A WIFE AND TWO CHILDREN

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 338, 30 January 1889, Page 6

A WIFE AND TWO CHILDREN

A" man named Jairies Jer-vis^ a pointshian on; the London and- North-Western Railway,' afy Betley, ' Staffordshire, • recently , murdered' his wife ? and two childrep,^ aged fourteen, months and four years, by cutting- their, throats. ( The two older children escaped., When found, Jervis had cut. his own throat,' and 'he died about one o'clock next day,| after having intimated that it was his in- 1 tention" to f have killed all ' his, family., Jealousy, it is supposed, was the cause ; of. the'crime. ] Jervis was a steady 'man, but' had lived unhappily with, his wite. Jervis confessed the crime to a clergyman's before breathing ' his last. r fie was thirty •, six years of-a"ge, his wife" being two years'older, arid since their marriage -they had, lived in the small • comfortably furnished' , semi-detached cottage iii which thV terrible 1 deed was committed. , Jervis, w^hof'was the' ; son of a small farmer-'at Oakengates,' Shropshire, was "of temperate 'habits,, and .when lastseenj the night preceding ,tlie inurd'er, 1 was perfectly calm and sober. _,' Indeed, he' had then by no^ means the appearance of one contemplating a terrible crime. It would' appear that he arose,at his customary hour, and after lighting' His Railway lamp, was onflthe point of-leaving for Ijis 'work, as signalman^Yrhen he suddenly returned to his bedroom^'ahd, kneeling on his wife's chest in 1 the presence of .hispldest daughter, who had rushed'iiito the room* on hearing her mother-* 'scream, he proceeded deliberately to cut'; the unfortunate* woman's throat, whilst she' piteously besought him tor mercy, exclairn,ing, ' Oh. Jim, don't ;' I've done nothing !' ! ; About six o'clock a stonemason on his way /to work was run against by Mrs Jervis. The morning wa& dark and wet, but he could see that she was covered with blood. She ran across the road to her mother's cot-! tage, knocked at the door, but fell exhausted on the threshold before she could> obtain admission. She died almost immediately from loss of blood. An alarm i having been raised the neighbours entered, Jervis's' house, 'and there found the^ youngest child, a ' girl of about fifteen! months, and the youngest but one, a boy of four years, dead irom wounds in the throat. Two elder children had escaped, after t haviDg been seized by their father, by running out at %he back door. Jervis himself was fouud at the bedside, with his throat* cut. He had' made a desperate attempt on , his life. When found, he was grasping a; large table knife in his right hand, while > another knife, was plunged into his throat, and so determined had been his attack that; the weapon was bent almost double. The room, presented a sickening spectacle, being! literally deluged ,with blood. *' The head of' the baby was almost severed from the body, ' and the boy had his throat cut in a similarly t dreadful manner.' The man was' still alive x and medical assistance was immediately' sent for, but he died about, one o'clock yesterday afternoon. There is considerable speculation and , difference o£ opinion as to the cause of the I tragedy. Some of the neighbours state that' husband and wife appeared to have lived together on friendly terms, 'whileothers state that, there was ( soms uhhappi- , ness.' A neighbour ' who" is an'invaHd, and <j unable tohave'interfered if lie had thought it necessary, states thathe heard quarrelling j about half -past, five o'clock in the morning. There is a suggestion that jealousy was the motive which impelled the unhappy man to the dreadful deed. The* woman, as stated above, had received such terrible injuries that she died without being able to give any account of the' circumstances. The police have taken possession of the'house. Ernest William Jervip, aged nine, stated that he was awakened by hearing his mother and sister screaming 'in the road. He. heard his father rush downstairs, and then saw him come up again with a lantern and a knife. He and his brother Harry hid under the -bed clothes. ' His father tried to get the bed clothes away, but. failed, and as h e could not seize witness he went to the boj' Ha^ry.., Witness .then ran out, and did no t see his father kill ' Harry. Medical evidence was given that the deceased had;suiffered from a nervous aftection, and was unusually despondent. The jury returned a 1 verdict of '.Wilful murder against James 'Jervis*,' and further found that ' Jevvis committed suicide whilst in a state of unsound mind.'