Denton and Haughton Examiner, etc. — 1878-07-27 (Denton, Greater Manchester, England)

APPALLING TRAGEDY IN KENT.  The town of Crayford, on the South-Eastern has been thrown into estate of great excitement by an appalling suicide and triple murder. Some few weeks ago a licensed victualler, named IL W. Sands, who had lately held the position of steward at the Burlington Fine Arts Club, Sae.le-rcw, purchased the lease of the Nile public-house, Ohurch.street, Greenwich. Finding that the business did not quite realms his expectations, he appeared to grow somewhat deepondent, but not sufliciently so to cause his friends any grave anxiety. Hewn. a married man with four children. On Thuredity, at an early hour, he caused the three eldest to be dressed in their best clothe., saying that as there was little business doing, he would take them out for a walk in the park. On the following day information was given to Inspector Bonney, of the B Divisioa, at the Blackheath-road Police-elation, to the effect thet neither the man nor the children had returned. Upon this the iespector immediately telegraphed in all directlons, and an answer soon caus from Crayford, saying that a man unknown in the locality had been found dead in a pond in May-park-wood. Later in the day Miss Sande, the sister of deceased, identified the body as that of her brother. The children were not discovered until Saturday morning. A man answering the description given of him was seen on Thuriday evening sitting by a pool of stagnant weter about fifty yards distant from the road through Mayperk•wood. The children were not with him at the time. On Friday morning some workmen at Metiers. Swaisland's printing works at Crayford were paining through the wood, and, seeing something floating in the pond, two of them named respectively Henry Barham and George White, drew the object ashore, and found that it was the body of a man in whose throat two frightful wounds had been mede, one extending from the left ear to the centre of the neck, and the other reaching round to the right ear. As afterwards discovered by Dr. Thomas May, of Frithhill Home, the divisional surgeon of police, the cervical vertebras had been cut through. Three facts having reached Inspector Bonney he communicated with the relatives of the deceased, the result being the identAleation of the body. On Saturday morning, Inspector Blearing and Sergeant Jackson, who were in search of the missing children, suddenly rime upon them, lying close together, in an open glade in the Msy-park.wood. All wens dead, with terrible gashes in their throats. lii the opinion of the divisional surgeon, extraordinary violence could alone have produced such wounds as had bean inflicted. The cut in the throat of the eldest girl is nix-Inches in depth, and in it, when her body was discovered, were two blades of a penknife that had evidently broken off while the deed wee being committed. In a penknife found near Sends the two correeponding blades are missing. It is supposed that he cut his own throat with the only remaining blade, which is the smallest. Sands, about whose insanity there seems to be little I question, bore an excellent character. In his pocket were found .£l5, a .each, gold chain, and other articles. The following are the names and sem of his victims : Agnes Blisebeth Sands, aged 7i ; George Lewis Sands, aged ; and Amy Frances Sands, aged di. Of • family of four children, only one now remains. The spot where the tragedy occurred is a very lonely one, there being only one dwelling-house —the lodge'ef an edjacent mansion—within a quarter of a mile.  Mr. Oarttsr, coroner for West Kent, held an quest at Orayford upon the bodies of three children; named Agnes Blisebeth, George Lewis, and Amy Frances Sands, whose remains had been found in a wood near the village, with their throats cut; and also upon the body of Richard Lewis Sands, the father, which was discovered in a pond. The evidence went to prove that the man had lea his children into the wood on pretence of taking them for a walk, and there, having murdered them, destroyed his own life. The jury returned a verdict against him of wilful murder as respected the children, and found that he had killed himself while of unsound mind.