Widnes Examiner. — 1884-10-25 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

TERRIBLE TRAGEDY IN SALFORD. MURDER OF A WIFE AND ATTEMPTED SUICIDE OF TEE MURDERER.  Much consternation has been caused on Thursday afternoon in the neighbourhood of Ordsal-lane, Salford, by tho commission of a terrible domestic tragedy, which has jeopardised the lives of three persons. In Tatton-place, a small side street in the middle of a large population, lived a young couple named M'Laren, and it is their house which has been brought into terrible notoriety by the murderous deed. M'Laren's father, who was by trade a dyer, has for some time been out of employment, and with his wife had been living at the house of their son. The father, Patrick M'Laren, has. during the last six months, given frequent indications that his mind was affected, and during the last three weeks he hoe made three separate attempts on the life of his wife Amelia. At last she was compelled to leave him and went to live with her son, and as she refused to return to live with him her husband broke up his house and the furniture was sold. Since then he has visited his wife at Tattoo-piece and has stayed partly there and partly with a sister at Pendleton. On Wednesday, however, he mode another attempt on the life of his wife, and an application was made to the authorities for protection On Thursday morning, however, the man went again to Tatton Place, but he seemed quiet and more like himself, and though a certain amount of terror was inspired by his presence there was no apprehension of the terrible deed which in a few minutes startled the whole neighbourhood. Shortly after twelve o'clock Mrs. M'Laren, the mother, went downstalis to fetch some coal. No sooner had she got upon the cellar steps than her husband rushed to the front door and fastened it, and then dashed down the cellar after her. Seizing a coal hammer he struck the unfortunate woman a fearful blow with it, and knocked her down in the far corner of the cellar. She screamed for help, and appealed to her husband for mercy, and her daughter-in-law, who was upstairs, rushed down the cellar to her assistance. She found M'Laren standing over his wife nith an open razor in his hand, with which he had already made an incision in her throat. She endeavoured to pull the man away and made a desperate attempt to secure the razor, but the man was too strong for her, and, pulling her towards him' he contrived whilst holding his wife on the floor to push his daughterin-law against the wall. He told her that he would do for her, but she implored him to save her for the sake of her child. He paid no heed, however, to her entreaties, and a desperate effort to cut her throat also, but she struggled successfully with him, and after receiving several severe cuts about the hands she escaped from him and rushed into the street and gave the alarm. In the meantime M'Laren had continued the savage work. He made cut after cut at the throat of the prostrate woman and did not cease until the head was nearly severed from the body. By this time a large crowd had assembled outside the house, but no one dared to venture into the cellar where the murderer was heard walking about. He still had the razor in his hand, and after an interval of about five minutes he was heard to fall. Some of the neighbours then went into the cellar and found Ml,aren and his wife lying on the ground literally bathed in blood. They were removed to the house place upstairs, and Dr. Leonard and Dr. Cran were soon in attendance. They, however, pronounced life to la! extinct in the case of the woman, and the man had inflicted suck fearful injuries on his own throat that his death is only a question of a short time. . .  McLaren met with an accident about eighteen years ago, when the eight of the eye was destroyed by a piece of steel. ' Some months ago he commenced to show signs of mental aberration, and a medical man who was consulted stated that the piece of steel was still in his head and was affecting his brain. For the last six months he has been peculiar, but it is only during the last few weeks that a homicidal tendency bas manifested itself. He is 43 years of age, and his wife was 42. They leave two children, one the son in whose house the terrible accident was caused, and the other a girl of seven. The injuries sustained by the daughter-in-law are severe, but not of a serious nature.