Murder at the Star Inn

Little disturbed the serenity of the village until 2pm on Saturday August 16 1890 when a succession of shots rang out from a little cottage attached to the Star Inn on Doncaster Road. The inn was occupied by a former Rotherham man Mr Williams, who hearing the shots ran outside. There he saw the door to the cottage open and a young woman came out. She was Mrs Rebecca Lindley aged 26 years and was a dreadful sight. Blood was pouring from wounds in her neck and head and she fell into the arms of one of her other neighbours, who also heard the shots.

More people gathered around the little cottage, and several of them decided to look inside to see who had caused the woman's injuries. Inside the cottage was the back kitchen and blood was scattered all around the walls and floor. Outside in the yard, a man lay on his side and around his head was a pool of blood.

The man appeared to have shot himself and the bullet had gone through his right eye and exited through the top of his head. A few yards away from him and near to the back door was a small six chambered pistol which had been bought second hand at Mexborough. When it was examined by the police it was found to be empty. Four bullets had been shot at the woman and the last one for himself was lodged in his brain. Another empty cartridge was found in his pocket, which it was presumed he had tested before use. The weapon was recovered by Sergeant Simpson. At the time he was found, the man was still alive but unconscious.

One of the neighbours offered him brandy and attempts are made to staunch the blood, but little hope was left that he might survive. In the group which had formed around the cottage was the wife of a surgeon Mrs Hill of Conisborough. She had been passing the cottage in her pony and trap when Mrs Lindley emerged, and she did her best to render first aid to both the girl and the dying man.

A telegraph was quickly sent to her husband, Rowland who arrived shortly afterwards with his assistant Mr John Gibbs. Dr Hill found that one bullet had entered Mrs Lindley at the back of her neck and near the base of her brain. Another had entered on the right side of her chest, a third through her back and the fourth was merely a graze. She was removed to the hospital.

It was established that the young man’s name was Jesse Hoye and he was aged around 20 years, but sadly he died about two hours later. The deceased man had lodged with the woman and her husband John Lindley. Police enquiries established that Rebecca was known as Rebecca Lindley, although her real name was Bennett. The man posing as her husband John, had a wife living elsewhere, and there was also child to the couple aged about two years. Hoye had gone to live in Conisbrough a year previously where he had been employed by a contractor, building houses in the area. He had then gone to work for a brewery for a while, before having just obtained a post at the Denaby Main Colliery. He had only been at the colliery a short while and had just completed two shifts there. He was reported by one neighbour as being a ‘a nice, quiet, decent young fellow, just about as nice a chap as there was in the village’.

Matters had come to a head when Mrs Lindley told him that he had to leave. He had quickly found other lodgings with a Mrs Fitzgeorge just further down Doncaster Road, Conisborough. Presciently at 1pm on the day of the murder, Hoye had gone to Mrs Fitzgeorge's house and told her that he would not be moving in. By 1.30pm he was in the Star Inn with two other young men. The men had only had a pint each before Hoye remarked to one called Tom Barber ‘I think I will be going home’. Thinking he meant that he would have a sleep before he started his next shift, Barber took no notice. Then Hoye added mysteriously ‘I might be back again in two minutes, or it might be 12 months before I come back’. The other man Alfred Bell noted that he seemed a little agitated, but both men thought that there was nothing unusual about his behaviour. When he left the two men it was reported that he was not drunk rather he appeared to be calm and collected. Police enquiries established that on Monday August 11 Hoye had told a neighbour

Mrs Tye “If I have to leave those lodgings, I will shoot the woman”, but she made little of the comment and it was forgotten until the tragedy occurred. The weapon was recovered by Sergeant Simpson and when he searched the clothes of the deceased man, all he had in his pockets was 6s.6d, a knife and a pencil.

The Inquest

The inquest on Jesse Hoye was held at the Star Inn on Monday August 18 1890 by county coroner Mr F E Nicholson. The coroner in opening the inquest commented that such cases of attempted murder and suicide were thankfully rare in his experience. The body had been identified by the deceased man’s mother, Lucy Hoye, and she stated that his age was just 20 years. She regretfully told the inquest that she had not seen her son for all the time he had been at Conisborough. Dr Hill gave the medical evidence and said that it was clear from the first time he had seen Hoye that he had no hope of recovery. The surgeon stated that the bullet had penetrated the right eye orbit and the bullet would have ‘ploughed up the brain as it passed along, and would cause immediate internal haemorrhage’.

When asked about the condition of Mrs Lindley, he stated that she was still alive, but little hope was held out for her recovery. Another woman, who told the court that her name was also Rebecca Bennett, was the grandmother to the injured woman. She stated that she knew that her granddaughter was living with John Lindley as man and wife, but they were not married. When she was asked about the relationship between Mrs Lindley and the deceased man, she said that she was convinced that there was nothing between her granddaughter and Jesse Hoye. She added that he had been asked to leave simply because of his drinking habits, and that he looked ‘very wild’ after taking some alcohol.

Edith Hardy the step daughter of William Tye, gave evidence that she would often help out with the cleaning for Mrs Lindley. On the morning of Saturday August 16 she had gone to the house at 8am and remained working there until about 2pm. She was with Mrs Lindley and Hoye, who before she left went to the pub next door. The girl claimed that there was no quarrelling while she was there, but Hoye had quarrelled with John Lindley a few days previously and stated that it had come to blows. Earlier that day she had been washing the front steps, when Hoye went into the house and she noted that he appeared to be crying. Mrs Lindley was out at the time but when she came back, the girl heard some conversation before she heard Mrs Lindley cry out ‘oh Jesse don’t’. Then she heard two shots and she dropped the bucket of water and brush that she was using. Just after she heard the shots, Mrs Lindley came out of the house and she was bleeding badly.

Mr John Lindley then entered the room to give his evidence and there was complete silence as he told the coroner that although Rebecca was not his wife, they had cohabited for four years. He stated that he had instructed Hoye to leave the house because he was ‘often drunk and quarrelsome’. He told he coroner that on the occasion the two men were fighting, it was because Hoye had been swearing and refusing to go to bed. He strongly denied that there was any intimacy between the deceased man and the woman he called his wife.

He admitted however that Hoye was very depressed and he was aware that he did not want to leave his lodgings, but could give no other reason for the attempted murder. Another witness, Mrs Catherine Tye, also agreed that a few days before the shooting that Hoye was very depressed. She claimed that he was upset about having to leave the lodgings and that it seemed to prey on his mind. Mrs Tye stated that he had threatened to drown himself on a previous occasion, but she had no idea that he was intending murder. When she knew he was leaving she had asked him for a keepsake and he gave her a watch which she still had. Two of the neighbours James Thompson and William Jones stated that they had seen Hoye enter the back yard and shoot himself, but it had happened so quickly that neither men were able to stop it.

George William Carr, a pawnbroker of Mexborough, deposed that the deceased was the same person who had called at his shop and asked for a revolver. He had sold him the only one he had available for 4s.6d along with 10 cartridges. Hoye had asked him to show him how to load it and Mr Carr had demonstrated. Superintendent Blake of the Doncaster police asked the pawnbroker if the man appeared to be sober at the time of the sale, and Mr Carr assured him that he was. Sergeant Simpson told the inquest that there was no letter on the body and he could not find a motive for the crime. The members of the jury also questioned the motive for the shooting, but it seems that one of them had already convinced himself. When one juryman commented that ‘we shall not get to know whether there has been intimacy or not’ another replied ‘oh it’s a love affair alright’.

At that point the coroner stated ‘that was all the evidence he intended to hear’. He told the jury: “The only decision to be made was whether the deceased was ‘compos mentis’ when he fired the gun. Anyone who deliberately puts an end to his own life, or who commits a unlawful act, the consequence of which result in death, comes under the definition of “felo-de-se”. Although the man had been clearly depressed, the evidence suggests that the act was strongly premeditated. Even if he got a drink to steady himself, that alone would not be sufficient to say that he was temporarily insane. Therefore you must not base the verdict on sympathy, but on the question of the facts.”

The jury considered for a while before bringing in a verdict of verdict, which is now outdated of felo de se (suicide). In such cases there would be no Christian burial and the body would be buried in the unconsecrated grounds of the churchyard. There would be no prayers said over the body or any of the Christian rites that normally go with more respectable funerals.

The burial of Jesse Hoye took place the following day. The body which had been placed in a stable at the Star Inn was transported in a coffin, which had been paid for by subscriptions. The coffin was placed on a dray supplied by an assistant overseer of the poor, Mr Hawksworth. Although no burial service could be carried out according to the law, Rev Canon Bulstrode read out the words to two hymns, which were attentively listened to by an almost silent crowd. Included in the mourners were the deceased man’s mother and sister who placed some flowers on the coffin. The Rev gentleman also read out a sermon over the grave of the deceased man, which it was reported ‘elicited much emotion’. He alluded just briefly to the facts of the case and as the coffin was lowered, it was reported that most people were visibly affected.

The Aftermath

It seems that the injured woman Mrs Lindley was rapidly sinking at this point, and she was not expected to live much longer. On Sunday August 17 surgeons were anxious to remove one of the bullets which had been lodged in her neck. Dr Hill had tried to probe for it, but was unable to extract it safely. The following day it was reported that Mrs Lindley had spent a ‘miserable’ night as she was so much in pain, and at that point no longer wished for any further attempts to be made to extract the bullets. She was visited on Monday August 18 by her sister from Nottingham, and was said to be in very good spirits, except when the conversation turn to the future of her child. On Friday August 22 it was predicted that ‘she was getting weaker’ and it was surmised that ‘without the removal of the bullets, if erysipelas sets in, then the result would be fatal’.

Whilst many waited for the outcome for the young woman, there was intense speculation as to what had caused the young man to shoot her. Like the juryman, most people were convinced that it was the outcome of an intense love affair with his landlady, which had precipitated the shooting. Others thought that something had happened to Hoye at the brewery where he had worked previously.

It had been noted that whilst there he had become a more frequent visitor to the Star Inn, where he would drink more than he previously had. In order to rectify matters, a letter was inserted in the local newspaper from the ex-employers of Jesse Hoye on Saturday August 23 contradicting that he had started drinking heavily after working at the brewery.

The owners, Messrs Nicholson Bros stated to the editor of the local newspaper, that during the three months that Hoye had been employed by them: “He was well behaved, industrious, very sober, and was never once observed to be any different. He left his work voluntarily on the 9th and was advised that he was going back to live with his parents at Norfolk. He had always honoured his parents and frequently sent them money.”

By Friday August 22 it seems that Mrs Lindley was sinking further and further and was now unable to speak due to the bullet still lodged in her neck. It was reported that although she was still conscious, she was now unable to hold a pen and communicate with the medical staff as she had done previously. On that morning she appeared as if she wanted to speak, but was unable to say what she wanted. Dr Rowland Hill stated that he was just surprised that she had survived so long with the kind of injuries that she had received. Rebecca Lindley-Beckett died on Tuesday afternoon of August 26 1890 after prolonged suffering. She had grown weaker and weaker and was partly unconscious until about 4pm when she finally passed away.

On Wednesday August 27 1890, yet another inquest was held at the Star Inn by the deputy coroner, Mr George Nicholson. Much of the evidence that was heard was the same as at the previous inquest. The surgeon Dr Hill described once again described the position of the bullets and told the coroner that all were so deeply seated, and so close to vital organs that it was impossible to retrieve them. Mr Nicholson asked him if there was ever a time when Mrs Lindley was able to explain what had happened, but the surgeon told him that there wasn’t. However three days before she died, it became obvious that she wanted to say something, but it was impossible. The jury returned a verdict of wilful murder against Jesse Hoye.

The shooting of Rebecca Lindley caused the population of Conisbrough much gossip and speculation as to what had really happened between the pair. Her last attempts to speak, when she had finally accepted her fate, may have been in order to try to clear some of the things that were being said about her. Sadly we will never know.

* Margaret’s new kindle book is now available to download from Amazon. It is called Rotherham Crimes and is based on the stories that have appeared in the Advertiser, but expanded to contain letters and witness and prisoners statements, and is priced at £2.99.