Widow Kills Husband a Day!

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 756, 31 August 1929, Page 22

Widow Kills Husband a Day!

Professional Teller of Sad Stories Imposes on Credulous Landladies in Many Cities . . . Who Can Weep Bitter Tears At Will . . .

PROFITABLE tour of England has been made QsjßjßfceO; by a versatile adventuress who, with engagins manners and a style that is all her own, has duped so many people that her operations, according to “John Bull,” clamour for the personal attention of some of Scotland Yard's experts. Her real name is Hannah Entwistle. She is forty years of age and has used as many aliases as her years. Slightly built, though with a suggestion of plumpn ss, she possesses attractive features, which can assume at her discretion a look of sadness so intense that it will melt the hardest heart. The other day she called at a boarding house in Stoke-on-Trent in search of temporary accommodation. She was dressed in deep mourning, and as the landlady showed her round the house, her personality created a most fa~ourable impression. She told the landlady that the apartments were quite satisfactory, and then, as if unable to contain herself longer, she suddenly burst into tears. Alarmed at the woman’s distress, the kindly landlady fetched some brandy, and when the tragic visitor had been prevailed upon to sip this stimulant, she recovered from her composure sufficiently to unfold her story. She was, she explained, Mrs. Haslam, the widow of a London clerk who i had recently been killed in an accident. One Tragic Blow He had been visiting the Potteries with his daughter on a little business excursion. Both had been driven down by a motor-car which suddenly came upon them as they crcfssed a road. Thus, at one tragic blow, she had been left alone in the world. Griefstricken and penniless, she hardly knew how to face life any longer. Naturally the ndlady listened to this tale with sympathy, and inquired about compensation. Surely the reckless driver responsible for the accident would make some payment to the widow of the man he killed?

Mrs. Haslam explained that the case was In the hands of her solicitors, and produced a letter which appeared to confirm this. It was because the accident had occurred in the Potteries that the widow was now paying a visit to Stoke-

on-Trent, where she expected to be called upon any day as a witness in the Hanley County Court. Mrs. Haslam added that she had been offered £665 to settle out of court, but, acting on her solicitor’s advice, she was taking an action which, it was anticipated, would result in a far more substantial reward. For days Mrs. Haslam stayed with the sympathetic landlady, who was also induced to advance several sum’s of money until the claim was settled. Pure fiction Then, on the day she declared her case was to be tried, Mrs.. Haslam disappeared—and took with her everything valuable on which she could 'ay her hands. The story of her bereavement was pure fiction, cleverly presented by n resourceful actress. She has repeated this coup again and again. In the name of “Mrs. Jackson,” she recently visited Derby and lived rent free at the expense of a landlady, whose sympathy she engaged by posing as a widow who had just disposed of her late husband’s business in London for £B2O, following his tragic death in an accident, involving her daughter’s death as well.

In this case she embellished her tale by declaring that a cheque for £1,600 compensation was due to her any day from a local solicitor. “Mrs. Jackson” borrowed substantial sums of money, and finally absconded with her victim's jewellery. Latterly this winsome “widow” has

brought off such frauds almost daily. Liverpool. pleetwood, Altrincham, Ilkeston, Prerton anil Chatham have all seen her come —and go richer than whpi> she arrived. She is known to the police as one of the cleverest and most persistent female crooks. Among the names she uses are Brown, Ellison, Cox, Jackson, Osborne and Mason. On occasion she varies her tactics by telling how her father has died, leaving a fortune, and then proceeds to rob her victims in every way that ingenuity can suggest. Sct-.etimes, too. it is only her husband who has died. She mourns his death in a railway accident, talks lovingly of the young daughter now dependent upon her, and speaking of delays in obtaining the compensation due to her, induces victims to advance her money. A further variety act is to visit hotels and cla : -i relationship to some well-known local resident. Bigamy Too! She will t i book rooms for a short stay, live in the best style, incur debts all round, pass worthless cheques and depart when prudence dictates. Perhaps Mrs. Entwistle’s passion for slaughtering imaginary husbands by battalions has some connection with her actual matrimonial experience. In fact, she has twice been sent to a>l for bigamy. Other terms of imprisonment bava been awarded her for a variety of ingeniously mean frauds.