Miscarriages of Justice by John J. Eddleston

Author:John J. Eddleston
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wharncliffe
Published: 2009-11-18T16:00:00+00:00

The Old Bailey where Seddon, and many of the others in this book, faced their trials for murder. Author's collection

Alice Rutt had worked two days per week for the Seddons, to do the housework and by coincidence, one of the days she called was the day of Miss Barrow's death. She had been present when Mr Seddon opened the cash box and confirmed that it only contained £4 10s.

Margaret Ann Seddon was then recalled to clear up the matter of her short separation from her husband at the time of the purchase of 63 Tollington Park. She confirmed that their disagreement was over a business matter. She left him on 3 January 1910 and returned to him after five weeks.

There the defence rested. The jury retired to consider their verdict and after an absence of one hour, returned to announce that they had found Margaret Seddon not guilty, but that Frederick Henry Seddon was guilty as charged. Margaret was then discharged and Frederick was asked if he had anything to say before sentence was passed.

Seddon made a very long speech which ended with a reference that he belonged to the same brotherhood as the learned judge: Freemasonry. This did nothing to save Seddon from the only possible sentence allowed for murder, and Mister Justice Bucknill then sentenced him to death.

An appeal was entered on the grounds that there was no proof that it had been Seddon who administered the arsenic to Miss Barrow. That appeal was heard on 1 April before Justices Darling, Channell and Coleridge. On the second day, the three judges ruled that there was sufficient circumstantial evidence to show that he had killed her in order to steal her property and her gold; the sentence must stand.

On Thursday 18 April 1912, Frederick Henry Seddon, prisoner number 13990, was hanged at Pentonville by John Ellis and Thomas Pierrepoint. Before he died, he wrote one last letter to his wife in which he maintained again that he was innocent.

Before we examine the possibility of a miscarriage of justice, there is one more important factor to consider; something that had been missed in many previous accounts of this story.

On 17 November 1912, almost seven months to the day since Seddon had been hanged, an article appeared in the Weekly Despatch. It was an article in which Seddon's widow told her own story and it was headed: ‘I saw Seddon poison Miss Barrow.’

The article began with Margaret confirming that she had remarried and was now Mrs James Cameron, and was living at 361 Price Street, Birkenhead. It went on to say that she was telling the truth now because many people still believed that she was involved in some way and now wished to clear her name.

According to Margaret's story, Seddon had carefully planned the murder and on the last night of Eliza Barrow's life, he had substituted a mixture made up of the water from the flypapers and a white powder, for Miss Barrow's medicine. He had then given this to her, whilst Margaret was present.

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