Victorian Murder at Christmastime
SEASON 3 : EPISODE 45
DECEMBER 4, 2024
This is the Christmas episode! Nothing says holly and jolly like the Victorian macabre after all. Tonight, as my holiday season gift to you, I don’t have one story to tell you, I have FOUR Victorian era Christmastime murders to share with you. And they get crazier as we go. So be sure to stick around and listen to all four.
Follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube @agoodnightforamurder.
The bonus content on Patreon for this episode is three more stories of Victorian era holiday murder cases for you.
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ARTICLES
Holiday Horror: 8 Real-Life Christmas Murders
Great Coram Street Murder (Harriet Buswell)
Unsolved murders of women in Victorian London
Reframing the Victorians: The ‘Taboo’ of the Kept Mistress during the Victorian Era
Ballet in Britain’s Music Halls, 1850-1910
The Christmas Eve Murder That Shocked 19th Century Victoria
The Skull-Faced Bishop: The horrific image of one Vancouver Island ghost
St. Andrew's Cathedral (Victoria, British Columbia)
The Most Haunted Places in Victoria, BC
The Christmas Murders – The Gruesome Murder Of Hannah Brown
The trial of James Greenacre for the murder of Hannah
VICTORIAN SOCIETY TIP
Victorian Christmas Traditions
A Short History of Christmas Greenery
Victorian Christmas traditions
5 Fascinating Victorian Christmas Traditions
Some of the Earliest Christmas Cards Were Morbid and Creepy
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INTRO
Hello everyone, welcome to A Good Night for a Murder, a Victorian true crime podcast.
My name is Kim, and this is the Christmas episode! Nothing says holly and jolly like the Victorian macabre after all. Tonight, as my holiday season gift to you, I don’t have one story to tell you, I have FOUR Victorian era Christmastime murders to share with you. And they get crazier as we go. So be sure to stick around and listen to all four.
But first, a Victorian society tip.
TIP
Tonight’s Victorian society tip is about Victorian Christmas traditions
Let’s talk about Christmas trees first, because I’m sure many of you have had yours up since November!
What we call Christmas trees actually originated with the Roman festival of Saturnalia
Saturnalia celebrates the winter solstice, which usually falls around the 21st of December, and the Roman god of time and agriculture, Saturn
The evergreen branches served as a reminder of spring, as after the winter solstice, the sun will start to stay up for a little bit longer each day
Bringing evergreens in to the home is rooted in German tradition, and they are credited with bringing the custom with them to America
It did not become widespread however until the Royals jumped on board
Around 1840 German-born Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, introduced Christmas trees to the royal palace
After this, Christmas trees became very popular with the upper classes
They were usually decorated with lit candles, homemade decorations, sweets, fruit, small unwrapped gifts.
Speaking of gifts, did Victorians believe in Santa?
The only thing I can say with confidence is yes, they did.
But how the tradition emerged could be an entire podcast in itself!
A very simplified history of events dates back to the tale of Father Christmas, with English roots in the celebration of the winter solstice, also known as the Pagan festival of Yule,
And, stories of St. Nicholas, or Sinter Klaas, that emerged via Dutch settlers to America in the 17th Century
The lore of St. Nicholas traveled back across the pond to the UK where it merged with tales of Father Christmas
As the 19th century wore on, Victorians slowly molded Christmas in to a time of celebration for children, family, charity and religion, making Santa in to the jolly, benevolent fellow we know today.
Another Victorian Christmas tradition that took some time to “find its way,” so to speak, was that of Christmas cards
The very first Christmas card was introduced by a man named Sir Henry Cole, who was the first director of the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Cole commissioned artist J.C. Horsley to design a festive scene for his seasonal greeting cards and had 1,000 of them printed
Be sure to check out Instagram or the episode blog on my website to see the card that started it all!
Improvements to the printing process made buying and sending Christmas cards more affordable for everyone.
Like most things, it was the wealthier classes that jumped on the tradition first
Early Christmas cards looked much like already popular Valentines with elaborate “paper lace” borders, flowers, and angels
As advances in printing continued, introducing color printing, metallic inks and die-cutting, cards became more available to all classes
The Postage Act of 1839 helped standardize British postage rates, and by October 1870, right before the holiday season, the British government introduced the halfpenny, making mail service affordable for nearly all levels of society.
Similar changes would follow in America as well
This is when Christmas cards got sort of weird though…
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please check out my Instagram or TikTok, and you’ll see what I mean
Many designs were standard Christmas fare, but some were rather rude, and rather dark
They show things like dead birds, children being boiled, creepy half human vegetables and more!
As to why, though? No one seems to have a good answer, at least not that I could find…
One of my favorite explanations for why the Victorians did anything though, is because they were weird, and they were bored…
Also as a product of the times they were living in, their humor was kind of dark…
Think about any memes you’ve recently shared and it might help you understand…
One reason some historians offer though is that many Victorians believed in fantastical things such seances, ghosts, fairies or elves, so it was not far fetched that those might appear in their art
Speaking of the darker side of Victorian Christmas, a favorite pastime of Victorians was telling ghost stories
The winter months in Victorian England were long, dark, and cold
Families, including their household staff, would often all gather in one room of the house that had the biggest fireplace, and tell stories while they waited out the bitter nights
Now remember, the concept of sugar plums dancing in our heads was not fully formed yet
Most Christmas traditions and stories were still heavily influenced by older Roman and English traditions like we talked about earlier
And the lore from those cultures is not all merry and bright
Earlier I said many traditions emerged from the winter solstice festival of Yule
The solstices and equinoxes are regarded as times when the veil between the worlds of the living and dead are exceptionally thin
Yule in particular celebrates the return of the sunlight
It’s a time that’s very symbolic of returning, things coming back…
and if the veil between us and the spirit world has worn thin, what do you think is most likely to come back?
Perhaps the best example of this is the 1843 novella by Charles Dickens, a Christmas Carol, where the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, is visited by three ghosts on Christmas eve!
This lore coupled with the fact that people had very little else to do besides sit around in dark, isolated homes, really set the mood for a good ghost story
Not to give the Victorians a bad rap of gloom and doom though, there are plenty of other more festive, modern Christmas traditions that were shaped by the Victorians, including:
A rich, cheerful Christmas dinner
The main course was, as it is in many homes today, turkey - or often a Christmas goose, for the poorer classes
Other courses would include mince pies, beef, boar’s head, various cold meats, and soups, with a plum pudding for dessert
This is less so an American thing, but Christmas crackers were popularized by the Victorians around the 1860s
They also hung what they called “welcome rings” on doors made of evergreen, holly, ivy, pinecones and ribbons
We know these are “Christmas wreaths”, obviously
They also carried forward the tradition of mistletoe and kissing boughs - which are evergreen boughs bent to form a sphere shape
Also, every year at Christmas, many of us participate in angel trees at church or community food or clothing drives to help families in need, and the Victorians viewed charity as an important part of the Christmas season as well.
My friends, I hope you all have a very merry, safe, happy and healthy holiday season!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Before we dive in, I have some new Patreon welcomes to share this month!
Welcome to first time members Aimee, Rach, Will, Abbie, and Heather!
Thank you so much for supporting the podcast, I’m so glad you’re here!
If you’re looking forward to tonight’s episode of four Victorian Christmas true crime stories, let me tell you up front, that the $3 a month Lady’s Maid and Valet, and $5 a month Housekeeper and Butler members, are going to get to hear three more Victorian era Christmastime murders on Patreon!
And, since it is the season of giving, I’m currently offering a one week free trial on both of those tiers for the month of December.
Joining at either tier will get you access to the bonus content for tonight’s episode, plus a back catalog of over 40 other bonus episodes,
But joining at the $5 Housekeeper and Butler will also get you access to the Good Night For a Murder exclusive Patreon series, A Good Night Snack, which comes out once a month.
Both tiers also include things like stickers, shoutouts and more so please visit my website at agoodnightforamurder.com where you can learn more about Patreon.
CONTENT WARNING
A Good Night for a Murder is a true crime podcast that does cover stories including death, violence, sexual assault, and other adult themes.
Please take care while listening.
EPISODE
“Darkness reigned among the shrouded streets of Bloomsbury that sinister Christmas night: as little children lay dreaming of reindeer, sleigh-bells and the delight of Christmas presents, and their parents dreamt of turkey, pudding and the delight of Christmas food, an invisible vortex of Evil, as silent as Death, surrounded the shabby lodging-house at No. 12 Great Coram Street, and the Devil waited, quivering, for Murder!”
That is how one newspaper in 1872 London, England described the events that took place on Christmas Eve that year
This first story is that of Harriet Buswell
Now, I have covered Harriet’s story before, back in season 1
But, there are so many more of you now!
And I’ve since gotten a better microphone!
Also with news coverage like I just read, I don’t see how I could not include Harriet’s story in an episode dedicated to Christmatime Victorian true crime
So, let’s get in to it…
In 1872, Harriet Buswell was 28 years old and was trying her best to survive in the slums of London, with her 6 year old daughter Katie
Like many unfortunate women at that time, Harriet had turned to sex work as means of income
She rented a room from Emma Wilson on Argyle Street
She was, by all accounts, respectful, not big drinker, and her guests - or clients - rather - never caused problems
At one point though, the good natured relationship between Harriet and her landlord, Emma soured
It could be because Harriet had gotten behind on her rent payments, or it could have been that Emma became critical of Harriet’s mothering
Either way, she asked Harriet to leave
So a few weeks before Christmas, Harriet moved in to 12 Great Coram Street
On Christmas Eve Harriet was headed out for the evening and asked one of her friends if she had a pair of earrings she could borrow?
Harriet had long ago pawned all of her own jewelry
The friend lent her some earrings, and she asked another friend if she could borrow a shilling
The friend lent her a shilling, and everything seemed normal at this point in the evening
Harriet left Great Coram Street and met up with a gentleman at the Hotel Cavour, where the pair had dinner.
Then they were both seen at the Alhambra Theatre in Leicester Square
They returned together to Harriet’s lodgings at about 12:30 am.
Her landlady, Harriet Wight, was still up having a drink with another lodging house owner from the neighborhood named Alice Nelson
The gentleman Harriet was with went straight up to Harriet’s room, but Harriet lingered for a bit with her landlady
Before she headed up for herself tat night, she paid the landlady her week’s rent
Around 7 am on Christmas morning, the landlady heard someone leaving the lodging house.
She assumed it was Harriet’s guest making their way out, because who ever it was struggled with the door a bit
Anyone who lived there knew the trick to the stubborn door and would not have had to fight with it on their way out
One by one the lodgers of #12 Great Coram Street awakened and gathered for Christmas well wishes before heading off to whatever festivities they had planned
Except no one had seen any sign of Harriet
It was about noon now, and even though Harriet was known to be a late riser, it wasn’t usually this late
Someone decided to head upstairs and check on her, but when they knocked on her door, there was no answer
The lodgers of #12 Great Coram Street decide to break down Harriet’s door, where to their shock and horror, the found Harriet, bloodied and dead in her bed
They immediately called for police and a doctor, who pronounced Harriet dead and placed the time of death between 3 and 5 am that morning
She had one cut mark to her throat that severed her jugular vein, and another slash across the upper part of her left arm across the top of her breast
The doctor concluded that she was likely murdered in her sleep, as the bed was pretty much undisturbed, though one hand was raised up by her face, possibly in self defense
Also nearby there was a rag where a bloody knife had been wiped, and a bowl of bloody water where the killer likely washed their hands
The key to the door was missing as well
No motive was immediately apparent
The earrings she’d borrowed and the change she’d received after paying her rent the night before were missing, as well as a few other small items, but none of this was worth very much, certainly not worth murdering someone over
Two particularly chilling details about this scene were that Harriet had a bloody thumbprint in the middle of her forehead
As if someone facing her had reached out and grabbed the top of her head, leaving the solitary print on her face
Also, on the side table, there was an apple with a single bite taken out of it
Harriet’s stomach contents did not contain any apple
Police actually took a cast of the bite mark thinking it may serve as a clue to finding the killer
Based on testimony from the server who waited on Harriet and the gentleman at dinner, the driver who drove them to the theater, the grocer who sold them some fruit afterwards, Harriet’s landlady, the landlady’s friend, and a few other eye witness accounts, they were able to put together the following description of the man they believed to be the killer:
Age 25, Height 5 feet 9 inches, Complexion swarthy, red spots on face, Black Hair, no whiskers or moustache, but not shaved for two or threes days, stout build, Dress – dark tight-fitting coat, dark billycock hat, a Foreigner (supposed German)
This actually generated tons of tips - however, that description was a fairly good match for probably about a third or more of the men in London at the time…
One tip came in though about a German ship named the Wangerland that was docked in Ramsgate Harbor undergoing repairs
While the ship was under repair, much of the crew was staying in a nearby hotel
The police look in to this and they identified the ships apothecary, Carl Wohllebe as a potential suspect
They arranged a line up that included several other men from the ship’s crew and began asking witnesses to see if they can point out who they think Harriet was with that night.
Turns out, the tip about the crew of the Wangerland, was a good tip
Several witnesses do make a positive identification through the line up
BUT it wasn’t Carl Wohllebe as police initially suspected,
It was the ship’s chaplain, Dr. Gottfried Hessel!
When questioned, Hessel stateed he’d been sick with bronchitis that week, and spent Christmas Eve in his hotel room in bed
His wife and several hotel staff readily corroborated this story
Also, only about 3 of the 7 witnesses actually pointed out Hessel, and only one was certain he was the man they’d seen with Harriet,
The others were not certain at all
Police dug in to his background hoping to hit upon a dark history of violent behavior or habit of visiting with sex workers, but they found nothing
Despite this, police decided they were going to charge him anyway!
And the public was pretty upset about this
While police were pouring all of their efforts in to someone who was clearly not their guy, a killer was walking free…
Tale as old as time… I’m afraid…
The trial began on January 29 and lasted one day before all charges were dropped due to severe lack of evidence
Hessel received 1,000 pounds in compensation for the work he’d missed while being held in prison, and onlookers cheered as he walked out of the court building
Queen Victoria and Prime Minister William Gladstone also actually issued an official apology to Hessel
And unfortunately, that was the end of the investigation in to the Christmas Eve murder of Harriet Buswell!
No clear motive was ever identified and many view the case as just a random act of bloodlust
Our next story takes place in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada in 1890
Christmas Eve midnight mass was underway at St. Andrew’s cathedral, while outside a steady, driving rain fell
28 year old David Fee was attending mass that night, dressed in his Christmas best which included a white coat and child’s toy trumpet around his neck, in anticipation of the Christmas party he would be headed to after mass
Fee worked as a shopkeeper in Nanaimo, but had returned to the Victoria area only days ago to spend Christmas with his parents
By all accounts, Fee was just an all around well liked member of society
As mass wrapped up, Fee slipped out a bit early, anxious to get his Christmas festivities underway
Moments after his departure, worshipers inside St. Andrew’s were started by a - quote - small explosion - heard outside
A contingent of parishioners rushed out to find David Fee sprawled motionless on the steps with a large pool of blood spreading around him
A gaping bullet wound was visible on his chest from a blast that had been fired at such close range that it had left behind gun powder burns
Bystanders carried Fee to the house where he’d planned to attend the Christmas party
He died there a short while later that night
Later on, due to the public nature of the crime, it was said to be the most attended funeral in Victoria, British Columbia’s history.
The Victoria police chief had been at St. Andrew’s that night, and as a result was quickly able to recover the murder weapon in a nearby abandoned house
Just before 2 a.m., a sleeping constable at the city’s police barracks was shaken awake by a young man who said to him: “I am the man that shot a man tonight.”
Sources could not seem to agree on the name of this man turning his self in…
News coverage from the time period called him Clarence Philan
Other contemporary sources called him Lawrence Phelan or Lawrence Whelan…
I don’t know which is right - but - this man, who we’ll call Whelan was a 33 year old Irish construction worker
By Christmas morning, investigators had their man and the weapon, but the lack of motive was perplexing
One clue was provided by Fee’s friend, Frank Partridge, who had been outside the church with him that night
He said that a man had suddenly rushed up to them and said, “I challenge you,” then immediately fired at Fee
It also came out that this man, Whelan, had recently been angered by the foreman at his job,
The foreman’s name was Thomas Deasy
The story that was related that while at work at what would become the site of St. Andrews Cathedral today, a dispute arose over flag flown there by Deasy
I’m going to be honest, I don’t quite understand the particulars of who did what with what flags,
But, the long and short of it is this:
At the time, Ireland was wanting independence from Britain
Canada was still a part of the British empire
The crew working on the site were mostly Irish Americans,
So, it sounds like the two men had differing political views, which Whelan had made known to a number of people
Prosecutors put forth the theory that the shooting that night was matter of mistaken identity
Whelan had been assigned to guard the new construction site that night, and had plotted to shoot Deasy as an act of Irish nationalist terrorism
Deasy was said to have been known to frequently wear a white rain coat, similar to what Fee had been wearing that Christmas Eve
Whelan, though, did not speak about any of that
His story was that he saw Fee and his friend walking past the cathedral, and they were cutting up and being very loud and disrespectful
Whelan scolded them to show some respect, to which Fee loudly blew the trumpet around his neck in Whelan’s face
So, Whelan raised his gun, and shot him
But, Whelan said, “I fired a shot, but I am no murderer.”
He testified that to his knowledge, the gun was only loaded with blanks
The man who had given Whelan the shotgun confirmed, yes, he did load the shotgun only with blanks!
The lead slug found in David Fee’s chest said otherwise though…
Somehow, either intentionally or by accident, the gun was indeed loaded with real ammunition…
Also, by every account, Whelan was very drunk at the time of the murder
A jury would ultimately decide that Whelan was more likely a reckless drunk than a terrorist, and because of this, he was convicted of manslaughter.
Whelan’s sentence was handed down by Matthew Baillie Begbie, who was known as the “Hanging Judge” of early British Columbia
Begbie, who had hanged men for far less, did not agree with the manslaughter verdict,
He said to Whelan:
I am as convinced that you stand there, guilty of a wilful murder, premeditated all along, as I am of my own existence.
He handed down the harshest sentence that he could, which was a life sentence of "penal servitude."
Whelan would only serve 10 years though, after which he was freed by the order of a sympathetic federal Ministry of Justice
Now, since it’s Christmas, I would be remiss if I did not tell you about the ghost stories associated with David Fee
Fee is buried at Ross Bay cemetery in Victoria
His spirit has allegedly been seen wandering through the gravestones wearing the white raincoat that caused his death.
This third story is where things start to get particularly crazy, and a little gruesome…
The year is 1836, and 27 year old Hannah Brown was living in London working as a laundress for private customers
She had one sister and also a brother, though she and her brother did not speak
By all accounts she was known to be a hard working woman
So, when Hannah got engaged to young James Greenacre, everyone was happy for her
The wedding date was set for Christmas Eve
Right after their wedding, the couple was planning to leave London for America
So, Hannah had slowly been packing up her residence that she rented from landlords Elizabeth and John Corney, who lived next door
By Christmas Eve, she only had a few things left, so she informed her landlords that she would be sending someone back for everything that was left after Christmas
They saw her fiance, James, arrive later that day in a handsom cab, load it with some of her smaller belongings, then they watched the couple leave
Three days after Christmas now, a man named James White, who I’m going to assume was a gardener, as he was said to be employed at the nearby plant nursery, Pineapple Place, saw something unusual near the nursery on Edgware Road
He saw what appeared to be a sack tied with a string tucked behind a stone slab that was leaned up against a wall
Something about this felt off to White, so he sent his assistant to alert a constable
When the constable arrived, he opened to sack to find - the headless and legless torso of a woman
The constable gathered up the torso and some rags laying about the scene that may or may not have had something to do with the crime, put them in a wheelbarrow and carted everything off for investigation
Investigators would learn that the stone slab had been placed there by a road mender who was planning to do some road work nearby
On Christmas Eve, the roadmender returned to the spot to add some wood blocks behind the slab that he would need for the upcoming repairs
He stated that at that time, the sack was not there
The sack the torso was found in belonged to cabinet maker and upholsterer, Evan Davis
Davis would use those sacks to sell the discarded wood chips from his cabinet making for various purposes
Seeing as Davis handed out those sacks to a number of customers though, not much suspicion was thrown upon him
A few days later, on December 28, Hannah Brown’s former landlords saw an errand boy return to her residence for her remaining belongings, but they did not see her…
The landlord knew Davis was friends with Hannah, and asked him if everything had gone okay with the wedding and departure for America
Davis said he hadn’t heard from Hannah either though
A few days later, on January 6, Matthias Ralph who was the lock keeper at Johnson's Lock on the Regent's Canal, found that the lock gates would not close.
A bargeman told him there was something stuck in the gate
So, Ralph fetched a hitcher, which is a long pole with a hook on the end, to see if he could clear whatever was blocking the gate
Ralph managed to hook whatever was in there, and as he pulled it out of the water, he at first thought it was a dead dog
But, after dragging it on to the banks, he realized it was actually a human head with long dark hair…
He wrapped it in a rag took it to a bonehouse, also called an ossuary, which is a place human remains are stored until ready for burial
The head had a badly damaged eye that doctor’s agreed happened prior to death, significant damage to the lower jaw, and evidence of a serious blow to the back of the head
When Evan Davis, who had been questioned about the torso in the sack, heard about the head in the lock… he realized that usually, his customers were in the habit of returning their sack to him to refill…
Hannah was one of those customers, but he had no recent memory of her returning an empty sack…
Davis feared he knew the identity of the person in the sack and the lock
He went to the bonehouse where, to his horror, he positively identified the head as his good friend, Hannah Brown
The husband did it, right?
Well, that’s the same thing they thought in 1837 apparently
Sources disagree slightly on how James Greenacre was brought in
Some say Hannah’s friends got together to procure a warrant for his arrest, while others say police offered a reward for information leading to his whereabouts
While this was going on, another sack containing a pair of human legs was found on February 2nd in a marshy area where willows were cultivated
It did not take long to match the legs with head and torso of Hannah Brown
In another strike against Greenacre, investigators questioned a childhood friend of Hannah’s referred to as Mrs. Blanshard
Mrs. Blanshard also employed Hannah’s estranged brother William, though Greenacre did not know William was actually Hannah’s brother
On Christmas Eve, Greenacre had called on Mrs Blanshard to let her know the wedding had unfortunately been called off
He said it turned out Hannah did not have the property she had claimed, and had run up some debts in his name, leading them to cancel the wedding
It was during this interaction that Greenacre learned Mrs. Blanshard’s employee William was also Hannah’s brother!
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Blanshard said James turned white as a ghost, and high tailed it out of there
By March 25th, 1837, investigators had tracked Greenacre to a residence in St Alban's Place, Lambeth, and dispatched Inspector George Feltham in bring him in on murder charges
They found him residing there with a woman named Sarah Gale
When neighbors were questioned, they stated that they knew the pair were unmarried, but they had been living there as a couple since last October!
A search of the residence turned up several of Hannah’s belongings in Sarah’s possession, including a gold watch, some rings, and a pair of earrings.
They also found receipts from a pawn shop for additional items belonging to Hannah, as well as a dress that had been patched with fabric that matched the rags found in the area where Hannah’s torso had been dumped
Investigators also found a saw and a knife that matched the wounds on the head and torso
The trial was held on April 3, 1837.
The prosecution put forth that Greenacre had plotted to marry Hannah as a way to scam her out of her money and possessions
They alleged he actually planned to escape to America with his accomplice, Sarah, as evidenced by his lazy attempt to dispose of and conceal Hannah’s body
Greenacre did admit to killing Hannah Brown, but said in his defense that it had only been an accident when they argued over her false claims about her finances
He said that he “accidentally” struck her with a piece of wood he just happened to be holding, and then panicked and did his best to dispose of the body
He did plan to flee to America with Sarah, but only because he had those plans already and Hannah would obviously not be going anymore…
He said that Sarah had no knowledge of the real situation or played any part in what happened between he and Hannah
It took the jury fifteen minutes to decide that Greenacre was guilty of willful murder, and that Sarah Gale did knowingly harbor him as well as profit from the crime.
For this Greenacre was sentenced to be hanged, and Sarah Gale was transported for life, which at this time, likely meant to Australia.
This last story takes us to Ashland, Kentucky in the US in 1881
Specifically, we’re visiting the Gibbons household that consists of husband and father, John, wife and mother, Martha Jane, 10 year old son, Sterling, 14 year old daughter Fannie, and 17 year old son, Robert
A couple years ago, Robert had an accident at work and as a result was missing part of his lower leg
The Gibbons also had two older children, William and Anna, who were married and out of the house
On December 23, 1881, the children’s mother and youngest sibling, Sterling, planned to visit their older sister Anna in the nearby town of Ironton for the night
As their father had been away for about a week felling timber, this would mean the two teens, Fannie and Robert, would be staying home alone
Their mother asked their neighbors across the street, the Thomases, if their oldest daughter, Emma, would mind spending the night at their house with Fannie and Robert
Emma wasn’t much older than the Gibbons children - somewhere between 14 and 18, but, safety in numbers right?
Emma’s mother agreed as she was right across the street after all
The following day, which would be Christmas Eve, early in the morning, Mrs. Thomas noticed smoke coming from somewhere on the Gibbons property
She thought it was some out building which has caught fire and rushed over
She quickly realized though that the house itself was on fire
She screamed for help and when neighbors arrived they did manage to enter the house and pull out the three teens who were inside
As the sun climbed higher in the sky though, it became grotesquely apparent that the children had not just died in the night from smoke inhalation
All three had been bludgeoned to death, and there were signs of sexual assault to both of the girls
An ax and a crow bar belonging to the Gibbons family were recovered as the murder weapons
At first, people suspect the father, John Gibbons
Investigators located him in West Virginia and bring him back to Kentucky, along with a man named Andrew Hagar who John was boarding with
The story that John Gibbons had been away for over a week at the time of the murder, plus Hagar’s corroboration of his alibi was enough to release John Gibbons from any suspicion
Not long after, word got out that a man named George Ellis, who worked at the local rolling mill making sheet metal, had hinted around that he knew something about the murders
Police brought Ellis in and asked him what he knew
That was when Ellis immediately confessed that he had been compelled by two other men, William Neal and Ellis Craft, to break in to the Gibbons home and take part in their crimes the night of December 23
News coverage at the time described the three as all young men under 30
Ellis, the one who confessed, and Neal, were said to be married and -quote - “fairly respectable”
Craft was described as having - quote- “led a pretty wild life, drinking and carousing, and has been once engaged in a shooting affray, but is respectably connected.”
The story Ellis told was this:
Neal and Craft had talked previously about Fanny Gibbons and Emma Thomas and had made sort of a bet or goal boasting that they would have sex with the two teenage girls before Christmas
Ellis said Craft and Neal threatened him at gunpoint to come to the Gibbons home that night
The trio broke in through a window and encountered young Robert Gibbons who they immediately struck down with an axe
Robert wouldn’t have been much of a match for the three older men as it was, but remember he was also disabled from a workplace accident years ago
Ellis said Neal forced him to hold Emma while he assaulted her, then Neal beat her to death with a crowbar
Meanwhile, Craft assaulted and killed Fanny
Then the two instructed Ellis to douse the scene in oil and light it on fire before they all fled
Ellis said he feared for his life if he did not comply with the other two men
Craft and Neal were then arrested and all three spent the night in jail
Events must have transpired overnight while the three men were housed together, because the next day, Ellis tried to recant his entire story
An examination was scheduled in the nearby town of Cattlesburg for 1 pm that afternoon
The entire town of Ashland shut down for citizens to attend the trial - and they were riled up!
The atmosphere was tense but restrained as the the good people of Ashland were willing to wait for a court decision - it had better be the right decision though - which in their eyes was swift, harsh justice for all three men
Seeing that they were very likely about to have a riot on their hands, police decided to move all three prisoners by boat to the town of Maysville, KY, which is about 85 miles west of Cattlesburg
Once the crowd caught on, they were pissed
Why were they taking them away? They hadn’t answered for their crimes yet!
At that point a group of citizens launched a steamboat in order to chase down the boat Ellis, Neal and Craft were on!
When the boats both landed, it was discovered the prisoners were not on the boat, but removed to a different boat enroute somehow
The people of Ashland approached the judge and said, “We just want to talk…”
They assured the judge no lynch mob would be formed and all they wanted was to see justice done for the three children
On January 11 the three men were brought back to Cattlesburg under military guard for their trials
The trial for William Neal for the Murder of Emma Thomas would take place first on January 16
Thought Neal had confessed, he entered a plea of “not guilty”
The trial lasted 8 days, after which the jury deliberated for only 18 minutes before delivering a verdict of guilty and calling for the death penalty.
Ellis Craft's trial followed immediately after with the same result:
Again, the jury deliberated for less than 20 minutes before finding Craft guilty and called for a penalty of death
At the sentencing, both men declared their innocence and the hanging was set for April 14, 1882
A date was set in May for the trial of George Ellis on 3 counts of murder
In the following months, Ellis would change his story again, saying he and two African American men had committed the crimes, and that Neal and Craft were innocent
A coat belonging to Neal that was smeared with blood was later found near the crime scene, and entered in to evidence for Ellis’s trial
After this, Ellis tried to plead insanity
This is so curious to me… I mean he was the first to confess, gave up Neal and Craft, recanted, confessed again but said Neal and Craft were innocent after they were already convicted, then just said, “actually, you know, I’m just insane,”
I can’t help but feel there must be so much more to the story here, but the only people who know the whole truth can’t tell us, so we’ll just do our best to try and follow along!
Hang on though because this story is about to get even wilder!
On April 10th, days before Neal and Craft’s execution, their case was appealed based on a technicality in the instructions of the judge to the jury
It was decided that the case would be retried, but no date was set at that time
Neal and Craft having escaped the gallows for the time being, decided it was now or never, and on May 22, along with several other prisoners, attempted to break out jail
Their attempt was unsuccessful and only served to further enrage the townspeople hungry for justice for Robert, Fannie and Emma
How many times were officials going to almost let these criminals slip through their fingers!?
A few days later, the trial for George Ellis went forth where they ended up charging him only for the murder of Robbie Gibbons
For Ellis, the jury deliberated nearly a full day before handing down their verdict of guilty with a sentence of life imprisonment
This was not well received by the people of Ashland - they wanted to see all three of the men hung - and like yesterday…
Three days later, just before midnight, a mob of masked men, numbering somewhere between 18 to 40, hijacked a train bound for Cattlesburg where Ellis was being held, broke in to the jail, and kidnapped George Ellis
They brought him back to Ashland to a large sycamore tree where they asked him one last time: Did he murder those children?
Ellis said yes - he, Neal and Craft were all guilty and they did deserve to die
The mob lynched Ellis on the tree, then left his body until the following afternoon
After this, Neal and Craft were placed under protection of the state militia
A new trial date for Neal and Craft was set for October of that year
Then, a change of venue was requested and granted for the safety of everyone involved
The trial would be held in Carter County and as such the trial date had to be punted further out to February of the following year - much to the dismay of the citizens of Ashland
Neal and Craft were to be escorted by armed soldiers back to Lexington, Kentucky to await trial
On the day of their move, Neal and Craft were being loaded on to a steamboat when a train out of Ashland came screaming in to town, reportedly carrying close to 200 men and boys
Leaders of the mob came before the armed guard of the prisoners and demanded they turn them over to them, but the boat managed to depart before any of the mob could board
The intention was for the steamboat to carry the prisoners and their guard to Maysville, then travel by foot to Lexington
But to do so, the boat has to pass through Ashland first…
Steamboat travel, however, is not fast - and by the time the boat reached Ashland, much of the mob had made it back there and was waiting for them on the banks
What’s more, the mob had grown to include much of the rest of the townspeople, including a number of women and children
A group of 18 men launched ferry to intercept the steamboat, and that was when the first shots were fired
No one can say who was the first to fire, but the well-armed soldiers unloaded over fifteen hundred shots in all directions, including at the riverbanks leaving many dead and seriously injured
The steamboat managed to carry on the Maysville and land there safely, leaving chaos in its wake
There would be an inquest into the events that day, and the use of force by the soldiers would be found to be justifiable.
Neal and Craft would go on to stand trial again, but both would, again, be convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death
Ellis Craft was hanged on October 12, 1883 in Grayson, Kentucky where it was - quote - “witnessed by a large and festive crowd”
Craft professed innocence to the end.
William Neal was also hanged in Grayson on March 27, 1885.
His last words were also to profess his innocence
And that is the end of our Victorian true crime Christmas episode…
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