The Bedlington Tragedy: Part Two

Warning – this blog focuses upon historic murder and suicide.

On 9 October 1907, Sarah Short drowned all five of her children in a water butt/poss-tub at her home in Red Row, Sleekburn. Afterwards, she walked to Cramlington station and committed suicide on the railway line.

George Potts 

Police Constable Potts was based at Bedlington Station. On 10 October about 1.30pm, George Short informed him that his wife and five children had been missing since the previous day. At around 9.30pm he arrived at the Short household and there in an upstairs room, saw five children lying dead in bed. Two at the top, two at the foot and one across the centre. They were fully clothed save their hats, and their clothes were all wet. PC Potts then searched a poss-tub which was three parts filled with water and was standing at the bottom of the stairs. He found two small mirrors (the type found in Lucky Packets), two penny pieces, two collar studs, a brick and a boot lace. He also stated that he saw female clothes that were all wet down the front. 

Charles William Menelaws Hope 

Dr Hope was a Medical Practitioner in Bedlington. By order of the Coroner, he made a post mortem examination on the bodies of the five children on 11 October 1907. On turning the bodies over a good deal of frothy watery mucus ran out of the mouth and nose which was evidently from the air passages. There was no evidence of poisoning. All the clothes were saturated with water. After stripping the bodies no marks of violence of any kind were to be found upon them. In no case were any marks found around the neck to suggest that death had been due to strangulation. In Doctor Hope’s opinion, the death of all five children was due to drowning. 

The inquest into the tragedy was held on 11 October 1907 by Coroner Henry Taylor Rutherford. It was later adjourned until 23 October. At the inquest, Dr Hope gave evidence and was asked about the mental state of Mrs Short. He said that he had been attending her since July and she suffered with her nerves and had pains in her head. Dr Hope had advised her to go away for a break and she had gone to Cumberland and seemed very much improved when she returned. When asked if childbearing had anything to do with her condition, Dr Hope said that he didn’t think so. 

The coroner considered the evidence and stated that Mrs Short appeared to have been suffering for some time and had developed a form of homicidal mania and from some sudden impulse, she had acted. Some strange feeling had come over her and she then deliberately planned the destruction of the children. After deliberation the jury returned a verdict of wilful murder. The inquest on Mrs Short’s death was then preceded with. The foreman of the jury asked the coroner to ask Mr Short if his wife had ever shown any signs of insanity. Mr Short claimed he had witnessed no signs. He was then asked if she had ever threatened to take her life and he replied “no.” The jury agreed to a verdict of suicide whilst in an unsound state of mind.  

Not surprisingly, the newspapers took a great interest in the case. The Morpeth Herald reported that Mrs Short was seen by several people on the night of the 9 October going towards Cramlington. She was walking through fields and appeared to be wearing her carpet slippers. It was noted that she had asked a young man how far the station was, and they walked along together for a while. She was quite excitable and said that she wished to catch a train. A Signalman at Cramlington named George Little was proceeding along the line on his way to work about 10.40pm that same night when he found a body [later indentified as Sarah Short] by the side of the line. The body was dreadfully mutilated and found around a hundred yards north of the station.

It was also reported that there were extraordinary scenes at the funerals of the mother and her children. Mr T. Dodds, Undertaker and friend of Mr Short, carried out the funeral arrangements. When the six coffins were brought out of the house there was the biggest crowd of people ever to be seen in Red Row. The coffin containing the remains of Sarah Short was placed in one hearse while the coffins of all five children were placed in another. All were covered in white flowers. The service and burials were at Choppington St. Paul and thousands of people flocked to the area. Trains were overcrowded as people were packed into carriages. The chief mourner was Mr Short along with his brother and the four brothers of Sarah. Blinds were shut in houses along the funeral route and the roadside was packed with people wanting to catch a glimpse of the coffins. The police had to control the crowds outside the church in order to make way for the funeral party. The service, which was choral, was conducted by the Rev. G.A. Brown. The choir chanted the 39th Psalm and sung the hymn Rock of Ages. During the service, Mr Short broke down in a violent fit of weeping. His whole family, Sarah, Eleanor, George, Thomas, Elizabeth Annie and Robert were all buried together in one grave.  

References 

COS/3/30/11 

Morpeth Herald, 19 October 1907 

Morpeth Herald, 26 October 1907