Widnes Examiner. — 1888-09-08 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

HOCKING TRAGEDY IN WALES.-ATTEMPTED MURDER AND SUICIDE BY A  MAGISTRATE A terrible tragedy' was enacted on Sunday morning in a fashionable suburb of Wrexham, when Mr. A. Wilson Edwards, a Justice of the Peace, attempted to murder one of his servants and afterwards shot himself. The first intimation of the grim occurrence wag given at shout seven o'clock by a female servant, who, scrainhling, over the spiked entrance gate to High Grove, a genteel residence overlooking the park in which the Eisteddfod pavilion has been erected, rushed along the Grove and Grosvenor roads to the residence of Dr. Davies, shouting out that her master had shot, the cook. After briefly obtaining such particulars as the horrified girl could give, Dr. Davies sent her to the County Buildings for a policeman. and Mr. Wilde, Deputy Chief-Constable, and Police-constable Roberts accompanied him to Mr. Edwards's house. Arriving there they found the front entrance gate locked. Climbing over, Mr. Wilde and Dr. Davies made their way into the house and to Mr. Edwards's bedroom, where they found that gentleman lying insensible on the floor. with a bullet wound in his right temple. Near him Mr. Wilde found a six-chambered revolver, on examining which he ascertained that, three chambers had recently been emptied, and that the other three remained loaded. Dr. Davies did what was possible for the unconscious gentleman; and Mr. Wilde, proceeding to the seavant's bedroom, discovered a woman named Mary Stevens, aged about 40, lying apparently lifeless on the floor. She was placed in bed, and efforts made to restore consciousness , with a certain amount of success: but her pain and f rigl it combined rendered her delirious, and her restlessness made it impossible for the doctor to ascertain the precise nature of the injuries. From the statement of the housemaid, ' Annie Smith, who gave the alarm, it appears that about half-past six o'clock, Mr. Edwards went into the bedroom, where she and Stevens were sleeping, carrying a revolver in his hand. Stevens sat up in bed and asked, "What's the matter, master ? " He then fired two shots at her, both of which struck her in the body. He then went• out of the room, and Smith, who had pulled the bedclothes over her head when she saw the revolver, jumped out of bed when she heard him leave. Hastily dressing herself she escaped from the house and ran for the doctor and the police. Mrb. Edwards, an elderly lady of 70, who has been ailing for some time, states that she noticed her husband enter her bedroom early in the morning with a revolver, and on her speaking to him, to her sorrow, he placed the revolver against his temple and fired, the bullet piercing the skull. No adequate cause for the tragedy seems to have existed. It is said, however, that Mr. Edwards had been much depressed lately, and had complained of money difficulties, which, however, were more imaginary than real. Dr. Davies states that when he saw Mr. Edwards on Saturday he seemed to have recovered from his recent depression. Mr. Edwards occupied a prominent position in the town and was highly respected by all sections of society; and the attempted murder and suicide created the utmost constereation. Be was a magistrate for the borough, a vice-chairman of the Wrexham Board of Guardians, director of the Wrexham Waterworks Company and the Wrexham Gas Light Company, a member of the Free Library Committee, the Wrexham School Board,. and other Public bodies.  At the inquest on Wednesday in connection with the Wrexham tragedy a verdict was returned to the effect that Mr. Wilson Edwards shot himself and endeavoured to murder his servants while suffering from temporary  •