Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1882-11-04 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

DREADFUL TRAGEDY IN LONDON.  Last Saturday morning a shocking discovery was made at Kentish town of the murder of a woman and two children, and subsequently it was ascertained that the supposed murderer, the husband of the woman, had committed suicide. It appears that • butterman named Hiram Meakin, with his wife and children, a boy aged two and a girl aged ,five, resided at 2, Dunollie-place, Kentish-town, occuppying the ground flour and letting the other rooms to lodgers. About nine on Saturday morning a fern de lodger wanting some butter for breakfast knocked several times at hleakin's kitchen door, but no one answered the knock. Mrs. Mackenzie, another lodger, having her curiosity awakened by this circumstance, entered the front room on the ground Boor, used as a sleeping apartment, and was shocked to see Mrs. Mi-akin and her daughter Emily, who was beside her, lying in a bed in a pool of blood, with their th oats cut in a frightful manner. The police, being summoned to the house, proceeded to make a caretul inspection of the bedroom. They found that, In addition to the mother and daughter, the little boy had been similarly murdered in his cot. Searching beneath the bed, they came across a shoemaker's knife and a big hammer; both besmeared with blood. Accioklisito Dr. Goodchild, &neighbouring medical man, who war fetched to examine the deceased persons, the absence of any appearance of a struggle having ensued ririar to death indicated that they were, In all probability, killed while they were sleeping. They had evidently been dead some hours. No noise seems to have been noticed by the other inmates of the house during the night, nor was any one heard to leave the house. Nevertheless, Meakin, who was last seen in the passage of tha house the preceding night, warn found to be missing. . A description of the missing man was forthwith telegraphed by the police at Kentish-town to the metropolitan and provincial police Mations, and on &thud') night infortuation reached the Kentish-town etationt,that the body of a man answering in every respect the description given had been found floating in the Thames near Londcn-bridge and removed to the mortuary at Guy's Hospital, where it was afterwards !dentine.] by his sister-in-law as the body of the missing man. Meakin, who was only 26 years old, is described as having been a quiet, inoffensive, wellconducted man. Both he and his wife were total abstaibers. Meakin being a member of the Blue Ribbon Army. 2 ..sy had been married some six or seven years, and appirently lived happily together. The deceased man when last seen alive is stated to have been in his usual good health. Latterly, however, he has been ambarramed in.money matters, and was apprehensive that he and his family might be impoverished. Hence, he grew despondent, and, in an Impulse of deepbfir And ffespetation it is conjectured, he determined first to destroy hi; wife and children and then himself, as the readiest way of getting rid of the diflictilties under which he laboured.  The following account of the recovery of the body of the suppo ed murderer has been given :—" On Saturday morn tt ig, several hours before the discovery of the dreadful . agedy was made, Hiram M.eakin, tile posed murderer, committed suicide at London- dge. It appears that short!, after six a. m. the police 'we' e attracted by a scream to one of the parapets on Londonbridge, and they then discovered that a man had leaped ovar and fallen on the buttress below, but Instead urthe body rolling off into the river, it rested OD a ledge below the chamfered portion of the buttress. aorta were made as soon as possible to reach the body, ibut owing to its being low water it the time, the tally way of getting to the spot was by obtaining 1 stout tope and a constable, who volunteered to be lowered down farm the bridge. This wasaccomplished betw.en eight and nine o'clock, and, in the presence of a large concourse of spectators, the body was brought up and removed to Guy's Hospital, where it was sulaequently placed in the mortuary. At that time no one had the slightest ides who the deceased man was. A sum of £2 lie, was found upon him, but there was nothing upon his person to lead to his Wen. tication. The Thames police in the course of the morning circulated a description of the man among the metropolitan police stations, and the officials at Henti.o Town at once recognised the deceased as that of the missing man Meakin. Sergeant Miller was thereupon. oispatched to the only known reigive of the family in Londhn, Mrs. Grew, rending at Camberwell, lino she accompanied the officer to Guy's Hospital about eight p.m.. and at once identified the dece,sed as Hiram Meakin."