npedrazzini/19thc_murder_suicide_news huggingface dataset:
The Dewsbury Chronicle, and West Riding Advertiser. — 1873-06-28 (Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England)

THE CLAIMANT IN LEEDS. The Claimant, who took part in a pigeon shooting match at the Leeds Royal Park, on Saturday afternoon last, arrived at the Great Northern Station, Leeds, on Saturday morning, by the 11-35 train from London. He was accompanied by three gentlemen and was received by about 60 persons who had assembled on the station platform—a very small number, considering that the time of his arrival had been advertised. On stepping out of the carriage he was cheered by those assembled. He was conducted to a carriage and pair which had been provided for his reception, and drove off amid renewed cheers to the Park. On his arrival there he was again cheered. The shooting commenced at one o'clock. The prize in the first match was £25; in the second a breech-loading gun, supplied by Messrs. Linsley and Son, Commercial-street. At about half-past eight in the evening he appeared on the orchestra, which was already crewded, and when just coming to the front, amidst the cheers of the people, the floor gave way, and, with several of his friends, he fell the depth of seven or eight feet into the cellar below. The tumult that followed is indescribable; great fears were entertained that the Claimant was killed. In a few minutes all who had fallen were rescued, none the worse except for a few bruises. The Claimant afterwards addressed the assemblage. THE TRANSMIGRATION OF Sours.—The doctrine of the transmigration of souls has seldom been of such practical utility as in a recent case at Akola, in the Bombay Presidency, when his belief in it brought to justice a murderer who might otherwise have remained unpunished. It seems that this wretched man, a peasant of the vicinity, had struck senseless to the ground in a dispute a Marwaire boy who had been working in the field near him, and believing that the blow had proved fatal, to avoid detection he—according to his own confession—made sure of his victim's silence by beating out his brains, and then concealed the corpse in a neighbouring stack of dried grass. He could not resist, however, the temptation of passing the spot frequently to ;see that no one had searched there for the missing boy. While he was thus standing looking at it three days after the crime, he was accosted by an acquaintance and detained on the spot, when presently the hay was seen to move, and a huge cobra crawled slowly from it. The murderer, fully believing that the reptile was no other than the soul of his victim in a new form, fell into such a paralysis of terror as to denounce himself vehemently, and was forthwith informed on. Once arrested he would have denied his guilt; but the bloody evidence his own words had pointed to was soon forthcoming, and agreed so strictly with his first account of the crime that he was shortly afterwards convicted and suffered the extreme penalty of the law, there being no Horne Secretary nor en a mad doctor forthcoming to rescue him from the consequences of his deed of violence.
The Dewsbury Chronicle, and West Riding Advertiser. — 1873-09-20 (Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England)

THAMES. Up to a late hour on Sunday the latest that had come to the knowledge of the police having charge of the enquiry connected with the discovery of the human remains in various pasts of the Thames may be summed up in the few words that two other portions of the body of the supposed murdered woman have been discovered off Lambeth and Battersea, and that the identification of the remains continues still to be a matter of doubt. The further portions of the body discovered consist of part of a human leg, from the knee to ttns ankle, picked up off L imbeth, and portion of a left leg, about six inches long, from the knee downwards, found near to Battersea. Whether these two pieces of a human body belong to the same leg or to two, remains to be ascertained. These latest found remains of the supposed murdered woman were found late on Saturday evening. The identification is a matter of the greatest, possible difficulty—so much so that the positiveness of the persons who have come forward and so readily identified the remains as those of the widow Cailey, is looked upon as not altogether reliable. There seems, however, to be no doubt about the mysterious disappearance of Mrs. Cailey, but the highly coloured statements respecting her having been left a large sum of money by her husband, and her having been the victim of conspiracy to deprive her of that money, turn out to be, according to latest information from the authorities of Scotlandyard, without the slightest foundation. Nothing is known at Scotland-yard respecting these extraordinary revelations b:yond what appeared in some of the newspapers, and they have taken the police authorities as much by surprise as they have the general public. Of Mrs. Cailey nothing really certain is known. She has been staying at a house in Battersea for a length of time, and paid for her board and lodging there some 15s. a week. She owed *sat £3 when she disappeared, and the belief of the landlady of the house at first was that the woman had gone away so as to avoid paying what was due. She was in the habit of leaving her lodgings every evening, and frequently not rettuning home until early the next morning. On one occasion she informed a constable that she had been attacked by four of the men employed at the Battersea Gasworks and cruelly treated, but she said nothing about having been robbed. The police considered the charge so questionable that they practically took no notice of it. Their belief respecting the charge was that whilst in a state of intoxication she had received some slight injuries, and had invented an elaborate story to account for thena. Her landlady and her fellow lodger have identified the human remains found in the Thames as those of Mrs. Cailey, and the police to whom Mrs. Cailey's complaint of assault was made and who had had opportunities of becoming acquainted with her appearance, are inclined to agree with them.
The Dewsbury Chronicle, and West Riding Advertiser. — 1873-09-20 (Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England)

THREATENING TO MURDER THREE MEMBERS OF A LOCAL BOARD.  On Saturday, at the West Riding Court, Halifax, before Sir H. Edwards, Bart., a well-educated young man, named Jonathan Priestley, son of Mr. James Priestley, farmer, of Ovenden, near Halifax, with whom he resided, was chargea with having written and, sent anonymous letters ecntainina threats of murder to Mr. James Booth, chairman of Ovenden Local Board, and manager of the Ovenden Worsted Manufactory Company, Limited; to Mr. Jas.Whiteley, machine maker, also a member of the Local Board; and to Mr. Wilson Midgley, manufacturer, an exmember of the Board. The two first letters were dated the sth August, and the last one the 22nd April, at which time Mr. Midgley was a member of the Board. Mr. G. Wavell, barrister, appeared in support of the charge, and Mr. Holroyde for the prisoner. Some time ago there was a strong controversy between the Ovenden Local Board and a portion of the ratepayers as to the propriety of introducing gas into the district. The letters in question had reference to the action of the Board on the subject, being written to those gentlemen in their capacities as members of that Board. That sent to Mr. Booth contained the following threat :—" Be assured, if this tremendous outlay be carried on, and we poor people have to pay for your fancies, I shall no more think of obtaining an air-gun, and noiselessly_ shooting you through the heart the first dark opportunity, than sitting down to my dinner at noon time." The prisoner being suspected, a plan was adopted for his detection, that of getting a person named Chariest Craven, a clerk at Bradford, 'to write a letter to prisoner on the subject of telescopes, it being known that he was a constant student of optics. Prisoner wrote a letter in reply, which he afterwards admitted to Craven to be his handwriting. By this means they were enabled to institute a comparison between the writing of the anonymous and the admitted letter. The principal witness in the case was M. Chabot, of London, the well-known expert, who, after pointing out various similarities between the two letters in respe3t to the formation of certain characters, said he had arrived at the conclusion, beyond all doubt, that both letters were written by the same person. The threetening letter sent to Mr. Whiteley contained the following passage:—" I will shoot thee with an air-gun some night and mortally wound thee. We will cripple thee and Booth, and we have written to tell him so." The threat used in the letter to Mr. Midgley was as follows:—" Blustering, high-minded thief, I beg to tell thee if thou does not retire from the Local Board we will murder thee, and soon too. It is plain to be seen who has caused all the expense." Similar evidence having been given to that in the previous cases, the prisoner was committed for trial on each charge, and admitted to bail, himself in, £250 and two aureties of £250 each.
The Dewsbury Chronicle, and West Riding Advertiser. — 1894-06-09 (Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England)

THE ATTEMPTED MURDER CASE AT HALIFAX. THE ACCUSED AGAIN BEFORE THE MAGISTRATES,  Tom Holden (32), of Cockroft's-court, Range' Bank, who almost knocked the life out of his mother with a hatchet, was again brought before the magistrates at the Borough Court on Tuesday. For several days the woman had been in a critical condition, and it was considered advisable to take her depositions. Accordingly Mr. Robertshaw (deputy-magistrate's clerk) and Mr. T. S. .Scar J.P., visited her on Monday evening for that purpose. The:accused was present, andiheard her make the following statement, which was read at the court on Tuesday :—" I sin a widow, and reside at No. 4, Cocktoft's-court, Halifax.- The prisoner is my son. About 4-30 p.m,. on May last I was washing in the kitchen. The prisoner was there also and walking !about. I told him to sit down, and immediately afterwards was struck from behind and rendered insensible. One of my neighbours came to my assistance shortly afterwards, and sent for Dr. Robinson. I wars bending over the washing tub at the time. I must have been struck, but I have no recollection of the blow. It is about a year and nine months since prisoner came borne from Australia. He has done no work during that time, and spent most of his time indoors reading. For some months back prisoner has been queer in his habits, talking to himself and walking about the house, sometimes quickly and then slowly. Occasionally he has spoken aloud when he has been talking to himself. On the day in question he said, "Mother, 'shall never have to go to Heaven, but you will when you die." The hatchet produced by Inspector Bradley is my property. It was hung up in my kitchet on the day in question." Alice Kitson, wife of John Kitson, brickmaker, who lived three doors below Mrs. Holden, said she saw Tom hurrying past her window on the day in question, putting on his coat as he walked along. Directly after she heard someone scream, and going to the top of the court she beard moaning in Mrs, Holden's house. She stepped inside, and saw Mrs. Holden leaning against the washing tub. She could see neither her fase nor her hands tor blood.  The CLERK: Was she sensible 7—Witness replied that the woman did not speak for some time. In a while she asked to be assisted up. Witness went for help, and Mrs. Wilcock, another neighbour, came. The doctor was sent for, and the woman's head was bathed until his arrival.  Lydia Ann Wilcock, wife of Mark Wilcock, of Bank-street, gave similar evidence.. Dr. Robinson said be found the woman in a fainting condition, Her hair was covered with blood, and there was a quantity of blood on the floor. She was suffering from a large lacerated wound, about three inches in length. The CLEr,K : Would the hatchet (produced) be likely to cause the wound ?--In all probability. In reply to the
The Dewsbury Chronicle, and West Riding Advertiser. — 1894-06-02 (Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England)

MURDEROUS ATTACK BY A SON AT HALIFAX.  NOT IZESPONSIBLE FOR HIS,ACTIONS,  A painful affair took place in Cockroft's-court, off Range Bank, Halifax, on Wednesday afternoon. Mrs. Nancy Holden, who lived with her son and two daughters, Mary and Clara, was engaged with her week's washing, when she suddenly fell senseless. Her son had inflicted a heavy blow on the right side of her head with a hatchet. She lost a large quantity of blood before the neighbours came to her aesistanee. Dr. Robinson, who was sent for, bandaged the wound. Her son Thomas, the assailant, after dealing the blew, placed the hatchet in its acerustorned place, and made a hasty departure. 'His sister Clara, who was in bed suffering from rheumatic, fever, heard a thud and a moan coming from the living room, and jumping up threw open ' the bedr,eorn window f t d screamiid.. Thomas was than wa,ik iug down the street and in the act of nutting on his hat and coat. A youth named Harry Wilcock, v.-tio lived near, on hearing what had transarired, followed the accused, who, fearing arreat, pulled out his pocket knife and said he woutd ens the yputlf:3 head off if he did not leave him. Wilcock ultimately secured • the services of three young men, They traced and found the man 'lying under a wail in a geld at Shibden, and banded him over to two constables. A Mercury reporter yi..t.ited the house en Thursday, and to him Mrs. Holden told a pitiful story. Btie said her husband died twenty years age and she had to work hard to maintain the family 'and keep them respectable. Her sou Themes, who was now thirty-tsvo years of age, was sciatic, with a fever whilst a baby, and the illneis impaired his mental faculties for life. Ile Went to Australia. but as he did not 'et on well there be returned home. He had been back nearly two years. He ;had only worked a day or two since. Feeling his position, he had an idea that everybody was staring at him, and he was almost ashamed to leave the house. She did not, to put kin her own words," Know what possessed" him to strike her." He never spoke or gave her the 'slightest Warning of what he was about to do. She was bending over the washtub at the time. A little before he remarked, "Mother. I shalt neVer go to heaven, but you will." On ono occasion he seized her, and she struck him twice with a Peggy atiek. Frequently, too, he ran about the house shouting and throwing up his arms wildly. At other times he would not speak when questioned, but simply laugh at them. .  The statement that the other members of the family had done all they could in the interests of the iinfortUnate man is never questioned. He had a patient and kind tri-Jilier and two forbearing sisters. Mrs. Holden and her daughter Clara hope to be able to leave their beds in the course of a few days.
The Dewsbury Chronicle, and West Riding Advertiser. — 1894-06-02 (Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England)

THE EARBY CHILD MURDER.  At S.kipton Police Station Mrs. Hannah Smith has been charged with the wilful murder of her child.—Mr. Superintendent Lumb stated that the Public Prosecutor had been communicated with. He applied for a remand until June 4th.—Prisoner assented, and she was shortly afterwards ramoved to Armley Gaol in the custody c I Sergeant Harrison, Mrs. Smith's demeanour during her last few hours of confinement at Skipton showed a marked change. At first she had appeared to be in a dazed condition, and gave an impression of callousness and indifference, but afterwards she had several fits of weeping, and appeared more sensible, She seemed to fee' the position in which she was placed,' and Said to an officer, "I- am very sorry, but I can't remember doing it. I felt very lonely living up there, and it has preyed lIDOII my mind.'  When Yorkshire disposed of Notts for 106 on the opening day at Trent Bridge, and then obtained 63 themselves for the loss of one wicket, Tykes gleefully rubbed their hands and conjured up visions of another innings to spare victory for the champions. That was rather previous, because on Tuesday one Hardstaff—professional tor Rawteustall, a club which adheres to the Lancashire plan of not letting their raid players assist other counties it it can be avoided—just played havoc with their sticks, and tho lot of them were sent to the right about for DC Beyond Messrs. Jackson and Mitchell, nobody seemed able to do anything.  Worse still seemed the state of the poll at the close of Tuesday, for, owing largely to a useful 45 by Gunn, and Pikes 28 not out, Notts compiled 131 at the second time of asking. What was more they got rid of four good batsmen on the other aide for 44. • So with six wickets only in hand. Yorkshire wanted 100 runs to run, and very few people really believed that they wets going to be got. But they were though. Brown and Peel did invaluable service ; Wainwright and Mounsey backed them up, and a most exciting game was snatched out of the fire on Wednesday, with three wickets to spate,  I call this a more glorious win than either of the other two championship successes. It is gratifying to find that the "grit" and the toundness of the team have not been over-praised; and that when crises occur there are cool heads which are equal ta them, Here are the Yorkshire scores :  Lord Hawke 35, F. S. Jackson 42 7, F. Mitcl,lBll 20 13, Wardall 06, Tunnicliile 112, Brown 1 36, Peel 9 24, Wainwright 7 not out 19, Mounsey 6 not out 12; extras, rand 10 ;.total, 94 and 144.  Gloucestershire, against Middlesex's innings of 293, could only punish Hearne and Rawlin to the tune of 72 and 47. The doctor had a 0 and a 1 to add to his collection of scores. Cheshire. mainly through E. Smith's 103, easily beat Leicestershire. Warwickshire would easily have beaten Essex the same day only the rain interfered.  On June -10th the AI.C.C. are going to discuss a proposal to raise the follaw-on total from 80 to 120 in three day matches, to leave it at 80 for two day events.  Chief League Fixtures for to-day
The Dewsbury Chronicle, and West Riding Advertiser. — 1875-11-20 (Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England)

DOUBLE MURDER IN AUSTRALIA.  Australian papers brought by the last mail give details of the horrible murder committed at Frankston. For some time past a married man named Howard had kept a hotel in conjunction with a widow named Wright. The woman formed very dissolute habits, and Howard and she eventually agreed to sell the hotel, to share the proceeds, and to dissolve partnership. Pending the sale Mrs. Wright brought to the hotel a man named Harman to take charge of the bar and to look after her interests in the establishment. Howard evinced great jealousy of Harman, and vowed vengeance against him and Mrs. Wright. After the sale, whilst Howard, Harman, and Mrs. Wright were sitting in a back parlour, a man named Collins and his son entered the bar and rapped. Harman then left the back parlour, leaving Mrs. Wright, her Eon (an intelligent boy nine years of age), and Howard in the room. Harman and Collins got engaged in conversation, and the latter gave Harman a letter to read. Whilst he was reading this letter both heard a piercing shriek, as if from a woman in mortal agony, proceeding from the hack parlour. When Harman heard the shriek he threw down the letter he was reading, and, without a moment's hesitation, rushed into the room from whence the sound had proceeded. At the door of the room he was met by Howard, and within a second he was seen by Mrs. Wright's son (the boy previously mentioned) to put his hand to his breast, turn suddenly round, and run through the bar into the street, where be fell. Collins, who was in the bar during this time, followed Harman into the street, where in the course of a few minutes— without, it is stated, uttering a single exclamation—lie exnired. Howard in the meantime returned to the parhour, and was followed by the boy Wrighf, who saw his mother lying on the around in what he thought was a fit. Howard was sitting beside Mrs. Wright, who was lying groaning. When the state of affairs was discovered numbers of people rushed into the back parlour, and there Howard was seen sitting besides the corpse of the woman. At his feet was a butcher's knife, wititewhlch the murders had been committed. Howard sat•by the side of his murdered paramour for two hours without changing his position or making any attempt to converse with those around him. When asked by one man if he knew What he had dune, "that he had murdered Mrs. Wright end Harman," he replied, "I come of a race that won't brook an insult, even if resenting it brings them to the gallows." When arrested by a constable and charged with the double murder, he said, "You will have to prove it." When he was being taken away he asked to see the surgeon who had been sent for, to whom he said, "Doctor, promise me that when her body is examined she shall not be disfigured any more than is necessary."
The Dewsbury Chronicle, and West Riding Advertiser. — 1875-04-24 (Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England)

THE FEAST OF THE PASSOVER.—Monday evening WA4, the first night of the feast of unleavened bread, which is,-, called the Passover. In spite of the precautions taken by a , Council of the Church to prevent the clashing of the dates,;„ the feast usually falls much nearer Easter than it does this year, sometinies even coinciding with it. Like the other:, Jewish feasts, it happens upon a fixed date, the 14th of Nisan, but every third year this date is retarded by the t, intercalation of a month just before Nisan, the second,,, Adar, and such an intercalary month was inserted this year. The ordinance of the feast may be read ine, Exodus xii.. and for seven days at least the practice is still ; kept up of eating unleavened bread. The first and the., seventh days were originally commanded to be holy conve'cations, and the second and an eighth have been added to them since, but are not observed by evety congregation.,_, • No work was to be done on the holy convocations, and tae. commandment is largely followed at the present day. A, supper, preceded and followed by prayer, and intermingled with it, will be celebrated to-night in many Jewish homes. The meatiest Hebrew servant will sit at table, for all were servants in the land of Egypt. Four cups of wine are: tasted at this supper by each worshipper, and the shank- ' bone of the shoulder of lamb is brought on in memory of the offering of the paschal lamb. Bitter herbs are alsoif placed upon the table, and from to-day begins the daily counting, in place of the daily offering of sheaves till' • AI after 49 days comes Pentecost. ATTEMPT TO POISON CHILDREN AT GREAT BUDWORTIII! At the Great Budworth Police Court, on Monday!' Jemima Hankey and Emma Wilkinson, aged 14 and 17 • respectively, were ch trged. with attempting to murder, by poisoning; two children of their master, William' Stubbs, farmer, at Antrobus, named Eva and Hannah, and-aged respectively seven weeks and two years. Since Good' Friday the baby has been observed several times to vomit' a blue fluid, and on Wednesday last Hankey was seen by the prosecutor's little boy to give Hannah wh he called "blue soap toffy." He told his mother, and' her suspicions being aroused, she charged Hankey with giving poison to the children. Hankey admitted having given sulphate of copper to the two children, and said, ' " I thought if I could poison baby, I should not have so' much to do in the summer." Asked her motive in giving it to Hannah. she said, " I thought if I could poison' Hannah I should have nothing to do, for Fred and Emma (the other two children) wiil be ,at 4C11011." Mrs. Stubbs found a piece of sulphate of copper in Hankey's dress pocket. Wilkinson said to the police; " Jemima did tell me about it but made me promise not to tell master and mistress." This prisoner was alsci, overheard saying to Mulkey, "You should know betterthan give it to her before the little boy. You migbe know he would go and tell. Haven't I told you before ?"' Both prisoners were committed for trial at the assizes.. The children are recovering.