned counsel to
undertake the defence and to obtain the services of
some professional gentleman who would be able to
make inquiries as to the previous history of the pri-
soner and as to his mental condition. With regard to
the case itself, his lordship said the very atrocity of
the crime itself rather suggested that it was not the
act of a sane man, and that the jury would probably
think that there was insanity in the prisoner's family
at all events. The jury retired to consider their ver-
dict, and returning into court after a short absence,
found the prisoner "Guilty," and he was sentenced to
death in the usual form. After the sentence, the pri-
soner remained clasping the rail of the dock with
both hands. Two warders removed his hands with a
little force. The prisoner then exclaimed to the
judge, who had risen, "Thank you, your worship;
thank you." Ho was then led by the warders down
the steps.

I I Uai

ATTEMPT TO DESTROY NOTTINGHAM
POST-OFFICE.
A dastardly attempt was made on Sunday night to
blow up the Central Post-office at Nottingham. When
the basket, into which the letters fall on being posted
was emptied three parcels tied loosely up in a copy of
the United Ireland newspaper were observed among
the contents. To each of them a fuse two or three
inches long was attached, having a percussion cap
containing detonating powder at the end. The atten-
tion of the controller-in-charge, Mr. Hooton, was
directed to the parcels. He found that they contained
a soft, clayey substance, and he noticed that an inner
paper in one of the parcels bore the die-stamp
of Alfred Nobles' British Dynamite Company
(Limited). Ile detached the fuses and had the parcels
placed in a bucket of water. The postmaster, Mr.
W. E. Pratt, was made acquainted with the discovery,
and the police were communicated with. In the
absence from home of the borough analyst, the
parcels were submitted to Dr. Herbert 0. Taylor,
who, with Dr. Handford, made an analysis of the
contents, which weighed about 12oz. They were
found to be dynamite, there being unmistakable
traces of nitro-glycerine. The post-office is at present,
undergoing enlargement, and the building is sur-
rounded by a network of scaffolding, so that the
movements of persons on the pavement near the
letter-boxes are.less observable from the street than
is ordinarily the case. The Scotland-yard authorities
have been communicated with, and the local police
are engaged in investigating the affair..