THE RAINHILL MURDERS.

Evening Star, Issue 8816, 4 May 1892, Page 4

THE RAINHILL MURDERS.

(From Our London Correspondent.] London, March IS. The prinoipal topic of conversation on bus or tram, in the train, and at moals this last day or two has beers the Anglo-Australian murders, as the diabolical crimes of Albeit O. Wiliiams alias Fred Deeming have boon christened, Glearly you have now in custody at the Antipodes ono ef the moat blood-thirsty, daring, ruthless, and strougnerved scoundrels who over triad to cheat tho hangman. Bit by bit his extraordinary story is being clearly unfolded, and the more j cue hears thoinoreonemarvels. The fust note ' of horror was struck List Monday, when tho papers contained a fairly full cablegram frctn Melbourne recounting brkfly the particulars of the discovery of Mrs Williams's body and the arrest iu Western Australia of the murderer. A lino stating that tho victim was believed to como from Rainhill (a village about seven miles from Liverpool) gav« the pulioe of the great ecaport their cue. They made inquiries, and discovered Mrs Williams was a MUs Mather, daughter of a respectable shopkeeper (hows Rgent) there. Everybody in the place seemed* to know and have something to say concerning Williams. He had been quite a notoriety during his brief stay. His money, his profusencas, his yarning proclivities, his mysterious visitors, unci hi 3 curious liking fur cemented 11-iors v.sre all fully and ■freely dilated on. What ha heard made Superintendent Krij4hlf.vlleoi.lo on aa examination of Dinham Villa (tho house at Kainhill occupied by Williams), and on Wednesday morning three constables supplied with picks started for the SL'er.e of action. They arrived about ono o'clock, and the flag in tha back kitchen wan at •jnce raised, and a couple of constables set <":>) work with pwkaxes. Before they had ".100a a 1; work a quarter of an hour a sickening smell emanated from the hole they hud

made in the floor, and thnan p™.— * -«..«. »* ,-ai.i- convinced that they were about to come upon some buried remain?. It was evident that a deep hole had been dug in the kitchen iloor, and that several barrels of cement had been U3ed. This had funned into ft mass solid hard like concroto, and tho work ■A f scavatiug it was painfully alow. As the men proceeded tho sickening graveyard snioil became horribly intonsitbd. After lull aa hour's digging, when the earth and conent had been excavated to a depth of about a foot, a confirmatory discovery v, aa nude. The corner "f a white d.>raask table-cloth mid what appeared to bo a woman'", apron or t-luiwl v.cre disclosed ir. viiw. The stench had now becouia bo overpowering that tho constable's were compelled to ceaso wotk for a time and go to tho door for fresh air, When the work was recommenced not mauy minutes had elapsed before the police were able to take out tho bodies of two children. Poth were lying fajo downwards, with their little bodies simply covered with nightshirts, their legs being perfectly bare. Th.3 first body Uken out was that of a boy iibont uvo years cl ages The deceased wore a striped print shirt, and his head was wrapped in what appeared to be a piece of old linen. When tho body was taken up tho stench, which had previously been almost intolerable, becamo infinitely worse. LJvery window in tho house had to »io thrown open. Tho body of the first cr.ild discovered was immediately taken upstairs into ono of tho bedroom?. When the hj sad-wrap was remove'.!* it was discovered thai not only was tiis;o a fearful wound <>n the head, but that the throat had been cut and the heal almost severed from the body. The remains were fearfully decomposed at the extremities of the arms and Vjgs. The body of a fair-haired little girl .bout seven years of age was next brought

:tit, her throat also being terribly cut,

After these two bodies had been removed the police bsgan to excavate to get out the body of a woman, whi/n, it was apparent, was deeply embedded ia euru-jut. Slowly J ha work proceeded, bi.t ultimately one foot was uncovered ; i 1; \v-\a encased iu a soft home shoe. Great ('ifßaulty was found in extricating the bod;, it boiug so firmly tixed id the cement. 15 was seen that the woman had a rope ronad her neck, and that »;he ends had been cut sharply oil as if she had been hanged and cut clown. A policeman tugged at the rope, but it gave way, and the digging operations commenced again, the body bcin;,' ultimately removed. While the moo. were at work digging round this body they made the unexpected discovery of the body of a baby girl lying near r,!i;j woman's fee?, and neon afterwards a fourth child—a girl of about ten—wa3 found lying beside the woman. The woman's body was wrapped in an eiderdown quilt, uid tied tightly rouud with rope. She waß fully dressed, with the exception of a boot and stocking missing from one foot. Her clothes were of line quality. Sho had on a print morning dress. Her throat, like those of the children, was cut. Sho was of very dark complexion and had short black hnir, suggestive of her being a half caste. On her left hind were a wedding ring and a keeper. All the bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition, and the work of removing them was completed only after very great difficulty. The burial ;jf the bodies had evidently been carried out in a very systematic and complete mauner. A deep hole had been dug, and the bodies •jf the woman and two children placed in it, ;;ad cement poured upon them. The elder children were then placed iu the hole and cemented over in a similar manner, SENSATION IN LIVERPOOL. i'he sensation caused in the North of England by the Liverpool and Melbourne murders is akin to that aroused ;n London by " Jack the Ripper's " achieve merits. Clever surely even in the most u:mguicary of fictions has such a criminal 'j.ien drawn us this mau, His Rainfall* Acquaintances were loud in his praises up to Monday bsfc. He had charmed every one by his showy manners and cheery goodiellowehip. A few shook their heads over the Mather marriage, suspecting the lady's money to ba tho attraction. But even when tlie news of the poor woman's murder came from Melbourne last Saturday it was scarcely bolieved Williams could be the culprit, A follow who could " yarn" and " stand treat" with the lavish generosity he exhibited would never, it was argued, knife hia wife. Then certain disagreeable reminiscences in connection with tho flooring of Dinham Vila cropped up. The police arrived on the scene, but, as Wednesday morning's Liverpool papers remarked, a was not suspected thoy would discover anything. The (boring being the same as that of the scene of the Melbourne catastrophe, a precautionary examination would have to be made. That was all. Towards noon terrible rumors began to go around, i:m\ a dense crowd gathered .The Biekening atench was observable a hundred yards or more away. As discovery followed discovery an awful silence fell on the village folk who knew Williams. The man must be "Jack the Ripper." It was impossible that there could be two such human fiends. And yet anyone less like a fiend than the rollicking, talkative, vivacious, and profuse agent for the myßtcriouß "Colonel Brooks" it would, they all still say, be difficult to imagine. THE MURDERER'S HONEYMOON. A Ramhill lady tells the following : " I well remember the occaaion on which Williams returned to Rainhill after a brief honeymoon trip. The newly-married couple came out one afternoon, the bride brimming over with joy, and Williams apparently elated at having made a great conquest. They went to Dinham Villa, entered by the front door, which Williams unlocked, graoefully standing aside inviting hia bride to enter, Mrß Williams walked in with a dainty footstep, tucking up her gown. Williams followed and proceeded to the drawing room, and than along the lobby to the kitchen underneath, in whioh the bodies were embedded in tire cement. He was in a very happy frame of mind, and commenced, to shuffle hia feet and jig a little on the flags beneath which the murdered woman and children lay, He waa in an irrepressibly humorous vein, and told a good story to hia bride, and they were both heard to giggle and laugh unrestrainedly. It was said at the time that, after all, Misa Mather had made a very good match, as she was so hjpps* The couple were afterwards aeen to leave by the front door and walk away arm in arm, Williams smoking a cigar in a very cool way, puffing out the smoke from hia lips in big whiffs as if he were enjoying his Havana immensely." One or two who were guests at the dinner party of A. 0.

Williams have been knowing the invitation oard aa "Mr Albert 0. Williams requests the pleasure of the company of Mr at a social dinner at Mr A. E, Short's Commercial Hotel, Rainhill, on Wednesday, August 26, 1891. Dinner at ?.&) p.m." There were toasts, speeches-, fend songp, and afterwards some cf ttVe guests went over to inspeot tha work done at Dinham Villa. The Bt'Ory goes that ho stopped ono who wa3 making for tho kitchon with " Don't stand on the cement; it's w«t." ike bodies must have bcaa underneaVi nearly a fortnight th*>, OPENING OV *IIK INQUEST. Mr Samuel Brighouse, couuty coroner, opened the inquest on March 18 at the Victoria Hotel, Runcorn, on tho bodios of Marie Deeming, aged thirty-nine; Bertha Deeming, aged eight; Marie Daemiog, aged six and a-half; Francis Sydney, aged four ; and Martha Lilla, two years old. After undergoing a pod mortem'examination by Drs M'Lellan and Hutchinson, the remains had been placed in coffins brought by the relieving officer, which were laid on the floor ready for removal. Tho spectacle was terrible to behold. The bodies were in a high state of decomposition, ftnd a very curaory glance sufficed for Inspection. Mrs Deeming's features were tho best preserved. Nearest tho mother was placed the coffin of tho youngest child, with the following touching inscription : Jesus Christ called a Little Ciiilil, Maiitiu Dkkminci, Aged two yiars, Unto Him. All the colli aa had a black shield, with yellow lettering, bearing the names and ages of the victims. Tho jury looked upon the duty as a very objectionable one, one gentleman saying he would rather pay L2O than look upon tho bodies. The jury lighted pipes and cigars and smoked vigorously while viewing tho remains. Albert Deeming, the brother, who so clo3ely resembles the murderer, was first o.v<ua. Ttcic wna a painful scene when he commenced bis evidence. Ho was shn."» .« photograph of tho rnnrrio->J woman, nod, weeping bil'.erly, ho said it was his eister-iu-lavv, and hu wept more bitterly than ever when he said he was visited by his brother a fortnight after they went to Rainhill. Hu formally identified tho bodies, and added: My brother and I married two Bisters. The last time I saw my sister-in-law was on a Saturday afternoon iu July of last year. Up to that time she had stayed at my house for two years with the children. My brother had baeu staying all that time at our house, but on and oif they had been abroad eight or nine yc&ra.

The Coroner: Will you tell the jury the circumstances under which she left your houso with tho children?—He took them away. I was under the impression that they were going to Rainhill for a few days, and that then they were going to California or Australia. It was on a Saturday I last saw my sister-in-law. When did you last see your brother alive?—l saw them a fortnight after the Saturday. I did net see him on the Saturday. I just saw my sister-in-law to tho station for Rainhill, and I have not seen her or any of the children since until yesterday morning, I saw my brother about a fortnight after that Saturday. He came to 55 Canning street, Birkenhead, and was then dressed in military clothes with silver trimmings. Witness theu burst into tears, and added : "And my sister-in-law and the children were murdered then." You think at that time ?—I dreamt it about eight months ago, I knew what I was going to seo yesterday.—(Sensation.)

Iu answer to a remark from the foreman of the jury witness, in great dibtress, said : "I Ea>v it, sir, In my dream." On the last occasion you Baw your brother what was the account he gave aa to bin wife and children m to where they had gone ? He siid that they were in Brighton, ia the south of England, My wife asked after the children, and he said that they wero quite well. There were supposed to be two girls looking after the children in Brighton. My wife said she would like to see little Marie ; and that, in fact, she would have had her if Bho could get her ; and ho said "You will have quite enough of us all before long." That was about the last time ho came-.

Walter Deeming, a litter, living at 64 Priory street, Birkenhead, aho identified them as the wife and children of his brothor Frederick. The c»ble has informed us that a verdict " Murder" was returned against Deeming. FUNERAL OF THE VICTIMS. Tho funeral took place on March IS, the remains being interred in St. Anne's Churchyard, Rainhill. An enormous crowd gathorcd round the house, Dinham Villa, and along the road, and the police had great difficuly in keeping tho way for the corliiit. Mrs Wa'tor Deeming placed a beautiful wreath in the Bhape of a heart on the coffia of the murdered woman. There was only one hearse for the five bodies, and it was proposed to make two journeys to tho churchyard, but the relatives of the deceased decided that they should all go at once, and the five coffin 3 were, therefore, piled up in the hearse. Tho inssriptious on tho coffiu lids bodidea the above-mentioned were as fo lows:—" Bertha D.emiog, aged eight years. This Lamb shall not rrerish," " Sydney F. Deeming, aged four years. This Lamb shall not perish." "Marie Deeming, aged six and a half years, This Lamb shall not perish." Addressing some thousand* of poople at the grave side, tho Rev. T. G. Johnson, who parformoJ the marriage between Williams and Miss Mather, said: "The known details of tho ghastly event arc now familiar to all, but surely tho event has its 1e330n?. First, the danger o! taking up with strangers, The more plaiuible the unknown are, and the more wealth exhibited, tho more cautious should ws be. Diamonds are not as common as pebbles ; tho boasted possession of wealth does not indicate riches. The momentous functious of lifo should not be linked to boast and glitter, What transformed the man into the monster? Porhaps time will never reveal. The one who committed the brutal deeds was ouce, no doubt, a mother's pride and a father's joy, once manifested all the tenderness and innocence of ordinary brotherhood, and probably the ordinary qualities of a man. He must have undergone some marvellous moral transformation before he became the monster that the Bad and painful revelations of Wednesday last proved him to be." THE RAINHILL WEDDING, After the wedding some disputes arose about tho property belonging to Mrs Mather, tho mother of the unfortunate woman whom ho married. It is alleged that ho attempted to get hold of the business which Mrs Mather conducted at Rainhill. He appears to have resented the interference of hia wife's brother, and wrote him the following extraordinary letter:—"Soyd's Hotel, 39 Finsbury square, City, London, October, 1891, Mr J. Mather, —I can't address you brother, for I should be ashamed to own you as such. We have heard from Jmme of the way you have been treating yodr mother by going to a solicitor and saying you would have her bound hapd and foot. You call yourself a boh ! Why, you are a disgrace to that name; and as for your word, I find it is not to be depended on. You gave me your word as a man—but there is not a spark of that in you—that bo long aa you lived you would never cause mother another hour's trouble by interfering with the business. You have kept it in the only way I could expect you to do, having learned what yon are. I beg to call your attention to the state of mother's health, and should this trouble cause her death, which would not surprise me, remember her death will for ever lie at your door. Mark my words, when she is gone you will regret your present actions. You are a father, and yon ought to know the trouble of bringing up children. In what way are you repaying your mother for the way she cared for you, and the love she has shown you? I am ashamed to know you as the brother of my wife; but I know that my letter will not shame you, for you must have a heart as hard as stone. I can only leave yon in the hands of One vqho has more power than myself, and I am sure that He will one day repay you for your sins and your ungratefulness. We consider Willie is as bad as yon, but that you have been the cause of it, Your mother will not live long, thanks to you, and you will soon have what you call your share, and muoh good may it do you. According to what I can learn, you have bad it over and over again. Hoping you will try and make people think you are a man

and a 'Mather' after that of your sister Emily—l am, A, 0. WtfcUAMS."

THE LABT Ml*tt ttl§3 MATHER WBOTE.

Extracts have been published from the last letter written by the ill-fated Rainhill girl, Miss Emily Mather, then on the way out to Australia wifh her husband, "Albert Oliver Williams," alias Frederick Barley Deeming. Mrs Deeming, who wrote in an exceedingly interesting and attractive style, told her mother that they had entitled Albert, her husband, "the Doctor." She related how he had gained that title. First of all ho had cured a pißsenger of dysentery, making him up a dose and attending to him. Then he turned his attention to a poor woman who was ill with a slight brain fever, caused by the heat. He got some mustard oil and rubbed it on the woman's neck, thus allaying the fever, and curing hor. When .this was accomplished tho woman's husband ''danced a jig on the deck, and, as Miss Mather put it, fairly hugged Albert for Baving the life of tho "old girl," as he always called her. Another woman and a baby were very bad with prrckly heat, from which the majority of the passengers suffered. He oured these, and also successfully dosed a young lady who had been up five nights nursing her sick brother. Then Miss Mather proceeded to relate that in addition to his medical qualifications hor husband was a skilful modeller, and that he filled up a lot of his t'me working at his models in their cabin. But doctoring was his ohief occupation, for, as she put it, he "visits tho sick three or four times a day, and pills, doßes, and pawders them to his heart's content." He displayed much kindness and thoughtfulooss also in saving titbits from their own table to take to the sick steerage passengers, for they were unablo to cat the food prodded for them, especially as six at a time had to eat out of ono dish, C .including, tho writer ob3ervee: "Albert is just now singing ' I'll never get any more.'" She enclosed a Christmas oard painted by Deeming, showing that ho had artistic tastes, drod dabbled with pa'"ta and brushes. The icitor is unished with a few scribbled linos, on 27th November, at Colombo, whenco it was despatched. It was described as being "From your loving children, Emily and Alijeut."