Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Reading by John J Eddleston

Author:John J Eddleston [Eddleston, John J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Bisac code 1: TRU000000: TRUE CRIME / General
ISBN: eBook ISBN: 9781783037537
Publisher: Wharncliffe
Published: 2009-11-19T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

Too Good to Live Queenie Pennington 1929

By 1929, William Pennington and his wife, Queenie, had been married for four years, and their union had been blessed, in June 1926, with a daughter who they named Jean. The problem was, however, that this did not bring the couple closer together as might be expected, for Queenie began to suffer from depression.

William worked as a roadman, for Berkshire Council and, on the morning of Friday 30 August 1929, left for work, as usual, at 6.30am. He did not return to his home at 2 Fairview Cottages, Amen Corner, Binfield, until 5.05pm, and when he did he found that the door was locked against him.

William knocked on the door a number of times and, finally, saw that the scullery door was opening. He dashed forward, only to find his wife in the doorway with a vicious gash in her throat. William ran for a neighbour and asked him to call the doctor before he went back into his house. Going inside, William found, to his horror, that his daughter Jean lay on the scullery floor, in a pool of blood, her head almost severed from her body.

The first police officer to arrive was Constable Thatcher, who knew the family well. He took a note of the position of Jean’s body and also that the child was still warm, showing that the crime had only taken place very recently. Queenie was now lying on the floor, next to her daughter, unconscious. A check of the premises revealed a razor in the sink and a hammer on the floor, both of which were heavily bloodstained. There was also a good deal of blood on the scullery floor and in the kitchen.

At 5.20pm, Dr Lancelot George Jacobs arrived. He determined that Jean’s throat had been cut very deeply and her windpipe severed. He then administered medical aid to Queenie, before she was taken to the Guardian’s Institution at Easthampstead. The body of the child was taken to the mortuary at the same establishment and the following day, 31 August, Dr Jacobs carried out a post-mortem.

That examination showed that there were a number of brown stains on the child’s hands and lips. There were similar stains on the side of Jean’s head and also on her legs. The doctor concluded that these had probably been caused by someone trying to force some kind of liquid into the child’s mouth, and the consequent movements as Jean struggled against it. Finally, Dr Jacobs was able to put the time of death at some twenty to thirty minutes before his initial examination, or close to ten minutes to five.

The inquest on Jean Pennington opened on Monday 2 September, before Mr R S Payne, the coroner for East Berkshire. Evidence of identification was given by Constable Thatcher and details of the cause of death were outlined by Dr Jacobs. The proceedings were then adjourned until 7 October, by which time it was hoped that Queenie might have recovered sufficiently from her injuries.

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