The Pontypridd District Herald and Rhondda Valley, Llantrisant, Caerphilly, and Mountain Ash News. — 1892-09-10 (Pontypridd, Mid Glamorgan, Wales)

ANTECEDENTS OF THE COUPLE.  The mystery has its interest increased by the story of the antecedents of the accused man George Barker Cooper. It is said he appeared in 1412 at the Chester Assizes to answer a charge of shooting at his wife with a revolver. The wife in her evidence declared that she had been married to Cooper about three years and a half, during which time they lived in a semi-detached house at Altrincham. During the previous six months her husband absented himself from home, often two or three nights a week. One day a woman named Ditchfield came to the house and would not leave. Mrs. Cooper, it was alleged, struck her. Her husband pushed her on one side, and the indignant wife appealed to her father-in-law, Mr. Cooper, who was in the house at the time, not to allow her to suffer such an indignity as that, and he commenced to struggle with his son in the doorway of the drawing-room. As Mrs. Cooper was flying from the room a shot was tired. She had previously seen a revolver in her husband's hand, and cried to him, "For God's sake, don't fire." The father told the judge that he had caught hold of the pistol, and he believed he had as much to do with the firing of the pistol as his son. The woman, Ellen Ditchfield, said that for two years the prisoner had ptovided her with a furnished house at Altrincham. She gave a somewhat similar account to the wife's of the proceedings in Cooper's house. She, however, swore that Mrs. Cooper was not in the room when the shot was fired. A police-sergeant said that when the prisoner was arrested he struggred, and said "lie had had some unpleasantness with his wife about money matters. Ile had now brought matters to a close, and would have a divorce." When charged with having fired at his wife with intent to murder her the prisoner replied," "All right." The jury, to the surprise of the persons in court, were influenced by the case for the defence, and found that the pistol had not been fired with a guilty intent. In spite of these proceedings Mr. and Mrs. Cooper again lived together until their married life became insupportable, and a divorce was procured on the wife's petition. Mrs. Cooper married in due time, and the day following her divorced husband also married, his second wife being the unhappy Douglas victim. Cooper is said to have had business relations with many people in Douglas, and his mother was connected with the place. He had spent some years in America. The parents of Miss Cooper, the dead woman, are people of independent means, living at the Oaks, Shirley, a village just outside Birmingham. For some reason she took a barmaid's situation in the Central Restaurant at Birmingham, but resigned it three years ago to accept a similar position at the Central Hotel, Douglas. It was there she first met Cooper, during one of his visits to the island. She was about 24, remarkably pretty, and well educated ; he is considerably over 30, and is a gentlemanly-looking individual, a black moustache and " imperial " giving him rather the appearance of a Frenchman.