npedrazzini/19thc_murder_suicide_news huggingface dataset:
The Sun. — 1853-03-07 (London, England)

AWFUL TRAGEDY.-MURDER AND SUICIDE.  The usually quiet district of Framlingham, in the county of Suffolk, has been thrown into a painful state of excitement by the occurrence of a most horrible act of murder and suicide. The perpetrator of the dreadful crime was a Mr. William Goodwyn, aged 45, who resided with his family in very comfortable circumstances in Donnington-road, near this town ; the victim of his terrible crime being a favourite daughter, Eliza Goods h Goodwyn, interesting child, not more than four yearsn, a old. An yesterday before Mr. est ww tAy n andinqu a Wood, the coroner, when the following facts were adduced :—On Thursday morning about twenty minutes to eight o'clock, the passers-by were alarmed on seeing Mrs. Goodwyn come out of her house and scream, as if for help. A butcher, named Dixon, imagining the place was on fire, rushed in, but finding nothing to confirm his belief, almost as quickly returned. The unfortunate woman was unable to speak, and pointing to the windows of a front sitting-room, and the sidedoor, which was fa,,stened, so intimated that something serious had taken place in the apartment. Dixon, with another man, then burst the door open, when a most awful scene presented itself. The little girl was discovered lying upon the carpet, but was quite dead, a fearful gash having been inflicted on her throat and on her face. Her clothing (for she had been dressed) and the floor round the body were covered with blood. A few feet from her, lying on his left ?side, and with a frightful cut in his throat, was seen Goodwyn, who was also dressed. He was alive. His eyes were open, but he was unable to articulate a word. In the room was found a razor, with which he had committed the dreadful act. Messrs. Wilson and Jeafferson, surgeons, were instantly called in, and proceeded to sew up the wound which the wretched man had inflicted upon himself ; but it was of little service in saving his life, as he expired in the course of ten minutes or a quarter of an hour. The death of the little girl was very speedy, as the carotid artery was completeley divided. The surgeons expressed their belief that Goodwyn committed both acts, and that he must have been deranged at the time. It appears that he had been subject to slight abberation of intellect at times, and that on this occasion it was brought about by the loss of his eldest son a day or so previously, whose corpse ho had seen deposited in the coffin the evening before. The jury returned a verdict of " Wilful murder" in the case of the child, and " That the deceased, William Goodwyn, committed self-destruction while in an unsound state of mind. He has left a family of five children.
The Sun. — 1853-03-07 (London, England)

AWFUL TRAGEDY.-MURDER AND SUICIDE.  The usually quiet district of Framlingham, in the county of Suffolk, has been thrown into a painful state of excitement by the occurrence of a most horrible act of murder and suicide. The perpetrator of the dreadful crime was a Mr. William Goodwyn, aged 45, who resided with his family in very comfortable circumstances in Donnington-road, near this town ; the victim of his terrible crime being a favourite daughter, Eliza Goodwyn, a pretty and interesting child, not more than four years old. An inquest was held yesterday before Mr. Wood, the coroner, when the following facts were adduced :—On Thursday morning about twenty minutes to eight o'clock, the passers-by were alarmed on seeing Mrs. Goodwyn come out of her house and scream, as if for help. A butcher, named Dixon, imagining the place was on fire, rushed in, but finding nothing to confirm his belief, almost as quickly returned. The unfortunate woman was unable to speak, and pointing to the windows of a front sitting-room, and the sidedoor, which was fastened, so intimated that something serious had taken place in the apartment. -Dixon' with another man, then burst the door open, when a most awful scene presented itself.. The little girl was discovered lying upon the carpet, but was quite dead, a fearful gash having been inflicted on her throat and on her face. Her clothing (for she had been dressed) and the floor round the body were covered with blood. A few feet from her, lying on his left !side, and with a frightful cut in his throat, was seen Goodwyn, who was also dressed. He was alive. His eyes were open, but he was unable to articulate a word. In the room was found a razor, with which he had committed the dreadful act. Messrs. Wilson and Jeafferson, surgeons, were instantly called in, and proceeded to sew up the wound which the wretched man had inflicted upon himself; but it was of little service in saving his life, as he expired in the course of ten minutes or a quarter of an hour.. The death of the little girl was very speedy, as the carotid artery was completeley divided. The surgeons expressed their belief that Goodwyn committed both acts, and that he must have been deranged at the time. It appears that he had been subject to slight abberation of intellect at times, and that on this occasion it was brought about by the loss of his eldest son a day or so previously, whose corpse he had seen deposited in the coffin the evening before. The jury returned a verdict of " Wilful murder" in the case of the child, and " That the deceased, William Goodwyn, committed self-destruction while in an unsound state of mind. He has left a family of five children.
The Sun. — 1853-03-18 (London, England)

SUSPECTED MURDER IN THE CANONGATE, EDINBURGH.  On Sunday morning, between four and five o'clock, a labourer, named John Davidson, was found dead, under circumstances that afford some suspicion of his having been murdered. The deceased resided in Hume's-close, Canongate, in one of those overcrowded haunts of poverty and vice which abound in this locality. He was, it is said, given to drinking, which propensity his wife unfortunately shared in. The latter, who is named Sarah Brannan or Davidson, had formerly led an abandoned life, and quarrels arising from the jealousy of the husband are said to have been of frequent occurrence. They were both between 30 and 40 years of age, and had lived together for some time. The deceased was last seen alive, except by his wife, about 11 o'clock on Saturday night. Early on Sunday morning high words and a scuffle in the room which they occupied were overheard by some of the neighbours, but the noise suddenly subsided. After a brief silence, the woman came into an adjoining apartment, and told the inmates that her husband had fainted. On entering the room they found the unfortunate man stabbed to the heart, and quite dead, though still retaining heat. The instrument of death was a shoemaker's knife, which had been worn by use to a very sharp point. There was little blood to be seen, and to all appearance the man's death had been instantaneous. Both parties had on their clothes, and had not apparently gone to bed, having in all probability spent the night in dissipation. The attendance of a sergeant of police was then obtained, who took the woman into custody.  On Monday the prisoner was brought before the sitting magistrate and remitted for examination. Her declaration was then taken by Mr. Dymock, the Procurator-Fiscal for the city, and it will be followed up, we believe, by the precognition of witnesses. It is not, of course, yet known whether there is sufficient evidence to commit the woman for trial ; and from the privacy with which it is customary here to conduct all judicial examinations, it is impossible to arrive at the exact truth of the case, more especially as the statements afloat are very conflicting. It appears, however, that the prisoner attributes her husband's death to suicide, and it is stated that the direction of the instrument was such that the blow might have been struck by the deceased himself. On the one hand, it is said the woman was heard in the course of the night to threaten to stab her husband : while, on the other the man is stated to have, not long ago, spoken of committing suicide, in consequence of alleged provocations to jealousy. Some time ago, it is said, the prisoner stabbed the deceased on the brow • but the affair being slight, the matter did not come under the notice of the police. The body of the unfortunate man was on Monday examined by medical men. The wound was found to have been in the heart, and to have caused almost instant death. It seemed to have been inflicted in an upright position.
The Sun. — 1853-03-18 (London, England)

SUICIDE OF THE MURDERER.  Intelligence has just been received of a most appalling tragedy, which has been perpetrated by a highly respectable- master -shoemaker, named Isaac Tucker, at the adjoining fashionable suburb, Clifton, near Bristol, who, after having cut the throats of two of his children —two interesting little girls—aged respectively five and three years, put a period to his own existence in the same way. It would seem, from such particulars as have yet transpired,, that the • deceased had recently taken a house on Prince's-place, near the Royal 'York-crescent, in which Mr. Kempster carried on for many years a lucrative business, and into the possession of which he entered with his family only a few days since. On Wednesday, between 12 and 1 o'clock, his wife had occasion to come into Bristol on some business, and he was left at home in the house with his children and a female servant. Soon after his wife left he was observed to come down stairs, go to the street-door, look up and down the thoroughfare, and then go to a looking-glass, and survey himself putting out his tongue, and working it about in a somewhat strange manner. He then- went up stairs, and soon afterwards his eldest little girl went upstairs. Nothing afterwards was heard of any of them, but some time subsequently upon a person going upstairs, the door was discovered to be locked, and upon its being broken open, all three of them were disdovered quite dead, their clothes saturated with blood, and their throats cut in a shocking manner, the,head of one of them being all but severed from the body. The instrument with which the fatal deed had been accomplished, a shoemaker's knife. having a remarkably keen edge, was found in the room. The fatal occurrence has created an extraordinary sensation in the neighbourhood, and the house, since the bodies were discovered, has been surrounded by crowds of persons.  UNIVERSITY or
The Sun. — 1853-03-18 (London, England)

EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY OF A DRIB BODY.— Considerable excitement prevailed during yesterday and the preceding day in consequence of the following extraordinary discovery of the body of a dead man, which has given rise to various rumours in the neighbourhood of Bethnal-green as to the cause of death, and how the body became deposited in the place where found. From inquiries made it appears that, on Wednesday last, whilst some men were employed by the East London Waterworks Company laying down some pipes opposite the Bethnal-green-road East, one of the men, in removing soma earth, laid hold of what, upon inspection, turned out to be the arm of a man. Upon making further search the men discovered, with the exception of the arm before alluded to, the entire skeleton of a full-grown male, with light auburn hair. Information of the discovery was sent by Mr. P. Edinger, the secretary to the company, to Mr. Vaughan, the summoning officer for the district, who immediately communicated with the parochial authorities, and also with Mr. Baker, the coroner for the eastern division of Middlesex, but whether or not an inquest will be held on the remains is at present unknown. One of the rumours in circulation in the neighbourhood is, that the party had been murdered, and the body buried in the place where found ; but from inquiries made by Mr. Vaughan, the summoning officer, there seems strong grounds for concluding that the body was that of a suicide, who had been buried in the cross-roads some 70 or 80 years since. The affair, however, has caused an extraordinary sensation throughout the parishes of Bethnal-green and Shoreditch.  AN ACCIDENT occurred to the newspaper express train yesterday morning. The engine ran off the rails in the neighbourhood of Crick ; the road became entirely blocked up in consequence, but we are happy to learn that confusion, delay, and the fright of the passengers were the only evils arising out of this casualty. The passengers were sent on by another train, but the newspapers did not reach Birmingham until two hours after the usual time.
The Sun. — 1853-03-18 (London, England)

SUSPECTED MURDER IN THE CANONGATE,  EDINBURGH.  On Sunday morning, between four and five o'clock, a labourer, named John Davidson, was found dead, under circumstances that afford some suspicion of his having been murdered. The deceased resided in Hume's-close, Canongate, in one of those overcrowded haunts of poverty and vice which abound in this locality. He was, it is said, given to drinking, which propensity his wife unfortunately shared'in. The latter, who is named Sarah Brannan or Davidson, had formerly led an abandoned life, and quarrels arising from the jealousy of the husband are said to have been of frequent occurrence. They were both between 30 and 40 years of age, and had lived together for some time. The deceased was last seen alive, except by his wife, about 11 o'clock on Saturday night. Early on Sunday morning high words and a scuffle in the room which they occupied were overheard by some of the neighbours, but the noise suddenly subsided. After a brief silence, the woman came into an adjoining apartment, and told the inmates that her husband had fainted. On entering the room they found the unfortunate man stabbed to the heart, and quite dead, though still retaining heat. The instrument of death was a shoemaker's knife, which had been worn by use to a very sharp point. There was little blood to be seen, and to all appearance the man's death had been instantaneous. Both parties had on their clothes, and had not apparently gone to bed, having in all probability spent the night in dissipation. The attendance of a sergeant of police was then obtained, who took the woman into custody. On Monday the prisoner was brought before the sitting magistrate and remitted for examination. Her declaration was then taken by Mr. Dymock, the Procurator-Fiscal for the city, and it will be followed up, we believe, by the precognition of witnesses. It is not, of course, yet known whether there is sufficient evidence to commit the woman for trial ; and from the privacy with which it is customary here to conduct all judicial examinations, -it is impossible to arrive at the exact truth of the case, more especially as the statements afloat are very conflicting. It appears, however, that the prisoner attributes her husbands death to suicide, and it is stated that the direction of the instrument was such that the blow might have been struck by the deceased himself. On the one hand, it is said the woman was heard in the course of the night to threaten to stab her husband : while, on the other the man is stated to have, not long ago, spoken of committing suicide, in consequence of alleged provocations to jealousy. Some time ago, it is said, the prisoper stabbed the deceased on the brow ; but the affair being slight, the matter did not come under the notice of the police. The body of the unfortunate man was on Monday examined by medical men. The wound was found to have been in the heart, and to have caused almost instant death. It seemed to have been inflicted in an upright position.
The Sun. — 1853-03-18 (London, England)

EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY OF A DEAD BODY.-.Considerable excitement prevailed during yesterday and the preceding day in consequence of the following extraordinary discovery of the body of 'a dead man, which has given rise to various rumours in the neighbourhood of Bethnal-green as to the cause of death, and how the body became deposited in the place where found. From inquiries made it appears that, on Wednesday last, whilst some men were employed by the East London Waterworks Company laying down some pipes opposite the Bethnal-green-road East, one of the men, in removing some earth, laid hold of what, upon inspection, turned out to be the arm of a man. Upon making: further search the men discovered, with the exception of the arm before alluded to, the entire skeleton of a full-grown male, with light auburn hair. Information of the discovery was sent by Mr. P. Edinger, the secretary to the company, to Mr. Vaughan, the summoning officer for the district, who immediately commu-' nicated with the parochial authorities, and also with Mr. Baker, the coroner for the eastern division of Middlesex, but whether or not an inquest will be held on the remains is at present unknown. One of the rumours in' circulation in the neighbourhood is, that the party had been murdered, and the body buried in the place where found ; but from inquiries made by Mr. Vaughan, the summoning officer, there seems strong grounds for concluding that the body was that of a suicide, who had been buried in the cross-roads some 70 or 80 years since. The affair, however, has caused an extraordinary sensation throughout the parishes of Bethnal-green and Shoreditch.  AN ACCIDENT occurred to the newspaper express train yesterday morning. The engine ran off the rails in the neighbourhood of Crick ; the road became entirely blocked up in consequence, but we are happy to learn that confusion, delay, and the fright of the passengers were the only evils arising out of this casualty. The passengers were sent on by another train, but the newspapers did not reach Birmingham until two hours after the usual time.
The Sun. — 1853-03-18 (London, England)

SUSPECTED MURDER IN THE CANONGATE,  EDINBURGII.  On Sunday morning, between four and five o'clock, a labourer, named John Davidson, was found dead, under circumstances that afford some suspicion of his having been murdered. The deceased resided in Hume's-close, Canongate, in one of those overcrowded haunts of poverty and vice which abound in this locality. He was, it is said, given to drinking, which propensity his wife unfortunately shared in. The latter, who is named Sarah Brannan or Davidson, had formerly led an abandoned life, and quarrels arising from the jealousy of the husband are said to have been of frequent occurrence. They were both between 30 and 40 years of age, and had lived together for some time. The deceased was last seen alive, except by his wife, about 11 o'clock on Saturday night. Early on Sunday morning high words and a scuffle in the room which they occupied were overheard by some of the neighbours, but the noise suddenly subsided. After a brief silence, the woman came into an adjoining apartment, and told the inmates that her husband bad fainted. On entering the room they found the unfortunate man stabbed to the heart, and quite dead, though still retaining heat. The instrument of death was a shoemaker's knife, which had been worn by use to a very sharp point. There was little blood to be seen, and to all appearance the man's death had been instantaneous. Both parties had on their clothes, and had not apparently gone to bed, having in all probability spent the night in dissipation. 1 The attendance of a sergeant of police was then obtained, who took the woman into custody. On Monday the prisoner was brought before the sitting magistrate and remitted for examination. Her declaration was then taken by Mr. Dymock, the ' Procurator-Fiscal for the city, and it will be followed up, we believe, by the precognition of witnesses. It is not, of course, yet known whether there is sufficient evidence to commit the woman for trial ; and from the privacy with which it is customary here to conduct all judicial examinations, it is impossible to arrive at the exact truth of the case, more especially as the statements afloat are very conflicting. It appears, however, that the prisoner attributes her husband's death to suicide, and it is stated that the direction of the instrument was such that the blow might have been struck by the deceased himself. On the one hand, it is said the woman was heard in the course of the night to threaten to stab her husband : while, on the other the man is stated to have, not long ago, spoken of committing suicide, in consequence of alleged provocations to jealousy. Some time ago, it is said, the prisoner stabbed the deceased on the brow ; but the affair being slight, the matter did not come under the notice of the police. The body of the unfortimate man was on Monday examined by medical men. The wound was found to have been in the heart, and to have caused almost instant death. It seemed to have been inflicted in an upright position.
The Sun. — 1853-03-18 (London, England)

MURDER OF TWO CHILDREN BY THEIR FATHER-SUICIDE OF THE MURDERER.  Intelligence has just been received of a most appalling tragedy, which has been perpetrated by a highly respectable master shoemaker, named Isaac Tucker, at the adjoining fashionable suburb, Clifton, near Bristol, who, after having cut the throats of two of his children —two interesting little girls—aged respectively five and three years, put a period to his own existence in the same way. It would seem, from such particulars as have yet transpired, that the deceased had recently taken a house on Prince's-place, near the Royal York-crescent, in which Mr. Kempeter carried on for many years a lucrative business, and into the possession of which he entered with his family only a few days since. On Wednesday, between 12 and 1 o'clock, his wife had occasion to come into Bristol on some business, and he was left at home in the house with his children and a female servant. Soon after his wife left he was observed to come down stairs, go to the street-door, look up and down the thoroughfare, and then go to a lookhimself putting out his tongue, and working it about in a somewhat strange manninegriglastahned surveynwent up stairs, and soon afterwards his eldest little girl went upstairs. Nothing afterwards was heard of any of them, but some time subsequently upon a person going upstairs, the door was discovered to be locked, and upon its being broken open, all three of them were discovered quite dead, their clothes saturated with blood, and their throats cut in a shocking manner, the head of one of them being all but severed from the body. The instrument with which the fatal deed had been accomplished, a shoemaker's knife, having a remarkably keen edge, was found in the room. The fatal occurrence has created an extraordinary sensation in the neighbourhood, and the house, since the bodies were discovered, has been surrounded by crowds of persons.