Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser. — 1866-07-06 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

MURDEROF TWO CHILDRENAND SUICIDE I OF THE MURDERER, AT HALIFAX. On Saturday night, a horrid tragedy took place at Lee Lank, Halifax. A carpet weaver, named Ephraim Iduith, about forty years of age, murdered two of his children and then cut his own throat. The youngest child, named Emma, five years of age, appears to have been suffocated in bed. The next child, aged ten years, add called Elizabeth, had her throat cut. After which the father must have cut his own throat. All were quite (lead when found. The family occupied a single room, being the top of a t free-storey building—a room some time since used as a Wesleyan Sunday-school—access to it being obtained from Old Bank, in Lee Bank. The family consisted of the father, a weaver at Messrs. John Crossley and Sons, limited, carpet manufacturers, and who may be recalled to mind by some when we state that he had a deformed (club) foot. His wife is an inmate of the Wakefield Lunatic Asylum, where she has been two years. There were three children, namely—Emma (five years of age), Elitabeth (teu years), and William lley, (thirteen years). The discovery of the affair was rt-i follows: Ihe boy, William Henry, had been to Halifax fair, and did not return home until eleven o'clock at night. Ile was surprised to find the house door fastened, and knocked frequently for admission. As no response was given, lie threw open a window, which is very close to the door, put his arm through, unlatched the door, and entered, and was horrified to find his sister Eliz tbeth behind the door, and apparently dead. There was no light iii the house, and he ran out and gave an alarm. Two men, named Solomon Broadbent and Gdison Walton, the latter an expoliceman, ea-Jed with a candle, and the full horror then bur-t upon. them Upon the floor were several pools of blood; the looking-glass and the wall near were sprinkled with blood. The father was sat upon the fl 'or, with his hack against the wall, under the front window, his head almost severed from his k y . Around him was 0 pi, (if wood, and upon the floor, at ihe distance of about half a yard, was an open raz ur hesm ared with blood. Behind the door was lying the girl El zaheth in, her right side, also in a pool of blood, her beek awl tliniat having been cut on the right side. She probably struggled hard, for the knuckle of the third finger on the wit hand has an incised woun I. She was naked, except IA chemise upon her. The child Emma was found dead upon the bed with her face downward. Site was dressed. There was no blood about her, nor marks of violence. The opinion of those who blond her was that she had been smothered by the bed-clothes. One neighbour only appears to have heard any noise in the house, and he did not imagine that murder was being committed. That was about ten o'clock.. It is suppwed that the father suffocated the child first. . It is known that he kept the girl Eliz‘beth going errands in the evening, and it is now conjectured that he disposed of the y iongest child at that time. Probably the fattier had planned the murder of all the children, but fortunately the lad was out rather later than usual. The father is known as a steady man, and his general conduct has been such as to cause the greatest surprise that he should have been goiky of murder.