For this Friday 13th here is a double execution. The Murder of Evan Meller & possibly more: A hot water boiler that exploded at a rented Strangeways, Manchester home, killed the eldest daughter of the tenant, William Taylor, and devastated the family. Furious, Taylor and his wife Martha stormed into the offices of the landlord and house agent, Evan Meller, in Manchester city centre. “It was your fault!” Taylor raged at the landlord. “I demand compensation!” “It was your own fault, in fact,” replied Meller. “You shouldn’t have allowed the pipes to freeze up in winter, and that’s what caused the accident.” Taylor had arrived at the office in a very ugly mood. He took out a pistol and fired at the landlord. The bullet missed, but hit a labourer who was working on the premises, wounding him in the leg. Then Taylor produced a 12-inch cheese knife, leapt upon the landlord and stabbed him frenziedly all over his body. By the time other people in the offices could restrain him, Meller lay dead on the floor. The police were called, and Taylor told them tearfully: “Meller has ruined my family.” He was arrested, and then came more shocks. When police went to his home in Britannia Buildings they found the decomposing bodies of his three children, 12 year-old Mary, 8 year-old Hannah, and William junior, just 5, who had been dead for some days. Because, even after intensive investigation, it could not be established exactly how they had died, Taylor was charged only with the murder of Evan Meller. His defence at his trial was that the death of his daughter in the boiler explosion had rendered him insane. The court heard that there was a long history of aggravation between Taylor and the landlord, and Taylor felt provoked. He was sentenced to death, refusing to the end to say how his children had died, beyond “Meller murdered them.” William Taylor was publicly hanged, before a crowd estimated at 100,000, on this day 13th September 1862 alongside murderer, John Ward (below) on Saturday, outside Kirkdale Prison. After his execution medical inquiries suggested that the children were poisoned by chloroform vapour, traces of which disappear from the system after only 24 hours. I find it strange that there is reference to his wife Martha regarding the death of there other children, I would have thought that she had a case to answer also. Number 2. The Murder of William Jump: Clifford’s Brickyard in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester was a hotbed of industrial action in the early summer of 1862. The owners refused to recognise the Bricklayers’ Union and so the workers were determined to destroy it. A group of brick workers led by 30 year-old John Ward, and 36 year-old Michael Burke, armed with guns and sticks descended on Clifford’s Brickyard. Having done some damage, the men set off back to their homes, when two policemen confronted them. One of the bricklayers fired at a distance of only three yards at Police Constable William Jump, and he died of his wound within minutes. Wadding that was used in a pistol and found at the scene had the name Burke on it, and when Burke was arrested he told police that John Ward had fired the fatal shot. Both men were convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Burke was subsequently reprieved and transported to Australia, while Ward was sentenced to death. John Ward was publicly hanged along side William Taylor (above) on this day 13thSeptember 1862, outside Kirkdale Prison, it was a Saturday.
Posted on: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 10:27:54 +0000
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