Historic murder cases from County Durham’s past

Some truly terrible murders took place in the past- some of them seem like a work of fiction but they really took place hundreds of years in the past.

From grandparents who were buried alive, to the men who stoned a police officer to death, all of these murders took place in the 19th and 20th century

Here are three of County Durham’s most shocking historic murders:

The couple who were buried alive

The shallow grave where Thomas and Emily Kirby were buried

This shocking incident took place in 1928 and involved two people who were buried alive.

On September 22, Annie Maria Stir decided to repot a plant at her Norton Avenue.

She walked down the lane in search of fresh soil- but came across something much more horrifying.

Poking out of the soil was a human hand.

When the ground was turned up, it was discovered that two bodies were buried on top of eachother.

62-year-old Thomas Kirby and his wife, 64-year-old Emily Frances were the victims in the grave.

Dr Daniel Steel MacBean said they had been buried in the last 24 hours and post mortem results found that the man had severe head wounds and scratches.

The woman had been strangled and marks on her body suggested that she too had been dragged to the grave.

Most horrifyingly, dirt and debris was found in their throats and windpipes indicating that they had been alive when they were buried.

22-year-old Charles William Conlin was the police’s biggest suspect- and the dead woman was Conlin’s grandmother.

Conlin left his family home at 1.40pm on Friday, September 21, but had not returned until after midnight.

The next day, a fish and chip shop owner said he spotted Conlin who was acting suspicious when the murder was mentioned.

A man living near Norton Avenue also claimed to Conlin walking over fields, towards where the grave was later found- he was even said to be carrying a spade.

The jury found Conlin guilty of the crimes- he was hanged at Durham by Thomas Pierrepoint.

The nightmare about a murder that turned into reality

William Abbey was killed in a bank

This eerie and gruesome William Abbey murder dates back to 1928- and it was even predicted in a dream.

He was working in Lloyds Bank near Main Street when the tragedy struck.

Durham-born William Abbey was lodging at Mrs Bryan’s lodging house in Ferryhill.

One morning at breakfast she remarked that she had a nightmare in which her lodger had been murdered.

Mr Abbey replied: “That’s odd… I dreamt that I was being murdered and that my assailant tried to quieten me but could not kill me. They got hold of my throat and I felt a terrible sensation of choking. They came for me two or three times but they could not get me.”

However, he added that being murdered at the bank he worked at wouldn’t happen as he would “throw a paperweight” through a window and alert passers by.

Days later, this is exactly what happened- but the thrown paperweight didn’t prevent his death.

He was struck on the head with a heavy object and then the artery in his neck was severed with a knife.

Some of the last words he uttered before dying was “a tall man did it.”

The man charged with the murder was Norman Elliot, a 23-year-old who grew up in Spennymoor after police found blood-stained clothing in his locked drawers.

Elliot defended his innocence- even on death row. He was hanged in Durham Gaol by Thomas Pierrepoint.

The police man who was stoned to death

Northern Echo's headline following the Sergeant's death

This brutal murder took place way back in 1884.

At the time, The Northern Echo reported that it was one of the most “diabolical murders” to have taken place in the county.

On February 23, Acting Sergeant William Smith was stoned to death.

Shortly after the pubs closed at 10pm, the Sergeant was killed in The Slack, a bank which runs from the foot of Cockfield Fell into Butterknowle.

Dr John Middleton came across the body which had been brutally beaten- he appealed for the help of three men in the distance who threw stones at him too.

Three local miners were arrested- Joseph Lowson and Joseph Hodgson were sentenced to death, while William Siddle was pardoned.

However, questions were raised about those convicted and the three men pleaded not guilty.

Joseph Lowson was one of the men hanged and his final words were: “I wish to say that Hodgson struck the first blow and then I helped him.

“I hope that the country and the Crown will look after Siddle and see him safe home again.”