MORRISON MURDER- 1883 On the 25th October 1883 Jacob Silk had spent the everning drinking at the ‘Golden River Hotel’, some 400 yards away from his home. The publican had known Jacob and his wife Mary Ann for over 17 years. According to John GREIVE, a carter, Jacob had apparently tried to start a quarrel with Edward FRANCOME at the hotel that evening, but Edward declined to fight him. Jacob returned home about 7pm, not in a sober state. Mary Ann sent her daughter back to the hotel to purchase a bottle of whisky and when she returned about 20 minutes later, she found her father lying on the kitchen floor groaning with blood near his head. Her mother was in the kitchen but had no weapon on her. Mary Ann could also see an adze standing in the corner of the room, which was normally kept in a tool shed. Her mother took her tthbedroom where she told her that she had hit Jacob with the adze and that she intended to strike him further. Mary Ann counted seven more blows after her mother went to the kitchen. Jacob had often threatened both of them. On once occasion he had chased them with a loaded gun and they had sought refuge in a shed at Muter’s place. Jacob was left on the floor and mother and daughter went to bed about 2am the next morning. Benjamin Latter, a miner, was one the way to work the next day and bid Mary Ann good morning and asked where Jacob was. She replied ‘ Oh surely here he in on the floor’. She told Benjamin that ‘Francome and Jacob had been fighting and this is how they left him. Maybe he shot himself’. Jacob had loaded a gun threatening to shoot Francome. Mary Ann was arrested for the murder and after one hour and fifty minutes the jury returned a verdict of guilty of wilful murder’. Mary Ann broke down as tears welled in her eyes but she soon composed herself as she had been throughout the trial. She was sentenced to death.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 04:31:55 +0000
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