George Henry Parker

George Henry Parker was convicted of the murder of William Pearson 43 and sentenced to death. He shot him on a London and South-Western train near Wimbledon, London. George Parker had got on a Southampton to London train at Eastleigh around midday on 17 January 1901. At the time there was already another woman in the compartment and then at Winchester William Pearson got on. They had been in carriage 169. As the train left Wimbledon George Parker shot William Pearson dead and then went through his pockets. He then saw that the woman was looking at him and told her to be quiet or she would get the same but then immediately shot her in the head hitting her in the cheek. However, she survived. When the train got to Vauxhall Station William Pearson jumped out but the woman shouted out for people to stop him and he was chased by some porters and passengers and captured near the gasworks. George Parker had lived at 1 Christ Church Road in Winchester and had been a gentleman farmer and had been going to London on business. The woman had been a married woman and had lived in Southampton. She was the principle witness against George Parker and when she appeared before the Westminster Police Court on Friday 1 February 1901 she was described as having looked very weak. She said that she had travelled by rail from Southampton West to London by the 11.15 morning train, 3rd class in a lavatory compartment, furthest end and back to engine. She said that when she got on there was no one else in the carriage but that George Parker got on at Eastleigh and sat with his back to the engine in the other corner seat. She said that she noticed nothing strange about him. She said that William Pearson got on at Winchester and sat in the opposite corner seat to her. She said that William Pearson began reading a paper and then appeared to go to sleep. The woman said that none of them spoke until the train got to Surbiton, noting that before the train got to Surbiton that she moved to the other end of the seat facing George Parker, nearest to the lavatory door. She said that before the train arrived at Surbiton that George Parker went into the lavatory, shut the door, and was about three minutes in there after which he came back out and sat down. She said that as soon as they passed Surbiton that she took her ticket out of her purse and stood up and looked towards William Pearson with her back to George Parker. The woman said that she then heard something go off twice, quickly one after the other and thought that it was fog signals, noting that she didn't feel any bullet wound but felt herself bleeding. She said that she then turned round and, realising what had happened, she said, 'My God what did you do it for?' and said that George Parker replied, 'I did it for money. I want some money. Have you got any?'. She said that she told him that she had a little and that she then took her purse out and gave him 1/- which he took and put in his pocket. She said that before she noticed William Pearson that she implored George Parker not to kill her, to save her life and said that he told her that he would not hurt her if she kept perfectly still and told her that he was sorry that he had hurt her. She said that she then noticed that William Pearson was bleeding from the eye, noting that she thought that he was already dead and that she could hear a little gurgling in his throat, but that that was all. She noted that he never moved. The woman said that George Parker, with his back to her, then took things out of William Pearson's pockets after which he sat down and she saw that he had taken a cigar case and a purse and that he then opened the purse and counted out the money. She said that he then offered her a sovereign, asking whether that was any good to her and said that she replied, no and that she didn't want it. She said that she had blood on her face and that she used two handkerchiefs and asked George Parker for his which she said he gave her. She noted that she had blood on her hands and that she was going to put her hands on his arms to implore him not to kill her but that he said, 'Don't touch me’, and she said she didn't. She said that she then asked him where he came from and said that he told her Birmingham and that he was going to Liverpool and if he could then get clear, to South Africa. She said that she kept him in conversation for some time and that he then said, 'What have I done with that dammed thing', and looked around and saw that it was behind him, but said that she didn't see it. She said that he then said, 'It won't do for me to keep this thing about one. I've a good mind to put it in his hand, then they'll think he done it himself'. The woman said that she then said, 'If I was you I'd throw it out of the window', and said that he was going to throw it out of the window but said that there were some men looking, saying, 'I can't throw it there, they are looking at me'. She said that she then advised him to wait for a bit for some sheds and to then throw it on the roof of them. She said that he then threw it, but it fell on a rail and that she then saw a revolver. She said that he threw the bullets out too, saying, 'There are four more here'. She said that she then advised George Parker to take William Pearson's handkerchief out and put it over his face and then use the newspapers to keep the handkerchief up, which she said he did. The woman said that George Parker then said, 'As soon as I get to Vauxhall I shall make a run for it and mind you say nothing about it', noting that he repeated that two or three times. She said that she then advised him to run for his life. She said that George Parker then opened the door and ran with all his might, but that she got out and told two porters close by to stop him because he had murdered a gentleman in the train and had shot her. She said that she was then taken to hospital where she remained for eight days. When George Parker was arrested he said, I did it. It's an old grievance as he injured me when in the army and also out'. He also said, 'I wish I had killed that woman, and then I would have got away. I shot him to get my own back. The woman pushed her face near the trigger, and it went off again, and the shot grazed her cheek. If I had killed her too I should have got away'. He later claimed that the shooting was an accident that happened whilst he was drunk. The revolver was found by a platelayer on the line about 50 yards from Wandsworth Road Bridge along the Windsor up line. The post mortem stated that George Parker had been shot at a range of about 9 inches. George Parker was executed at Wandsworth Gaol on the morning of Tuesday 19 March 1901. He was said to have risen at 7am and to have been provided with a breakfast of tea, bread and butter and eggs, but made a poor meal . James Billington came into the cell a few minutes before nine and pinioned him, it being said that he showed no sign of fear at his approaching doom. He was said to have walked the whole distance to the scaffold without assistance and when the drop fell he was said to have died instantaneously. Following the murder it was reported that there was a growing demand for corridor trains, with it being noted that ordinary passenger trains on some lines were being greatly improved by the provision of a pneumatic system of communication such that it could be operated from no less than four different positions in each compartment, with it being immediately effective in distinctly intimating that a passenger required an official's attention. However, it was noted that in the case of William Pearson that no such arrangement would have been of the slightest use as he had been shot through the head with practically no warning, the bullet causing instant death and the woman having been injured and under close observation by George Parker. George Parker was also known as George Hill. Twenty three year old George Parker was a former marine, turned petty thief, who was convicted of the murder of William Pearson who was found shot dead in a railway carriage. On Thursday 17 January, Parker boarded a London bound train at Eastleigh, just north of Southampton, and settled into a third class carriage which had one other occupant, a middle aged woman called Mrs King. Parker was short of money and had only been able to buy a ticket as far as Winchester. Knowing that when he reached London he would be fined for not having the correct fare, he decided to rob one of his fellow travellers. The train stopped at Winchester where William Pearson, a wealthy farmer, entered the carriage. Parker considered him a suitable victim and as the train reached Surbiton, he went into the lavatory and loaded a gun he habitually carried. Re-entering the carriage, he shot the farmer dead then turned the gun on Mrs King who had witnessed the murder, wounding her. She pleaded for her life as he demanded money but when she offered him only a few pence, he ignored it and rifled the pockets of the farmer instead. The train entered Vauxhall, Parker opened the door, and as it slowed down he jumped onto the platform, thrust the dead man's ticket at the collector and fled, Mrs King hurried onto the platform and began screaming 'murder!'. Parker was chased and caught; when searched he was found to be in possession of items identified as belonging to the dead man. At his trial at Hampshire Assizes before Mr Justice Phillimore, he was convicted on overwhelming evidence and after sentence of death was passed, he admitted carrying out the robbery to finance his liaison with a soldier's wife. The sentence was carried out on the 19 March 1901 in Wandsworth when he was hanged by James and Thomas Billington. From BTP Site It is not a pleasant experience to sit in a compartment on an express train in the company of a dead body and a cold-blooded murderer, armed with a revolver, who has already wounded you and threatened to kill you if you make a movement of any kind. On Thursday, 17 January, 1901, that was the situation in which Rhoda King found herself when she travelled on the 11.20am train from Southampton to Waterloo. On this particular day King was travelling to London to visit a sick relative and joined the train at Southampton where she entered an empty third-class compartment. At Eastleigh a young man entered the compartment and sat down but King took no special notice of him. At the next stop, Winchester, an elderly gentleman entered and took a seat facing King who was sitting in a corner with her back to the engine. The three passengers did not speak to each other. The gentleman read his newspaper for a while and then dozed off and King changed her seat and sat looking out of the window. Time passed and when the train was near Surbiton the young man entered the train lavatory, the old gentleman was still asleep and King was still looking out of the window. A few moments later two shots were fired. King felt blood running down her face and realised she had been hit. She saw the young man rifling the pockets of the third passenger and cried out: “My God, what have you done?” The man replied: “I did it for money. I want some money. Have you got any?” King, bleeding from a wound in the cheek and greatly agitated but doing her best to keep her head, rummaged in her handbag and handed him a shilling. When he moved to take it she saw that the old man had been shot in the head. It was a ghastly sight and she told the murderer to put a handkerchief over the face, which he did. The victim was William Pearson, a farmer whose home was near Winchester. The murderer was George Henry Parker, aged 23, an ex-soldier, tall, and good looking. He had never seen Pearson or King before. He had been associating with a young woman in Portsmouth and on 16 January he travelled with her to Southampton where they stayed the night. The following day, the day of the murder, the girl wanted to go home and Parker went to Southampton station with her. He had been spending money heavily and quite a lot of it had gone on drink. While they were at the station he left her for a while and went to a shop in Bernard Street where he bought a revolver and ten rounds for seven shillings and fivepence. He then returned to the girl and they booked their tickets. She took a ticket to Portsmouth but Parker told her he was going to London and he took a ticket to Eastleigh although she did not know this. They travelled to Eastleigh together and there the girl changed into the Portsmouth train. Parker saw her off and then rejoined the London train in which King was travelling. Parker, having killed Pearson and taken his purse and other property, left King in no doubt that he would kill her too if she did not keep quiet. She pleaded with him not to shoot her, and Parker, in a state of nervous tension and conscious of what he had done, seems to have been glad to talk to her. He waved the gun at her and said: “I must not keep it about me. I have a good mind to put it in his hand and then they will think he did it himself.” King, to humour him, told him it would be better to throw it out of the window. He went to do this but saw some men working on the line and decided to wait. Later, urged again by King, he threw out the gun and the remaining rounds. By this time the train was approaching Vauxhall, where it was due at 1.29pm, and as it slowed down Parker climbed out on to the running board. He told King not to say anything about what had happened and then, as the train pulled into the platform, he jumped off and ran away as fast as he could. King was in a state of collapse, but when the train stopped she stumbled out of the carriage and shouted to some railwaymen: “Stop that man. He has killed someone in that carriage.” A hue and cry was set up as Parker ran down the steps, rushed past the collector on the gate, and out into the street, followed by four or five men. Near Vauxhall Bridge he was headed off by a constable on point duty and he turned into the gas works. After a hectic pursuit round the works he was cornered behind some trucks, arrested, and taken to Larkhall Lane Police Station by PC Thomas Fuller. To this officer, Parker said: “I wish I had killed that woman, then I should have got away.” In the meantime Platform Inspector Goodey and other railway staff examined the carriage. Pearson was beyond human aid but King was taken to St. Thomas’s Hospital for treatment. Railway and Metropolitan Police were soon on the scene and Superintendent Robinson of the London and South Western Railway Police took charge. A systematic search of the line was made and near Wandsworth Bridge a platelayer found a revolver which was later identified as the one sold to Parker in Southampton. At the police station Parker was searched by Sergeant Thorley and found in possession of a purse and other items which were the property of Pearson. Parker was then charged with the murder of Pearson and the attempted murder of King. Rumours began to spread and, at his home in Southampton, King’s husband was told by some ill-informed idiot that his wife had been murdered. He collapsed on hearing the news. Parker confessed to the crime but enquiries were made to gather up the loose ends. It was found, for example, that as he rushed through the barrier he gave up the ticket taken by Pearson at Winchester. Parker’s own ticket was found on the floor of the compartment. He owed the excess fare from Eastleigh, but he paid a much more severe penalty. The medical evidence showed that Pearson had been shot at point-blank range and King had escaped death by an inch. She recovered quickly and gave evidence at the inquest and the subsequent criminal proceedings when she was strongly, and deservedly, commended for the courage she had displayed. On Friday, 1 March 1901, Parker appeared before Mr. Justice Phillimore at the Central Criminal Court. He pleaded not guilty on the advice of his lawyer who attempted to persuade the court that his client was insane as a result of alcoholism. He was found guilty, however, sentenced to death, and executed three weeks later. While Parker was awaiting trial he wrote a lengthy letter entitled The Wretched Murderer of Your Husband which he addressed to Mrs Pearson. He handed it to one of the prison staff and asked him to give it to “any editor”. He was resigned to his fate from the start. His motive was robbery and nothing more and he had intended to kill King with his second shot. Had he succeeded he might have escaped detection. After Peasron entered the compartment at Winchester, Parker sat thinking out his course of action and it was only King’s steadiness in the face of extreme danger that discouraged him from completing his plan after his shot at her had only scored a near miss. http://www.btp.police.uk/about_us/history/crime_history/murders.aspx#williampearson Photo A 23-year-old petty criminal hanged at Wandsworth Prison on 19th March 1901. It was 17th January 1901 when Parker bought a single railway ticket from Eastleigh, Hampshire, to Winchester. He had wanted to travel to London but had only enough money to buy a ticket for part of the first part of the journey. It was Parker’s intention to obtain the fare by robbing one of his fellow passengers during the ride to London. It was unfortunate for Parker that, before the train reached Winchester, the only other occupant of the carriage was a middle-aged woman named Mrs King. At Winchester William Pearson, a wealthy farmer, boarded the train. After the train got to Surbiton, Parker took out his gun and shot Pearson dead. He then shot Mrs King, wounding her. He then went through the dead man’s pockets. As the train slowed on its approach to Vauxhall station Parker leapt from the carriage and fled. Mrs King managed to raise the alarm and Parker was chased. He was quickly apprehended and was found to have several items in his possession that belonged to the dead farmer. At his trial at Hampshire Assizes a guilty verdict was assured by the overwhelming weight of evidence. Parker was executed by James Billington assisted by his brother Thomas.