Denton and Haughton Examiner, etc. — 1888-05-26 (Denton, Greater Manchester, England)

MURDER OF A WARDER IN STRANGEWAYS PRISON.  A warder named Webb was murdered in Strange. ways ti-01, MancheAter, 'between five and clx o'clock on Tuesday ( coning by a priamier who escaped before i the terrible tragedy was discovered. The murderer is John Jackson, a painter and plumber ley trade, who : was undergoing a term of six months imprisonment i for bre king into a house at Eccles on March 29th, and stealing a signature stamp, a money box, and twopence, belonging to a Salvation Army " captdn " named John Poynter. Jackson was convicted at the last &dived Sessions. On the mtg,oi of the trial it was proved beyond doubt that the prisoner's alien? of Edward Graham was one which had an association I with a long career of robbery not confined to depredations in M.:.n,hester and its neighbourhood, but extending to Braderd, Huddersfield, Hull, and even Mame more remote. The fact that Jackson was employed on Tuesday upon special work-in private apartments 1, of the prison tends to the COILAUSIOIIt I t he had given I no particular cause for anxiety up to that point. At any rate, some slight repairs being required to the glefittings in the rebidence wampied by the ordron of the prison, Jackson, leaving a knowledge of plumbing work, was told oil to do them. This was between five and six o'clock in See evening. While Jackson was on this business he was placed in the charge of Wa. der Webb, it being of come° necessary that an eye :hould be kept upon him. In these circumstancesuch a thing us his escape was never fur a moment dreamt of, seeing that Webb was a tell, fincly.built man—in this respect forming contrast to his prisoner, . . . .  —and that all 'the windows were stoutly. barred: What happened after Jackson and his custodian entered the matron's house there were no witnesses of, but the surroundings of the tragic event arc such sato leave little in the regioll of conjecture. It appears that the work which Jackson had to du took lain, of course accompanied by Webb, to the upper rooms of the house, thus removing them from within herring of the matron and her niece, who were del...stars and were the only persons about the building. If ..nything like a struggle had taken 'dace it would no doubt have created disturbance sufficient to attract attention, but it is pretty clear that nothing of this kind did occur. , The first thing that was aft .rwards k o vn—the discovery being made within a very few minutes of the deed being done—was that Webb was lying insensible • on the floor, the back of his head having been battered ! in. Without delay medicil mstk use was summoned, j but this aid .mei unavailing, us in the course of a"very I short space of time the poor fellow suecutnlaxl to his injuries, without ever hiving ,illiciently to give any account of the Of ,ir, or indeed to talk coherently of anything. The state of things noticed in the room plainly indicated that the weapon employed in making the attack upon the warder h d beim the hammer with which Jackson was fornishcd• for carrying out the repairs to the gmtittings. There could also be no doubt of the reasonable nature of the theory subsequently put forward with regard to the crime—that Jackson, having rapidly shaped in his mind a plan of escape, in which the rendering of the warder silent and unable actively to interfere formed the that and insist important principle, took the opportunity at a moment when Webb WAS cornpletelyoff his guard to deal him a terrible and cruel blow.  The appearance of the room where the murder W.lB committed afforded ample proof that the assailant had escaped by breaking a hole through the ceiling, gaining access to the roof, whence he descended into Southall-street. Immediately after the occurrence, a number of warders were sent in quest of the convict, but they were unable to find him On Tuesday night the fugitive committed some peculiarly audacious burglaries in Oldham.