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ENGLAND — LONDON.

Even in a district where violence was depressingly familiar, the callous murder of an elderly shopkeeper still had the power to shock. Harriet Farmer (dates unknown) was found, bound and gagged, with rags stuffed in her mouth at her newsagent’s shop in the East End of London. Local gossip rumoured that Miss Farmer was ‘worth thousands’, yet despite being attacked previously, she lived alone. This had all the hallmarks of a robbery gone wrong. Thieves had slipped in when she opened the shop, overpowering her as she tried to escape upstairs, and suffocating her in the process of keeping her quiet.

No one was ever caught. •

In August 1896, a tragedy on the London stage briefly made Temple Edgecumbe Crozier (dates unknown) a household name. Crozier was playing the villain in a popular melodrama – The Sins of the Night – opposite his theatrical chum Wilfred Moritz Franks (dates unknown). At the height of the drama, Franks lunged forwards to stab his fellow actor with a fake dagger. For some reason, however, the dummy knife was real and pierced Crozier’s chest, inflicting a fatal wound. As the audience departed, Crozier literally died on stage. Franks was arrested for manslaughter, but a magistrate dismissed the charge on the grounds no jury would convict him. •

Above. illustrated police news, 22 august 1896. wilfred moritz franks stabs his co-star, unaware

that his theatrical prop is in fact a real weapon.

Above. illustrated police news, 22 october 1904. harriet farmer’s dead body is found, gagged

and bound, by police on the commercial road.

novelty theatre, great queen street, holborn.478 commercial road, whitechapel.

0 August . October 0.

englandlondon.

englandlondon.

WILFRED MORITZ FRANKS.× Temple Edgecumbe Crozier.

UNKNOWN.× Harriet Farmer.

weapon. dagger.

weapon. suffocation.

typology. accident.

typology. property crime.

policing.n/a.

policing.n/a.