Murder most foul in old Warwickshire

Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Warwickshire is the title of John Lethbridge’s collection of 22 true events researched from court records.

The retired local government officer takes the old county boundaries as his guideline which means he includes not only witch-finders in Long Compton and bodies found in Snitterfield, but also some dire deeds that took place almost in the centre of Birmingham.

He says: “Areas like Ward End, where I live, along with Solihull and Aston, were all part of Warwickshire in the old days and so I have added a few interesting stories from these places.”

But what of the Leamington poisoner?

She was Sarah Kibbler, who in January, 1889, was working as an occasional charwoman for Dr William Horniblow who lived in Clarendon Street with his wife Elizabeth and their 14-year-old son, also called William.

On February 14, when Elizabeth suffered a stroke, Sarah was taken on full-time as a maid-of-all-works responsible for not only cleaning the house but nursing Elizabeth and keeping an eye on the family’s pet rat!

Curiously, Mrs Horniblow was said to be particularly fond of the rat, although Sarah detested the creature, which conveniently died, on March 18.

It was also about this time Elizabeth had taken to vomiting after a cup of tea, served to her by Sarah, which she claimed tasted of copper and “Lucifer matches.”

By April the family’s suspicions were aroused after a glass of brandy and water appeared to be contaminated - and Dr Horniblow discovered a considerable amount of mercuric chloride had gone missing from a bottle in his surgery.

Sarah was confronted and admitted using the poison to kill the rat - but not attempting to murder Mrs Horniblow, which she said must have been an accident as a result of droppings from its cage. The doctor told her he’d take the matter no further if she left town. Sarah’s husband refused.

It seemed the Leamington police didn’t take kindly to the doctor’s amateur detective work and decided there was not enough evidence to take Sarah to court. In frustration he took out a private prosecution. Magistrates, chaired by Leamington mayor, Alderman Flavel, were heavily criticised when the case was not proved.

As his wife’s health improved, Dr Horniblow pressed on, taking Sarah to the summer and then the winter Assizes at Warwick where, finally, on December 16 of that year, she was found guilty of attempted murder and sentenced to 15 years hard labour.

Another cause celebre picked out by Mr Lethbridge in his book, concerns the so called Mad Parson of Warwick...although extensive research by the author has failed to establish whether the “Reverend” William Brookes actually was ordained.

According to the Warwick Advertiser of 1812 the parson was well known for his “manic episodes” which alternated between spending weeks at a time in bed or walking round the town wearing just a nightshirt while threatening to shoot people. The parson let out part of his house in the town to butcher Thomas George who had employed Hannah Miller as a servant girl.

Tragically, it was 14-year-old Hannah, who caught the brunt of one of the minister’s manic moments. He called her a “saucy bitch” and shot her twice with a pistol. He was convicted of Wilful Murder but escaped the death penalty after a judge ruled he was insane and should be detained at His Majesty’s Pleasure.

n Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in Warwickshire is published by Wharncliffe Books and costs £10.99.