The Attack On Eliza Tripp

Attacks on spouses were a common occurrence in Victorian London, and the officers of the Metropolitan Police had a huge amount of experience in dealing with them.

The Morpeth Herald, on Saturday the 15th of September 1877 carried the following story on one such attack:-

ATTEMPT TO MURDER A PARAMOUR

At the Clerkenwell Police Court, on Tuesday, before Mr. Hosack, John Sale, aged 33, of 15, St. Helena place, Clerkenwell, a glass blower, was charged with the attempted murder of Eliza Tripp, about the same age, his paramour, of the above address.

It appears that the parties had lived very unhappily together for some time past.

The injured woman had separated from her husband and has had a child by the prisoner, who had left his wife.

LOUD NOISES OF A STRUGGLE

At four o’clock on Tuesday morning loud noises, as of struggle, were heard in the prisoner’s apartments, and the police were called.

On forcing the door open they found the poor woman with her throat and hands fearfully cut.

The prisoner was then in the act of beating the woman’s head against the wall, and, in addition, it was found that she had been repeatedly struck with a pair of tongs.

An illustration showing the attack on Eliza Tripp.
From The Illustrated Police News, Saturday 22nd September 1877. Copyright, The British Library Board.

HER LIFE WAS IN DANGER

Dr. Chambers, of 1, Wilmington Square, was at once called in, and he stated that the woman’s life was in danger.

Both the prisoner and the woman were quite sober at the time.

The prisoner made no statement when taken into custody.

WHAT THE POLICE FOUND

The evidence showed that the attack upon the woman was continued for a considerable time before the police were called, and that when they effected an entrance they found that he had torn every shred of clothing off the woman, and that he was standing over her with a pair of tongs.

FEARFUL INJURIES

Two medical gentlemen deposed that she had received fearful injuries, and that her life was in danger.

The prisoner was remanded for eight days.

JOHN SALE CHARGED

The Globe published an update on the case in its edition of Wednesday the 26th of September 1877:-

John Sale, aged 28, described a glass blower, residing at 15, St. Helen’s Place, Clerkenwell, was charged today on remand before Mr. Barstow with attempting to murder Eliza Tripp, who now appeared in court quite cheerful and recovered from the severe injuries she had received.

She said she had lived with the prisoner one year and nine months.

On the morning of the 11th, she was home, and not quite sober.

HOW SHE CUT HER THUMB

The prisoner asked her where she had been, and she would not tell him. She aggravated him, and he got up and hit her with the tongs on the top of her head. She took up a knife and tried to strike him. They struggled, and that was how her thumb got cut.

She fell to the floor and he then tried to cut her throat.

A RELUCTANT WITNESS

The witness, who gave her evidence with some reluctance, said that she could not tell what made her think he attempted to cut her throat.

Mr. Barstow committed the prisoner for trial.

HIS OLD BAILEY TRIAL

On the 22nd of October 1877, John Sales appeared at the Central Criminal Court to stand trial for “feloniously cutting and wounding Eliza Tripp with intent to murder her.”

In his defence, he argued that:-

“At the House of Detention, before I had my bath, I told the man to look at my neck, it was fresh at the time and bleeding. I had been stabbed by her previously, and was compelled to force the knife from her.

It was not my intention to murder her.

As we lay in bed together she spat in my face, and she said, “Jack, if you don’t think I am true to you, I will bury this in you,” and took the knife to me.

I took it from her and struck her, but not with the intention of knocking her brains in or of murdering her.”

FOUND GUILTY

The jury, however, found him guilty of intent to do grievous bodily harm, and the judge sentenced him to seven years penal servitude.