npedrazzini/19thc_murder_suicide_news huggingface dataset:
The Northern Daily Times. — 1856-01-10 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

SUICIDE AT BOOTLE.—Yesterday morning, a master carter, named Thomas Booth, residing at Bank Cottage, Bootle, hung himself in his own stable, The deceased was 38 years of age, and for some time past be had suffered from low spirits, in consequence of his horses being idle. On New Year's morning he made an attempt to hang himself with a handkerchief, but was prevented by his wife. On Tuesday he was in a very low state, and lay is bed the moat part of the day. At ten o'clock he asked his wife to get a pint of ale to cheer him, but he did not drink it; he got up about four o'clock to feed the horses, and about eight o'clock his wife found him hanging in the stable. There was an inquest on the body yesterday, when the jury returned a verdict of " temporary insanity." The Prease d'Orient of Constantinople says that the Czar has admirably received the French officers who were taken in the neighbourhood of Kinburn. His Rassian Majesty is reported to have said to them, " I shall soon shake hands with you as your friend." RE3fARKAULEIBTEOIII.—A very brilliant and remarkable meteor was witnessed at Southampton on Monday last. At about fiva minutes before five o'clock in the afternoon a streak of light darted down from the heavens, and when apparently about a mile and a half above the earth, the lower end of it expanded into a blue and red ball of fire, about six inches in diameter. This ball separated from the streak, and as it was falling towards the earth it separated in five smaller balls which vanished in the haze that ebsoured the horizon in the south-west. But the moat remarkable part of the phenomenon was the streak of light, which remained precisely in the same spot where it was first seen when the ball of fire left it.
The Northern Daily Times. — 1856-11-18 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

SUSPECTED MURDER OF A WIFE AND SUICIDE OF THE HUSBAND.  About half past ten o'clock on Saturday night, a constable, on duty on the Hackney road, was hastily summoned to No 17, Great Cambridge street, London, where he was informed that a man had committed suicide. On entering the parlour, a young man, apparently about twenty-seven years of age, was found lying on the carpet in a pool of blood, his throat cut from ear to ear, and by his sido lay a razor. A surgeon was sent for, who found the body warm, but quite devoid of life. The police were left in charge of the apartment, and about an hour afterwards, the same officer who had received information of the foregoing act, was apprised that a woman had been taken from the water of the canal near Haggerston bridge, quite dead, and conveyed to the Acorn, public house, adjacent. This, on enquiry by the constable, likewise proved correct, and a further investigation resulted in the discovery of the deceased parties being husband and wife, the latter only 22 years of age. In connection with these facts, a subsequent searching investigation tends to show, almost beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the n husband was instrumental in causing the death of his wife, ad then took his own life. Mary Ann Brown, a girl 16 years of age, while passing near the towing path of the canal, between nine and ten o'clock, observed a man standing near the water's edge, and at the same time heard a gurgling sound proceeding from the middle of the stream. She remarked to the mar, " You have thrown something into the water." On hearing which, he ran off without reply, and she following, perceived him enter the house 17, Great Cambridge street. A man named Finch shortly afterwards saw something on the surface of the water, near the bridge mentioned, and having procured the assistance of the police, obtained drags, and drew the body of the female to the sido. The same medical man who had attended upon her husband was called in, and, as in the former case, pronounced life to have been but a short time extinct. Their names are Herrry and (we believe) Ann Fenn. By trade ho was a carver and gilder. There is no family, but the lodgers state they lived unhappily, he keeping her without domestic necessaries. On the same evening the bodies were found as described. She was heard to say " Good bye, Henry," and left the house followed quickly by him, but he very speedily returned, and persons above stairs, observing an unusual silence, entered his apartment, where they found him weltering in blood, as described.
The Northern Daily Times. — 1856-11-18 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

THE MURDER AT ERITU.  On Saturday, we gave the particulars of the supposed highway robbery and murder of Mr. George Carter, the son of a highly respectable floriculturist in the Surrey suburbs of London, at Erith. At that time there was a doubt, as no post mortem examination had been made, and froth some peculiarities in connection with the wounds on the body of the deceased, whether he had met his death at the hands of assassins, or whether he had himself caused it. It was incidentally mentioned that when the body of the deceased was found he was lying upon the grass, some considerable distance from the beach, where it was originally stated that the body was discovered. From the fact that, in additional to the four mortal wounds in the breast, one in the right auricle, and three in the left ventricle, the centre one of the latter being three inches deep, there has been discovered, at a subsequent examination of the body, an extensive fracture at the back of the skull nearly as large as an egg, and this has induced the medical men to assert that it was impossible the case could have baen ono of suicide. That there is no doubt on the subject now appears from the fact, that the Secretary of State for the Home Department has issued a notice, offering, a reward of £lOO for the apprehension of the person or persons implicated in this murder; and the right hon. baronet has also advised her Majesty to grant her most gracious pardon to any person not being the actual murderer, who would give such information as may lead to the same results. In addition to this, the society for the Prosecution of Felons, in the district, has offered a reward of £5O, and the friends of the deceased £lOO, for the apprehension of any person implicated in this brutal outrage. There can be little doubt but that with these rewards, if there was more than one person engaged in the transaction, and all the circumstances that have as yet transpired tend to that end, that the murderer will be speedily apprehended. A more diabolical transaction has not probably occurred for many years. That the murderers had their scheme deeply laid is apparent, but that they made a great mistake in carrying it out is evident from this circumstance, that when the body was found a largo pie,;e of the skull was battered in, which could not have been dono by accidentally falling, and also that the carpenter's gouge, which was found in the hand of deceased when the body was discovered, would have made the wounds in a reverse d:rection to those indicated on the body.
The Northern Daily Times. — 1856-09-18 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

RESCUE FROM DROWNING AT LEEDS.—A girl, of the unfortunate class, who was so physically reduced by her rash and wicked attempt at suicide as to be incapable of stinding upright in the dock, was charged at the -Leeds Court House, on Tuesday, with having attempted to drown herself early the same morning. Her nams was Ellen Conroy. Her countenance and bust were purely classical and statuesque, and as she reclined in a doubled up position on her chair, her long and beautiful black hair fell in tangled and irregular masses over her shoulders, or was fancifully matted by the moisture about her forehead. The girl had been living in Olstreet, and was au unfortunate female of the town. About three o'clock that morning, a young man, named William Benson, of Back Zion-street, w proceeding to his work when he observed the prisoner runas swiftly and excitedly down Low Fold, towards the river Aire. Ile immediately followed, suspecting her purpose was self-destruction. As soon as the girl reached the river, which in this place flows deeply past the large factory of Mr. _Hammond, she tossed her arms wildly aloft, and plunged into the stream. Benson hastily divested himself of his garnaent4, and jumped into the water after her. By this time she bad floated out into mid-stream ; but Benson, !icing an excedent swimmer, soon succeeded in reaching her, and brought her to shore, from whence she wasimmediately removed to the police-office When examined by Mrs. Johnson, the matron, she was found to be suffering from extreme physical exhaustion, from which she had not recovered when brought before the magistrates. She was also suffering from disease, Upon being interrogated by the bench as to her motive in attempting to commit so , rashan act, the unfortunate creature appeared incapable of making any reply ; and the court, without further enquiry, committed her for three months to Armley gaol, where that attention will be rendered her which her recent immersion and other causes appear to require. Benson was warmly complimented by the magistrates on his gallent behaviour ; and, upon its appearing that this was not an isolated instance of his courage in rescuing people from drowning, they awarded him ten shillings as a mark of their satisfaction.
The Northern Daily Times. — 1856-12-02 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

INCREASE OP ASSIZE TOWNS IN LANCAIWIRE.—At the Preston Court of Sessions, on Thuradoy, Mr. r. 13. Addisotl/4 the chairman, in allusion to the commission appointed ty. Her Majesty to enquire into the working of the present assize, system, with a view to a report upon the expediency or otherwise of introducing any alteration, remarked that it might he desirable for the commission to consider whether. in a county like that of Lancaster, containing a population, of more than 2,000,000, the assizes should continue to be held, as heretofore, in Only two of its towns, while a small county like that of Rutland, containing about 40,000, or 50,000 inhabitants, had the privilege of having asti7pes of its own.  DOUBLE SincinE.—A horrible case of suicide was committed at Lower Largo on the night of Saturday last, by Elizabeth White and Janet White, twin sisters, about thirty years of age, and weavers by occupation. They, c)mmitted the deed about eleven o'clock p m.. by tYlitng; a rope of their own make to the joists of the leo% they, wrought at, and then must have tied it around necks. They were both found hanging in tha shop. about half-past eleven p.m., by one of the neighbours, who wentt into the shop to see what had become of them, dead. QPI that afternoon they were seen by their mother to twic@. th rope, which was supposed to be the same as. they used this action, and stated to her that they both oarae.into it toe world together, and that they would both leave ',nether, The two unfortunate girls were very Fle)' respected begsteady, ; beano, cause as yet given for them 00/7:mitting suicide.—Fifeshir6, J oiunrna l . sober, and industrious :„ls, there can be  A S MANTLES and JACKETS are so It very generally worn this Season J.
The Northern Daily Times. — 1857-05-18 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

THE DOUBLE SUICIDES IN THE EAST. —The awful events that have taken place in the Persian Gulf have given rise to a good deal of speculation. One correspondent gives us the following hypothesis :—I know little of the Persian question beyond what I have read in the newspapers, and less of the actual position of our troops in the Quit, but this I believe, as firmly hs that I exist— and I would stake all I possess upon the accuracy of my opinion—that the fear of anonymous slander, libel, vituperation and abuse, in unmeasured terms and without mercy, by a certain newspaper, drove our two commanders to the frightful crime of suicide. Of late years the attacks of this description upon the most honest, true-hearted, and courageous of British officers have been of frequent occurrence, and with results of a most painful character, and calculated to deter any man from accepting responsibilities in the service, even at the command of his sovereign. I well remember the conduct of anonymous writers towards Lord Gough—how, after doing his best, he was charged with hot-headedness and destroying our prestige, and I don't remember what besides, and how another officer was demanded to supersede him, and yet at the same moment he had laid, and for ever, the Indian empire at our feet, And throughout the Crimean campaign how many fell victims to the same anonymous slander. Scarcely one man in command escaped attack. Upon Lord Raglan's monument should be inscribed, "An honest, fearless, and faithful soldier lies buried here—the victim of an anony, mous writer." To the fear of the same writing I traced the suicide of our naval commander et Peterpauloski, and to its effect I attributed solely the broken hearts and deaths of Boxer, Christie, and same half dozen others, all men of ability and integrity, who sank beneath the envenomed darts from an editorial chair.
The Northern Daily Times. — 1857-01-16 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

NOVEL IDEA OF LANDLORDISM.  Our Paris letter of Tuesday, informs us that some enthusiast, with a boundless belief apparently in the paternal character of the present Government, has proposed that the government should become the landlord of all Paris. He wishes to see dear lodgings at an end. He thinks the only means to bring about this result is to make the Government proprietor of every house in the city. It would not be a difficult job, according to the writer of this pamphlet. Bills could be issued in payment of the sundry -hundreds of millions of francs that would be required to gain possession of the property ; a new and happy state of things would follow; lodgings would be cheap (why, of course is too impertinent a question to ask) ; these would be no extortion practised; better accommodation would be provided; profit, instead of going into the pockets of rapacious proprietaires, would enrich the Government. and consequently the country ! What happiness ! But what follows is still better. The author says, that, as concierges would become Government servants under the new system, their condition would be improved. and they would rise i❑ importance, and deserves to do so. The concierges Government servants ! They are bad enough at. present, but make public functionaries of them, and no man's lodging would have a shred of comfort left. It is amusing to think of a proposition  I:ke this. None but a Frenchman could have dreamed of making it. As the Debats very appropriately says, people in France always expect the Government (not the present in particular, but any and every Government) to do too much. It must look after affairs that private people themselves are more fitted to control. It must meddle and interfere with the smallest, as with the largest, nifeirs of life. Much of the apathy of the French, in respect to what may be called domestic reform, is to be explained by the pi evalence of this feeling The Government is ever present to the minds of the people as the machine by which the work of the country is to be performed. Why, if a man is run over in the street, or if a person commits suicide, not a soul will offer assistance until a policeman comes in eight. The newspapers continually tell how, noises having been heard which indicated that suicide was being committed, the people who heard those noises, inst.ead of at once rendering aid, went and informed " the authorities."  PURIFYING THE CHURCH lIV
The Northern Daily Times. — 1857-05-19 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

SUICIDE OP OMEN BROWN', LITE OF THE TWENTY-THIRD FUSILIERS.  Yeaterday morning, Mr. Bedford, Coroner for West, minster, held an inquest at the Two Brewers, Jermynstreet, St. James's. on the body of Jahn Brown, Esq., late captain in the 23rd Fusiliers, who committed suicide by shooting himself at his residence, N. 8, Ccarle street, St. James's, on Friday last: Among the witnesses examined was Mr. Frederick Tothill, surgeon, of 8;• Charles-street. He stated that he had known the deceased for a leneth -of time, and rt",sided in his house for fifteen years, hut he only attended him professionally since the 29th of April last, whets he was attacked with an eruptive fever, of which he got well, but beyond that witness did not know deceased had anything the matter with him. Witness saw him on Friday morning. He was then more depressed-than he had ever seen him before. He had been told the deceased had a revolver pistol in the house, but he never saw it until after the death of the deceased. O❑ Friday morning' witness asked deceased to get up and wash himselt, and go out as usual, but he refused to do so. About a• quarter before two o'clock witness again went to his, I oorn, when he found the door locked, and the deceased called out sharply, " Who's there?" Witness said, "It is me," when the deceased asked, " Who's me?" Witness replied, " Mr. Tothill," and at that moment witness heard the report of a pistol. Witness hesitated a little, but believing something had happened, he sent to the Junior United Service Club for a messenger who was in the habit of attending upon the captain, but he was out. He then sent for a policeman, as he did not feel justified in breaking open the door, but if he had done so it would have been of no use, as the deceased was quite dead, with a wound in the right breast, and death, mist have been instantaneous. Could not say the deceased was quite insane at the time, for he had not seer: hina for two hours before—he was only peculiar in his manner.Mr. William George Shedden, of 40, Cravenhall-gar, dens, merchant, said he was distantly connected with the deceased. He knew that in April he had been attacked with an eruptive fever, and it was at first thought it was small pox. When he went to see him he was sadly depressed. and, consequeutly, witness visited him. He used to say he was an isolated being, and nobody cared for him, and he did not know how he should get over this. -Ile had no doubt he was insane at the time he committed the act. die was unmarried, and had but few friends. He was in pecuniary embarrassment. The Coroner having remarked on the case, the jury returned a verdict, " The deceased destroyed himself,whlde labouring under temporary insanity."
The Northern Daily Times. — 1857-01-05 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

TRAGEDY IN FRANCE.—An extraordinary affair has just taken place at Toulouse. The wife of a gentleman, nameo S—, on Wednesday informed her husband that a sculptor. named 3—, of the Rue des Cimetieres Saint Aubin, had committed a gross outrage upon her. The husband at once procured a pistol, went direct fo the s'udio of the sculptor, and discharged the pistol right at him. The ball passed completely through the artist's neck, and thin, breaking a pane of glass, fell int the street. The wounded man ruhed from his workshop into his drawing room, which adjoined it, Hang open the window, stepped on to the balcony, twice Cried " Murder !" end then tell against the iron balustrade. His cries, and the sight of blood dropping from the balcony, causel the passers-by to enter the house, but, to their horror, they found the unfortunate man ead:' As to M. S--, after firing his pistol, he fled from the house, and was seen proceeding towards the canal. Since then, though the most active search has been made everywhere, nothing has been seen or heard of him, and it ,s supposed that he has committed suicide. From the position of the head of a statuette, found in the centre of the workshop, it appears that the sculptor was at work on it when he was shot; and, from the nature of the wound, it appe irs that the pistol was fired just as he turned round his head to see who had apened the door. An ACCIDENT which, though comic enough, might easily have had a tragical ending, occurred the other day at Madame Tussaud's Exhibition. A medical student, examining the guillotine in the Chamber of Horrors, took it into his head that the sort of yoke which fits down on the shoulders of the criminal to hold him in his place, would not be sufficient to confine a person who struggled. His cariosity on this point led him to watch till the place was empty, when he actually put himself in, letting down the yoke. He soon found that be was quite unable to lift it, and it at once flashed into his mind, that the sharp axe which was suspended over his neck could not be very firmly fixed or it would not fall (as it does) with a touch. Ile was afraid to struggle, lest the shaking should bring it down and at once deposit his heal in the basket of sawdust below him, into which his eyes were of necessity steadily looking. Having stayed some time in this plight, he was overjoyed to heir the approach of a visitor whom he suppliantly implored to release him. " I'm thinking," said thg gentleman (a Scotch visitor of the metropolis) to his wife, I'm thinking he must be hired to show bow the thing acts, and I think we'd better not interfere." So the luckless student was left till M. Teseaud came in, and made fast the axe bef"re releasing him. The axe has been removed and laid by the side to prevent future accident' e.
The Northern Daily Times. — 1857-03-16 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

MURDER AND SUICIDE AT PRAGUE.  A, terrible affair occurred last week aft Prague. A young officer of a regiment, of hussars, stationed some miles from that city, had an intrigue with a wealthy Jewess, named Katz, a widow thirty years of age. In the evening of , the, 4th he absented himself from his -regiment, to I hotit leave, to pay her a visit, and on arriving at her house at Prague, he found with her some officers of an infantry regiment of the garrison. The whole party supped together, and at a late hour the officers departed, leaving the young hussar alone with Madame Katz. After awhile the latter sent her servant to purchase some beer. ; and the servant on her return found, to her snrprise, the outer door fastened, and received no reply to her knocks and calls. At last, after waiting some time she summoned a patrol, who happened to pass, and a forcible entrance was effected into the widow's apartment. The officer's sword stained with blood was picked up in the entry; and in an inner room the widow was found lying dead, frightfully mutilated, in a pool of blood. Her head, neck, breast, and arms were so hacked that they could scarcely be. recognised. Her silk gown was cut to pieces, and her braeelets, broken into fragments, were scattered about the floor. In one hand she held a quantity of. hai,, which had evidetrly been torn from the officer's head, and in the ether:the knot of his sword, which had hen violently dragged off. yin another room the officer hitnself was found lying dead, with his throat cut.. What took place between the two before this horrible murder and spicide were perpetrated is not kruiwo. From the officers sword having been fnund in the entry, it is supposed he had conceived tit.: design of taking to flight, and of cutting down anybody who might attempt to resist him ; but that, after finding the patrol at the door, he fel,, the usclessoeis of resistance, and, throwing aside his weapon, cut his throat;