THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH. THURSDAY,
Mother Says Of Killer, "He
Is Mad-I Can't
ACCUSED HER OF HIS CRIME
Oxford, Oct. 28.
SENTENCE of death was passed here this
an
evening on John Edward Allon, twenty- seven-year-old chef, once inmate of Broadmoor, for the murder by strangling of a seventeen - month-old baby girl, Kathleen Diana Woodward.
Why Allen killed the child no one knows. In the witness-box he made an extraordinary attempt to saddle his crime on the child's mother.
Forgive"
THE HEMPEN ROPE
HERE is the story of the murder and the clue of the hempen rope, which, together with a chance remark, played a major part in fixing the guilt on Allen.
At 4.20 on the afternoon of June 10-a Haturday-Alien cycled to the Woodwarda" home. He told the young wife, "Fred has sent me up to take the kid- dle for an airing."
She believed him.
Later that evening two boys were strolling between Burford and Shipton.
A rabbi darted across
Into road and vanished lom 5.
Bay-like, they followed.
the 50me
In the grass they found the
thr bolly of
child. strangled with a length of hempen rope.
About a month before, the wife of the owner of the Lamb Elatet bought a clothes line. It was long for its purpose. When
put up it was slack, with n loase enil.
Early in the afternoon of the day the child was murdered, a kitchen
boy noticed that the clothes Ine was laut. Idly he commented on it.
Allen was standing by. "I tightened It," he said.
Professor II. 6. Holden. direc- lor of the Home Office Forensic Laboratory ав Nottingham, examined the clothes line and the rope round the baby's neck. Both were of hemp, Both were exactly almílur.
Ile examined the clothes that Allen ware at work and those he wore when he took the child away.
On both there were traces of hemp.
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He alleged that the mother was in love with him;
"sald, "Who's done this?' and that the child was dead when the that she killed the child herself; that he took the body bent down to feel the child's pulse, prisoner toolt it away?" She ans
wered: "No, sir.” away and hid it in the long grass, saying, "I will take the There was none.
"At first Mrs. Woodward did not] "Is there may truth blame. I've been in a mental hospital. It will turn out reply, but a little later she soll. this suggestion fint you killed your all right."
own child?""No, sir."
'Don't ask me.
"I asked her again who had done
John.
story, and she said, 'I done it for you,
Young Mrs. Woodward, white-faced, heard this told in court. In the witness-box she was asked if it were true. She answered in a trembling voice: "He is insane.
"
To a reporter, afterwards, she} said: "His story is horribly un-{ true. I love my husband. loved my baby.
"He never attempted to make love
to me. If he had 1
Emucked his face."
would have
The Woodwards worked
he gave her two pennles. She gave them to me to put in her money-box.
[
"I have them here now..
"He is mad, I suppose. Even so,
I could not and it in my heart to forgive him."
in the Allen-dark,
thick - sel,
whatever In
Then the husband gave, brief evi-
lion to her baby,
dence of his wife's passionate deve-
"I put the child ander my fef Allen's real nume, it can now be arm and wheeled my cycle with my stated, is John Frederick Lapslen. right. I went down to Fulbrook-road He was born in South Shields. towards Durford and laid it in the grass, about 500 yards house."
from the He has served two hard-Inbour sentences for forgery, and others for pelty theft. Je was discharged Cross-examined by Mr. St. John from the Navy for mentul instability, Micklethwall. K.C., he admitted deserted several ilmes from the that this was the first time he had Army and once ran amok in prison. put forward mich a story in publife came out of Broadmoor shortly. When the wife went into the bux before the murder.
Mr. Micklethwait deep-there any truth in
Lamb Hotel at Burford. The hus-voiced-in court never once looked band was a waiter, Allen, with the at the woman he accused. help of a forged reference, was e- gaged as a chef.
Ile became
with the friendly Woodwards, who lived at Shipton Down, about a mile and a half away. He took the child out on his bicycle on the pretext that the father had
asked him to do so,
He strangled her with a length of clothes line taken from the hotel.
Mrs. Woodward, still shaken by her ordeal, said: "I can only think the killed my baby because he was Jealous of me at the hotel.
"My husband and I were doing well there. I belleve he resented it.
"He seemed 3o. fond of children- especially fond of my baby. That was why I asked him once why he never married.
It took the jury an hour to bring in their verdiel. The foreman added these words: "We think that in- quiries should be made into his men- tal state."
Mr. Justice Finlay nodded gravely.
had already intended that."
Without further comment e Judge passed sentence of death.
"Then he turned again to the Jury: "I shall myself write to the Home Secretary,”
asked: "Wa the suggestion
Campaign To Stop Swearing
Rome.
A campaign to stamp out swearing]
GAS KILLS SLEEPING FAMILY OF 4
NOVEMBER
25, 1937.
Francis Lederer, 31-year-old serçen actor, and his brid:, Mar- garito Bolando, 20, known as Margo, stage and screen doneer, Just after their widdhart before n Justice of the pence nt Las Vegas, Nev. Lederer, active world peace advocate, was divorced in his native Prague, Czechoslovakia, from his first wife in 1935. Margo was born in Mexico City.
Vitamin A Sought In Fish
Four
scientists have
London been co-
operating in a search for vitamin A In freshwater fish. After examining specimens
oil from 20 of liver catches, including salmon, pike and these Kidderminster (Worcester), sturgeon, they reported that
Oct. 21.
freshwater fish may be supposed to FAMILY of four-one of produce a different type of vitamin
them a five-year-old, child— [A from that found in sea fish.
Three warders look Allen down to in Italy has been launched by the were gassed to death carly to- the cells. Little beads of perspira-Catholic Church, which is placarding day as they slept in their home thon glistened on his forchend.
ALLEN'S STORY IN THE BOX
This was the story Allen told in the witness-box: "When I went to the house I saw Dinna (the baby) on the
the nation with signs saying: "Gentle men! No more swearing, please!"
Priests of each parish throughout
nation are the campaign locally,
conducting
the
in Sutton-road here.
They were: Mrs. Alice · Elizabeth
son-in-law, Ayres, sixty-one; her Leonard Walters, twenty-six; his Over periods of days parish mem-wife Marian, twenty-four, and their bers promise to utter no blasphemy She had a piece of горе
round and offer voluntarily fines of money, daughter, Jane Yvonne, aged five, her neck. Mrs. Woodward was food or clothing for each slip of the
floor.
SAID HE HATED WOMEN "He told me he hated women.
Before he look, my baby away | teaning on the mantelpiece crying. tongue.
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It is assumed that a gas meteo standing on a shelf became dis- placed, causing gas to pour into the house.
Walters, a moulder in a local foun- dry, was sleeping on the couch in the kitchen and his wife was lying near the door leading from the kitchen to the stairs.
The fact that the lights were on downstairs suggests she unelt gas, came down to investigate, and wus
overcome.
CHILD HAD FEVER
Mrs. Ayres was lying at the foot of her bed in a back room upstairs, nod the child in the front bedroom, which she had
her shared with mother.
Walters slept in the kitchen be- eause the child had scarlet fever and, by permission of the health af authorities, was being nursed home.
The tragedy was discovered be- cause the smell of gas penetrated to the house next door, and two youths Iving there, twins nged sixteen, showed signs of being overcome.
They recovered later.
A neighbour, Mr. W. J, Harris, forced a window and saw Walters lying dead on the couch, He called the polles.
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