The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1904-02-24 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

ATTIVAPTID MURDER AND  BUIOIDIL  A TER.UZING ROMANCE.  Da the fearful tragedy ehinh happened In ersange-roul an Friday( night, a romance of extraordinary intanat has by thie tims attached itself.  As reported in the "Birkenhead New." of &twiny an attempt was made at midnight on Friday to shoot a young aotrow named Miss Florence Baten and the asrailant. a I man named Thomas Gilbert, altar perform, lug that pert of kW dastardly business, turned the pistol on himself and shot out his blahs. A young man named Allan Frank Roberts, who intervened with commendable pluck and promptitude. We. also seriously wounded.  Sumea-street, Graagaroad, in which bile tragedy took place, es e very popular place I of residence with theatrical villitors to the Mena and it was here that the Misses Florence and lattie Bates, known as the , Sisters Cora, and appearing during last week ill the Theatre Metropole pantomime, bed the Salina" had taken up their readouts. At midnigfit, or shortly after, a young ship's officer, wao was staying at one of the houses in the street, was walking leisurely up and down before turning in, and I noticed a tall, well dreseed man, wearing an ' overcoat and a abut& felt hat, standing in the gateway of the house at which he him-' self had lodgings. If he had been a thought reader, or possessed of the powers which are ' said to belong to the clairvoyant, he might have detected end averted the design and I death of a ruthless esastain. Being an or- ' dinary mortal he had no such intuitions. but this suspicions were aroused, and alter standing some time at the Borough-reed cornea he &watered leisurely up the *sheet to Grange-sued. Again he stood still, and after au interval of a few moments the two sisteni Bates approached from the direction of the Theatre Metropole, accompanied by two gentleman. They turned, with their chaperone, into Sussex-street, walking down to No. 26, the house of Mrs. Roberts, at which they had been stopping for the past fortnight. They were chatting and laughing gaily, but a moment or two after they had passed the ship's officer was startled by two pistol shots, tired in quick succession, and the shriek of a woman for help, Haating to the spot from whioh the cries proceeded he again encountered the man, Thomas Gilbert. He was perfectly cool, and was apparently adjusting the barrel of a revolver which he held in his hand. He was without his hat, and as the pawed the ship's officer on him way and towards Garage-road, he pointed to the young ladies and said: "You had better go to help them." As he ran forward with the object of rendering eissistanee he happened to gleam over his shoulder, still feeling curious as to Gilbert'e movements. It was a timely glance, for as the did so Gilbert paused in the middle of the footway, raised the revolver to his head, fired, and instantaneously fell down down. The reports had attracted the police, and Sere. Allen and Police-Constable Burgess were speedily on the scene. The young ladies were by this time in their, apartments, and Miss LUkes, who was bleeding profusely from the hand, was being attended to by her friend. Lying, on the sofa, appaTemUY in great pain, was the son of Mee. Roberts, elm is 20 years of age, and who had rustle*" out of the house to warn the girls on their way borne that Gilbert was awaiting their arrival. Both were conveyed to the tioronan Hospital la the home ambulance. Miss Bates, it was found, thud been shot through the hand, and the bullet had afterwards grazed the skin above the waist. Roberta had come out of the affair ass fortunately, the bullet baying entered his back at one side of the spine and almost come out at the other. By a very lucky chance, however, the vital argeme were missed, and the dmtom were able to extract the bullet on Saturday evening. The body of the suicide, which *as identified by a member of the theatrical company, was conveyed in the bend ambulance to the mortuary at Livingetoneetreet. It 1.7618 found that he had albot himself clean through the train. Close to the baly of the deceased were found an Army mit revolver, an old-feskioned breechloading pistol. and a hat. Three of the six chambere of the revolver had been discharged, and several cartridges were found in the deceased's pockets. The breechloading patol was practically out of working order, and could scarcely have been intended for use.