Albert Milsome and Henry Fowler murdered Henry Smith, a 79-year–old, wealthy, retired engineer, on 14 February 1896, at his house in
Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross.
Neighbouring areas include Highgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, East Finchl ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
The story of the murder of Mr. Smith has entered English criminal history as one of the classic "cut-throat" cases involving a pair of killers. A "cut-throat" case is one where the killers each put forth a defence that the other one was guilty, and in doing this they only convince the jury that both parties are equally guilty of the killing. Another example of such a case is that of Frederick Guy Browne and William Kennedy for the murder of Police Constable
George Gutteridge in 1928.
Muswell Hill was a wealthy neighbourhood in North London. In 1896 the elderly Smith lived there in a large house called
Muswell Lodge. Smith was somewhat reclusive, and rumour had it he was a wealthy miser keeping large sums of money in the house. He lived alone (though he had a gardener in the daytime), and apparently pegged his safety on some
trap-guns set up on the grounds; unfortunately, he did not have any secondary level of protection.
Smith's body was discovered on the morning of 14 February, a few hours after his murder, by his gardener, Charles Webber, who alerted Smith's neighbours, called in a local doctor (Ridley Webster, M.D.), and notified the police. They entered the house and found that Smith had been bound with shreds of blankets and had sustained several head wounds. Two pocket knives and a toy lantern were found next to the body. Smith's safe had been cracked and his bedroom torn apart. The day before the murder two men had been seen near the house. For weeks the police tried to find the killers, using the toy lantern as the best clue they had. Unfortunately hundreds were in existence, so it was a clue that might never be traced. Instead, a Detective named William Burrell was aware of a burglar named Albert Milsome who had disappeared from his neighbourhood. Milsome had recently been seen in the company of one Henry Fowler. Burrell was aware of the younger brother-in-law of Milsome reportedly having a toy lantern, but understood he could not question him or other members of the family about it without tipping them off about its significance. A trap was set at a nearby candy store, where the lantern was set up. The trap succeeded when Milsome's brother-in-law, Henry Miller, identified the lantern as his own.
Now that they were aware that it was Milsome whom they wanted, and that Fowler was missing as well, the police started a manhunt. It eventually turned out that the men were together in a small travelling waxworks that journeyed to fairs around the country, with Fowler acting as the strong man in the circus. A police raid captured both men at
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
. Milsom gave up meekly, but Fowler fought like a tiger and had to be clubbed into submission.
Fowler denied knowing anything about the
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
, but Milsome soon cracked under the strain and confessed to robbing Smith, though he said his partner had done the killing. Their trial was held in the
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
in front of Mr. Justice Sir
Henry Hawkins
Henry Hawkins, 1st Baron Brampton, (14 September 1817 – 6 October 1907), known as Sir Henry Hawkins between 1876 and 1899, was an English judge. He served as a Judge of the High Court of Justice between 1876 and 1898.
Background and educatio ...
. The evidence was basically streamlined because of Milsom's confession, although Fowler kept denying its truth. Fowler was aware of the great damage Milson had done. During a break in the trial, Fowler suddenly jumped up in the dock, and started throttling him. A number of policemen interfered and pulled Fowler off the cowering Milsom.
As it turned out the jury believed Milsome in part - the evidence had shown two knives near the dead Smith, and that suggested the two burglars had jointly committed the tying up and killing of the man. Milsom collapsed when he heard the guilty verdict against him. Fowler just laughed at the failure of Milsom's scheme, and mimicked his partner's protesting of the verdict. When asked if they had anything further to say, Fowler told the court that there were two miscarriages of justice for which he was responsible, naming two recent convictions of two burglars for whose crimes Fowler claimed responsibility. He asked the court to keep these in mind for reviewing those two sentences. As it turned out, Fowler was lying - the evidence against the two burglars was stronger than Fowler thought, and they (the two burglars) were friends of his for whom he was trying to do a favour.
The authorities were afraid that when Milsome and Fowler were going to be hanged Fowler might attack Milsome again. It was decided to hang the two men with a third one between them. A recent double murder had been committed in the
Whitechapel
Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...
section of London of a pawnbroker named
John Goodman Levy and his housekeeper, Mrs.
Sarah Gale by a burglar named William Seaman. Seaman was cornered while still in Levy's home on the roof. He was subdued in a violent fight by future Chief Constable of Scotland Yard,
Frederick Porter Wensley
Frederick Porter Wensley (28 March 1865 – 4 December 1949) served as a British police officer from 1888 until 1929, reaching the rank of chief constable of the Scotland Yard Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Serving in Whitechapel for ...
. Seaman too was sentenced to death, and he was put between Milsome and Fowler on the gallows built at
Newgate Prison
Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...
on 9 June 1896. Actually, despite fears by the executioner
John Billington
John Billington (also spelled as Billinton) (c. 1580September 30, 1630) was an Englishman who travelled to the New World on the ''Mayflower'' and was one of the signers of the Mayflower Compact.
In England
Nothing is known about John Billingt ...
Fowler did not make a scene. He came out onto the scaffold after Milsome and Seaman were set up, asked if Milsome was there, and was satisfied to see he was. Seaman, until then unaware of why he was being placed as he was between the Muswell Hill murderers, said, "Well this is the first time in my life I've ever been a bloody peacemaker." Shortly afterwards all three men were hanged.
Usually this is the end of the anecdote about the triple execution of 9 June 1896. There is a little more involved in it. At one point there was a chance that there would have been a quadruple hanging because
Amelia Dyer
Amelia Elizabeth Dyer (née Hobley; 1836 – 10 June 1896) was an English serial killer who murdered infants in her care over a thirty-year period during the Victorian era of the United Kingdom. the notorious baby farmer, was supposed to be hanged with them,
but it was decided that Mrs. Dyer should be hanged the following day. She was taken out of the prison and taken for a police wagon ride until after the three men were executed. Also at least one source adds to the anecdote about Seaman's final words on the scaffold.
Edward Abinger
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...
the barrister best recalled for his defence of
Steinie Morrison in 1910, wrote an autobiography. In it he reveals that a moment after Seaman made his comment, Fowler signaled he wanted to say something. It is possible that Seaman's comment struck Fowler as funny, and he said (according to Abinger), "Well this is the first time in my life I've ever been a bloody penitent." But Abinger is the only person who ever seems to have noted that comment.
General references
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* (Description of the execution.)
* (Regarding the third man hanged between Milsom and Fowler - the execution is described on p. 30-31.)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Milsom, Albert and Fowler, Henry
English people convicted of murder
People convicted of murder by England and Wales
Executed English people
19th-century executions by England and Wales
People executed for murder
Criminal duos
1896 murders in the United Kingdom