THE GRIPPEN SENSATION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 938, 7 January 1911, Page 4

THE GRIPPEN SENSATION.

DID CRIPPEN CONFESS ? On Wednesday last, writes the London correspondent of tbe New Zealand Times, under date ol November 25th, at Pentonville Prison, Ur. Hawley Harvey Crippen was hanged by the neck till be was dead, in accordance with the sentence passed upon him by the Lord Chief Justice at the Old Bailey, and confirmed by the Court of Criminal Appeal. At the eleventh hour Crippeu, it is said, made an attempt to cheat the gallows. The story goes that while he was lying in bed on Tuesday night his warders noticed him making certain suspicious movement under tbe clothes, and at once made a close inspection of their charge. 'Phis led In the discovery that Clipper! had separated lire glasses ol his spectacles from the Paine and had broken both, with a view, they presumed, to talcing his own lile by opening an artery. The question whether Crippeu made any confession is still an open one. On tire eve of his execution the new London halfpenny paper lire Evening Times declared that Crippeu had confessed and on the morrow his full confession would be published in that paper. And after the execution the Evening Times did publish a statement purporting to be Crippen's confession to “an old Irierul ” who had presumably visited him in gaol. There was, however, nothing in the alleged confession to support the suggestion that it had been taken from Crippcu’s lips, or that its writer had been in any way inspired by the murderer ot Belle Elmore. And so iar as tbe prison authorities are concerned they deny all knowledge t f any confession to anyone. If Crippeu made one it must have been to his solicitor, Mr Newton, tor tnough he was allowed to see Miss Le Neve and other people after his conviction, his interviews with them were in the presence of a couple of warders, and, we are assured, a large table was always interposed between tbe condemned man and bis visitors, Crippeu is dead, but we have not done with the tragedy of Hilldrop crescent. “’John BulL’ threatens to give us the “True Story of the Crime —which has never yet been told,” next week or thereafter; Lloyd’s Newspaper is to publish a statement by Miss Le Neve concerning the crime, and an attempt is to be made by a certain journal to get up a public subscription for Crippen’s unfortunate paramour. As some 15,000 people were found who could put their names to a petition for Crippen’s reprieve, a good round sum may be obtained for the misguided typist, providing she can be kept in the limelight, so to speak.’ To that sire appears to have no objection, ror not only has she availed herself of the publicity of Lloyds Newspaper, but she has been prevailed upon to reply to an “open letter” addressed’to her by "Mrs Bull,” a new lady’s journal which advertises the fact that Le Neve s answer will appear in its next issue. One would have thought that Le Neve would have only been too pleased to disappear from tbe public ga/c, but apparently it is not so. Now that Crippeu is dead there seems to be a disposition on the part of a good many people to picture the man whom they originally condemned for a coldblooded fiend in human shape, as a poor little fellow who was goaded into his terrible crime by a heartless, selfish, dissipated, jealous, nagging woman -a veritable termagant, with whom lile would be intolerable to any save an absolute saint. These people are now suggesting that Belle Elmore poisoned herself and that Crippen’s only crime was his endeavour to shield himself against a charge of murder.