Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser. — 1882-12-30 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

SHOCKING TRAGEDY IN LEEDS. DOUBLE MURDER AND SUICIDE. A painful case of double murder and suicide occurred in Leeds on Sunday morning,when two little girls were poisoned by the hands of their father, who afterwards destroyed himself. Poverty appears to have been the primary cause of the tragedy, which was evidently premeditated. On Sunday morning, at about eleven o'clock, Superintendent Matthews, of the New Wortley Police Division, received information that James Carling, aged 45, herbalist, 40, Hedley-street, Canal-street, Armley Hall, had murdered his two children, and then taken his own life. On arriving at the house the superintendent found Carling stretched on the bedroom floor with his throat cut, and a razor lying by his side. The man was still living, but death took place in s few minutes. The children were in bed. The elder of the two, Julia Calling, aged eight yews, was already dead; and the younger, Annie Elizabeth Carling, aged three years, was apparently in a dying state. When the superintendent got to the house, Mr Bradbury, surgeon, Green-lane, had already arrived, and Mr Hick, surgeon, on being sent for, quickly followed. The medical men at once attempted the restoration of the younger child; but although they worked vigorously with this object in view until the middle of the afternoon, their efforts proved unavailing, death ensuing at about three o'clock. The eircumstances surroanding the tragic occurrence lead to the supposition that Carling, who at one time occupied a respectable position in society, was labouring under severe mental depression, caused by, as he thought, his inability to maintain himself and his family. Carling was apprenticed to the business of a druggist at Messrs Hirst, Brook, and Co.'s, Lewis. For a long period he acted as dispenser for Dr. Mann, of Sweet-street, and for several years filled a similar position at the Liverpool Dispensary, marrying his present wife during his i residence n that city. For some years, also, he carried on bueiness at No. 2, Oxley-street, City-road, Bradford, as a herbalist, and massaged, prior to the depression in trade which set in at that town, to save a sum of money; but the slackness in business which was afterwards experienced made him decide to give up his shop and go to America. Thither he went, having sold a. quantity of furniture to enable him to do so. He was hopeful of being there able to secure employment, and afterwards to send for his wife and two children, whom he had left behind. He was successful in obtaining a good situation boa large drag warehouse; but he became very sick and weak, send on consulting a medical man was told that he would not be able to stand the climate, and that his life depended on his instant return to England. Thus in five weeks after his departure he was again back in this country. He then took a house at Armley Hall, where the sad affair already referred to happened. The house contains two rooms on the ground floor, and in one of these Carling kept the medicines in which he dealt. He advertised his business by handbills, but obtained little patronage. This fact, and the circumstance that the little money on which he and his family had subsisted was rapidly running out, preyed heavily upon his mind. On Wednesday, as on other days, by expressions he made use of it was evident that his mind was becoming seriously affected; but in conversation with his wife, with whom be seems to have lived on the best terms, he made no reference to intended self-destruetion or wish to pat his children out of exist(Mee. An inquest was held on Tuesday at Leeds on the bodies of James Carling, herbalist, and his two children, who were found dead on Sunday morning. A letter which Carling left, addressed to the Coroner, said ho had for several weeks suffered dreadfully from pains in the head, and his desire was to pat an end to his painful existence.—The jury found that, while in an unsound state of mind, Carling had murdered his children and then committed suicide.