TRAGIC ELOPEMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 9452, 24 August 1889, Page 2 (Supplement)

TRAGIC ELOPEMENT.

A MELANCHOLY STORY.

At the Newcastle assizes, before Mr.

Justice Matthew, on July 9, David Bryson Hildrop, 27, clerk, was charged with having murdered Theresa Mariana Matthews ; further, with having, on the 17th March, ISB9, feloniously married Matthews, his former wife being then alire. Mr. Stevenson, in opening the case for the prosecution, said the prisoner at the bar and the deceased woman were, previous to the 27th of April last, employed at the Old Custom House Inn at jNewcastle, England. The prisoner was a barman and cell&rman, and the deceased woman was a barmaid. They were on friendly terms, and, somewhere about Christmas time, the deceased girl brought to her lodgings, which were with a Mrs. Routledge, at 42, Rye Hill, the ! prisoner, and introduced him as David Richardson. He seemed to have been a great deal with her, although ho was a married man with two children. They went away together in February from a Saturday till a Monday, and again on Saturday, arch 1(5, they went away together to London. He would call the lather of the girl, who would tell them that he was present, when the prisoner, being a married man, went through the ceremony of marriage with Miss Matthews at the West Ham Church, Stratford. He gave the name of David Richardson, and the marriage took place on Sunday, March 17. They came back on the Monday, and returned to their work, and continued there until the 27th April. On the 27th of April they both left their houses, as usual, and weut down to their business at the Old Custom House, but they would hear tins Mr. Richardson, the landlord, having beard something about their conduct, dismissed them both. So tar as was known,

the prisoner did not go home again. On the 30th of April, three days alter they hid besu dismissed, the prisoner's brother and wife c*me to Darlington. The prisoner's brother met him in the scat-ion there, and tried to induce him to come home, lie then said he could not come home, and would not ; he wanted Miss Matthews' thing's sent through, and he said something about seeing her righted, and at that time, at any rate, he hud done her a great wrong. On the same day the prisoner and the deceased woman went to a shop, where the prisoner bought a pistol. The brother, having failed to induce him to go home, returned to .Newcastle, but the wife remained. She seemed to have had in interview with the deceased girl at a temperance hotei, the result of which was that they left that hotel and went to another. On the following day the prisoner and deceased went away to Redcar, where they again went into a temperance hotel, and there they lived again as man wife till the 3rd of May. On that day the prisoner went to the station, and asked about the trains to Newcastle, and, as there were two way one by Darlington and the other by Sunderland, he seemed for some reason to have preferred the route by Sunderland. . Accordingly, to Sunderland he went, and there, on the 3rd of May, he went into a shop, and purchased another revolver. The girl meanwhile went away to Newcastle, and there she met a young man who had been in the same employment with her at the Oid Custom House Inn, and she seemed at the time to have contemplated doing something—whether it was going away, or whether it was taking her own life, one~ccu.d not say ; but at any rate she was giving her thines away. On that same night, at a quarter-past eleven o'clock, Miss Matthews went to the house of one of the people who had been employed at the Old Custom House Inn, and she seemed then m a very distressed condition. She was alone, and asked some questions which might or might, not be material. Nothing more was heard of either her or him until about fifteen minutes past one in the morning of May 4th, when a police constable named Cables on his beat in Rye Hill saw the prisoner and the deceased woman. They were walking down Rye HilL Miss Matthews had lodged at 42, Rye Hill. A person earned ilrs. Walton lived at the house 33, Rye Hill, and she seemed for some reason or other to have been sitting at her window about 1.30 on the morning of May 4th. She saw coming down Rye Hill a man and a woman. She saw them stop at the gate of 42, Rye Hill, which was exactly opposite her own house, 33, and she saw by the dim light that they entered. She was quite sure that the woman -entered, and she did not see the man go away. Her opinion was that she saw-fchem both enter. Very shortly afterwards she saw a flash and heard a report, but she did not think anything about it. About four o'clock in the morning two Corporation cartmen found Miss Matthews lying on the top step lead-, ing to the house 42, Rye Hill. She had a wound in her head, and three inches from her left hand was a small revolver. She was not dead, but insensible. The prisoner afterwards told Police- con stable Cables that he was with Miss Matthews, that he saw her shoot herself, and he ran away. He went home, and was found some time afterwards by his brother sitting in his wife's room crying, and saying that Miss Matthews had shot herself. _ He was taken into custody and charged with the murder. When he was searched there was a letter found upon him. There were other letters written by the girl, which he would not refer to at present. This was the letter :— My Darling Wife, —I am sorry that I did not know sooner than Wednesday morning that you thought me guilty of bigamy. If you had only spoken one-half a kind word to me, and given the chance to explain myself fully to you, all would have been well. But when you went and left me away from home, without a copper or anything else, and my sister telling me that you had expressed yourself in the following terms —" that I had no claim on you or yours"—l felt convinced in myself you were only waiting the chance of getting rid of me altogether, and how you could make the palpable excuse that you did to Jenny about only living £2 103 left, when you have upwards of £IUO sterling in the bank, and could not leave me my train fare to Newcastle, I was certain you wanted rid of me. So, perhaps; when you see my dead body, you will then feel free, which I am certain you have been wishing for a long time past. I now tell you, in my last moments, that I am not the person that was married to Miss Matthews (if she was married at all). Good-bye, darling, for ever.— Your loving David. He did not deliver that letter to his Wife; he did not send it to her ; it was found in his possession. It seemed to indicate that he intended to commit suicide, too. When the constable went to his house and asked him for the revolver, he said be had no revolver. He took off his coat and threw it aside, and in that coat was found the revolver that he had purchased at Sunderland. He denied also that he had seen the girl since Tuesday, and it would be proved that he had seen her every day. The question for the jury was, first of all, who fired the shot? If it was the prisoner, of course there could be no doubt as to the result. William Hildrop, brother to the prisoner, received this letter :— Mr. Hildrop,—l hope you will not take any offence at what I am going to ask you, but my last wish is that you should have everything belonging to me. I have written to Rye Hill telling them to give them all to you when you call with a letter to that I effect. By the time you receive this I shall j have no need for them. My life will be j ended. I have written a list out for your i wife, so that you will see that you do get them; also the letter for Mrs. Routledge. I have sent you my watch and chain and brooch and such things as I have been carrying about with me, and hope you will accept them from one whose last wishes are that both you and yours will at some future time forgive me for the trouble I have brought to your family. If you should see David, or if he is with you, will you ask him to forgive iae for this last cowardly act, but it is best Hat it should bo so? I don't owe the RoutJcugcs any money whatever. It is false of so. Good-bye.—T. Matthews. "•b.— is false for anyone to say it was your brother I married, when I knew so well -hat he was married, and that it was imposEtbl'). But I liked him well, and could not help it, for he was always kind to me.—T. Matthews. There were two enclosures. The first : was .to Mrs. Routledge. It read as fol- ! lows: — Give to the bearer, Mr. William Hildrop all my belongings, and do not forget my travelling bag. He has the list of everything he should receive.T. Matthews. There was- a second enclosure containing 1 a list of articles. Cross-examined : The prisoner spoke kindly of Misa Matthews. Richard Griffin said he sold the revolver produced to the prisoner at Darlington. The decerned woman was with him, and he showed her how to use the pistol. Cross-

examined : Miss Matthews seemed to take great interest in the .working of the pistol. Dr. H. W. Cross described the position in which Miss Matthews was lying, and the wound from which she was suffering. The wound might have been self-inflicted, and another standing near to her might have done it. The weapon must have been within a few inches of the head when fired. Other witnesses being examined, counsel addressed the jury, and his lordship summed up, paying that if the prisoner encouraged the woman to commit suicide, he was responsible to .the law for the crime of murder. The jury found the prisoner not guilty of murder. He subsequently pleaded guilty of bigamy, and was, sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment.