Denton and Haughton Examiner, etc. — 1882-07-22 (Denton, Greater Manchester, England)

SHOCKING MURDER AND SUICIDE IN MANCHESTER.  Shortly before five o'clock on Thursday after. noon a young man who was articled with a well. known and highly•respectable firm of solicitors in this city murdered a young woman at the house, N 0.13, St. Leoeard's street,Chorlton-ou. Medlock, awl afterwards committed suicide by shooting himself. The occurrence, of course, caused a great sensation in the neighbourhood, and attracted a large number of persons to the scene during the course of the eveuiug. The house in question was occupied by a young woman of doubtful reputation, whose real name is said to be Ellen Howard, but who was better known as Ada Howard. She appears to have had amongst her acquaintances a young man. scarcely 21 years of age, named Montague Kyle D. Newby, who resided in Radnor-street, Heinle, and is reported to be the son of a clergyman residing in Rutland. Some two years ago, or thereabouts, he came to Manchester, and out led the office of a firm of solicitors having a large practice. Unfortunately he fell into evil ways, and has latterly been paying but little attention to the duties of the profession he was supposed to be qualifying himself for; indeed, it is said that he has not been near the office for the past fortnight. A considerable portion of his time was, if testimony of the neighbours can be relied upon, spent in the company of the woman Howard, and he seems latterly to hove been jealous of another young man to whom she had boon showing some attention, and who, it was supposed, she was about to marry. On Thursday afternoon, shortly after four o'clock, he went to her house, and had a conversation with her, which unfortunately had such an effect upon him that he shot her with a revolver, and afterwards put an eud to his own life by the same means. It is stated by some of the neighbours— on what authority we do not know—that he had proposed marriage to Howard, and that she had rejected hie offer. That some disagreement had takeu place between them is evident from what transpired on Thursday, for after exchanging some words with her he went upstairs and brought down a drawer, from which he proceeded to take out the letters which he had written to her. This was done in the front room of the house, in the presence of Howard. The conversation appears to have been renewed between them while he was turning over the contents of the drawers. What the burden of the conversation was may, perhaps, be gathered from the evidence which the servant, who was the only other person in the house at the time, will give at the inquest on the bodies. There is reason to believe that Howard ordered Newby out of the house, and indicated in other ways her contempt for him, and that this led him to produce a revolver. Directly she saw the weapon and observed him point it towards her, she passionately entreated him not to shoot her, but he immediately fired, the bullet entering her head under the left ear, and producing death directly. The servant, a young woman named Webb, hearing the cry of her mistress and the shot from the revolver, ran into the trout room, but no sooner bad she entered than Newby presented the revolver at her, and either threatened to shoot her or actually attempted to do no, the revolver missing fire. She screamed loudly, and rushed out of the room; directly she had done no. Newby placed the revolver behind his left ear and fired, death being instantaneons. The servant ran into the street and by her cries soon attracted the attention of a number of persons residing in the neighbourhood. Police Constable Henley, who was on duty in the locality. was informed of what had occuired, and on entering the !mese found that both Howard and Newby were dead. genes of the tragedy was sent to Dr. Yeats, AM.& wick-street, with a request that he would at once attend, but on his arrival he found life extinct in each case. An examination revealed two ouperficial wounds on Howard, one behind the left ear where the bullet entered, and another at the back of the bead where it is supposed it passed out after tra-. veraing the skull in an oblique direction. From this latter wound some portion of the brain Was peotruding. Newby, who was lying with his head near the door—Howard being laid between the fireplace and the window—has but one wound, that behind the right ear. A port-rnortern erdtmiaation will in all probability snow that the bullet which caused his death is lodged in the skull. The revolver was found in the hand of Newby, two chambers out of the six being undiacharged. Considerable surprise was: expressed by some of the neighbours after the sad occurrence that Newby should have been so infatuated as to have taken such a mad and wicked course, for Howard who was 21 years of age, and of Irish parentage, was not remarkably for extraordinary personal attractions. An examination of the bodies and of the house, which'is an ordinary siz-roomed was made during the evening by Investor )I,au• nister and Acting-inspector Davenport, and later on Acting-Superintendent Long made a similar examination: It will be remembered that a doable tragedy occurred in the same locality last Hacentber, when the bodies eta man and a woman were found in Hastings-street, death haring in the case been caused apparently by poison. This circumstance was recalled on Thursday evening by many of those who gathered round the house where Howard and Newby now lie, and furnished them with additional material for conversation and retleetion.