INFAMOUS DEEMING.

NZ Truth, Issue 1001, 31 January 1925, Page 7

INFAMOUS DEEMING.

Wife- Murderer. . Next to Butler probably comes. Frederick Bailey Deeming, who was hanged m Melbourne on May 23, 1892, '\m* derthe name of Albert Oliver Williams. .' Deeming, like Butler, was a manifold murderer, .and as with most criminals, he was inordinately, vain. This vanity was not of the loquacious variety that' distinguished Butler; rather was it a vulgar and ostentatious vanity^. This wife- murderer- loved to pose as a person of substance and posi- . tion, and he, was forever telling of his wealth, his voyages, to distant lands, his many adventures, and his friendship with people who were well known. He loved jewellery, and was never tired of displaying it. When a youth, Deeming ran. away from home, 1 and went to sea, visiting Australia during one of these voyages. First Plunge Into Trouble. Returning to England, he married, and' in a Very short while left for Australia. His wife joined him later, and before she did so Deeming had got into trouble. A plumber by trade, he was accused of having stolen some" lengths of piping from the shop where he was Working. He was ultimately arrested for this offence, and tried. He claimed that he had bought the piping, and exhibited the receipt of a big firm to show the truth of his story. , But his . clever, and daring ingenuity was discovered when, r.n adjournment was granted' in order to test the authenticity. of the receipt. Then it was proved that the receipt was not genuine. Deeming had called at the firm's office early m the morning. The caretaker was the only person there at the time, and Deeming handed him some money, saying that it was' for certain piping length 3 which he had purchased. The caretaker wanted him to come back when the bookkeeper was there, but on the plea that he . was. leaving town, Deeming declined, and succeeded- m extracting a receipt for the amount from the man. World Wanderings. i' : : Deeming carried on his trade m various parts of Australia, and met mariv adventures, including that of going bankrupt. . He then visited South Africa, and besides swindling a man out ofa considerable sum of money over a nonexistent diamond mine, he is more than suspected of having committed a [double murder. ;■'':' ! But officially it was not until 18D1 that he came forth as a -murderer. In that year he murdered his wife and her three children, burying their bodies beneath the cement hearthstone, and m a very short, time was married again. With his wife he travelled . to Melbourne as "Williams, and landed there at the end of .1891. Engaging a villa m Andrew Street, he cruelly murdered his wife, and, adopting the same methods as he had successfully employed at Rainhill, he buried her body beneath the hearthstone. But this time the murder was soon discovered, and Deeming was traced to the little mining hamlet of Southern Cross, m Western Australia. He was arrested, brought back to, Melbourne, tried, and executed. Deeming is .hop such an, interesting personality' as Butler. • - ■■■....'He was. a clever and callous mur--derer; but; he was far from intellectual. Still, his vulgarity and ostentatious Vanity, and the fact that he was a great and a successful lover, raised Deeming above the ordinary run of murderers.