The Warwickshire Herald. — 1895-07-25 (Birmingham, West Midlands, England)

TRAGEDY AT H.GHGATE. CHARGE OF WIFE MURDER.  A sad domestic tragedy was enacted on Saturday night in Highgate New Town. A woman named Hate Moore, aged 35, with her husband, a bricklayer, and tour children, lived in a flat on Dartmouth Park Hill, and it is said that husband and wife led a respectable and fairly happy life. Some time between 7 and 8 o'clock on Saturday evening Mrs. Moore was heard by her neighbours in the act of severely chastising one of her children. Mrs Hacker, the wife of the caretaker in charge of the flats, went up and remonstrated with Mrs. Moore. Mrs. Moore, it is said, resented this interference, and struck Mrs. Hacker repeatedly. It is alleged that Mrs. Moore's husband, who had been asleep in an adjoining room, then came out, and pushed his wife from the passage where the squabbling was going on into the kitchen. Shortly afterwards she came out again, and, so it is stated, Mr. Moore was seen to push her back, this time so violently that she fell into the room upon the floor. A few minutes later the couple were heard quarrelling and scuffling about in the kitchen, and the chairs and tables were overturned. What followed is not known, but some time afterwards Moore called in two of his neighbours, who found Mrs. Moore sitting in a chair with her head lying back against the wall, quite dead. Moore himself went out, and, meeting Rogers, 50 Y It, who, having been informed of the disturbance, was on his way to the house, told him that his wife was dead. The constable called Dr. Bridgeforth, who lives close by, and the two went to the room in which the woman was sitting. They found life extinct, and placed the body on the floor. Rogers then sent for Dr. Hugh Smith, the assistant police divisional surgeon, who stated that there were severe injuries about the woman's head; both her eyes had been blackened, and there was a large swelling about three and a half inches square under and around the lobe of the right ear.  On Monday morning, at Highgate, Moore was charged with causing his wife's death by striking her on the head and knocking her down.— Dr. Hugh Smith said he found the deceased lying on her back with her head on a pillow. She had been dead about two hours. Behind the right ear he found a large wound about 3iin. square, of recent date. There was also a large bruise under the right eye and a slight laceration of the skin,whieh was also recent. There was also a small wound under left ear. He was not prepared to say what the cause of death was.—Mary Ann llocker said she was standing at the street door on Saturday evening, and heard one of Moore's children screaming, when another woman said: "Will you come upstairs to speak to Dirs. Moore 14" She went up to the door and found deceased there. Witness could tell Mrs. Moore was beating her child, and she said "You must not do that," and she slapped witness's face. Prisoner then came out of the bedroom and asked what it was about. Mrs. Moore slapped her face again. She returned the blow, and the prisoner stopped any further blows. Mrs. Moore said: "I'll stick a knife in your heart?" Witness said: "You had better be careful, or I shall fetch the police now." She was drunk, and went back and fetched a knife, and as she got to the door prizoner pushed her back and she fell. The woman got up and came to the door and said: "I don't mean the knife for you, I mean it for my husband." The witness (Hocker), continuing, said she then went downstairs, had her tea, and then, as she heard scuffling, she went for the police, and whilst talking to the constable, prisoner came up and said: "You have killed inywife."—Mr. Mountefleld said the deceased was suffering from an internal complaint. —Police-constable Rogers gave evidence as to being spoken to by the prisoner, who said to Mrs. Hocker, she being there at the time "You have killed my wife. She's dead. Policeman, where's the nearest doctor ? "—The prisoner was remanded.