The Warrington & Mid-Cheshire Examiner. — 1893-02-11 (Warrington, Cheshire, England)

TERRIBLE TRAGEDY.  MURDER OF A LIVERPOOL WOMAN.  DESPERATE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE.  A murder of a most cold-blooded character, in which two Liverpool persons were the chief actors, was perpetrated at Burton Latimer, a village near Kettering, Northamptonshire, on Wednesday night. Last Monday a young unmarried woman named Louisa Johnson, of 24, Bridport-street, Liverpool, went to Burton to nurse her sister, who was ill. She took with her her young child, in respect of which she had recently obtained an affiliation order of 3s. 6d. per week upon Richard Sabey, sewage labourer, 23, Great Newton-street, Liverpoel, who was, she alleged, the father of the child. Sabey donied the paternity, and, as he admits, went fr)rn Liverpool to Burton Latimer Station, bent on having his revenge. He reached there on Wednesday morning, and lurked all day about Isbrook-cottage, where the young woman was staying, without seeing her. About halfpast five the young woman came out for the purpose of , drawing some water from an adjacent well. Sabey I appears to have at once joined her, and the two were noticed to walk a short distance together. Suddenly Sabel' seized her by the hair and attacked her with .a large knife, and the ploughed state of the turf and the fad that some of the fingers of the woman's hand are nearly cut off show that she fought for her life desperately. She was, however, at length mastered by her antagonist, who is a fine-built fellow, and he succeeded in cutting her throat in a most determined manner from ear to ear. Notwithstanding this terrible injury the poor woman appears to have run for about a hundred yards, when she was met by four ironstone labourers returning from work. She just managed to gasp out "Throat cut," and to point to the retreating figure of Srbey, when she fell down dead. The men at once started off in pursuit of the fugitive, whom they discovered hiding under a hedge. In his hand he held a blood-dripping knife, which he threatened to plunge into the first one who attempted to touch him. Later on he became more passive, and even offered one of the labourers the knife, which he said he had bought on purpose for the job. When taken back to the dead body he said, " Yes, I murdered her, and know I shall have to swing for it." He wanted the driver of a trap passing by to take him and the corpse to the neighbouring village of Finedon, where he could give himself up to the police. The driver refused, and Sabey, accompanied by the labourers, then rode up to the village on a 'bus, and on arriving there he was given into custody, and was afterwards brought to Kettering. He admitted in the most candid manner to the police that he had committed the crime, and seemed to take special delight in his blood-drenched garments and hands. Prisoner is apparently 35 years of age, and states that he is married and has a family, his eldest daughter being fifteen. He has served in the army, and is now in receipt of a pension. It is alleged that the child in respect of which the order was made upon Sabey was the second one Johnson had borne to him. The order which appears to have incensed Sabey was made upon him so recently as the so 4th of this month.