Herbert John Bennett

Case identity

Herbert John Bennett was convicted of murdering his wife, Mrs Bennett.

Timeline

• 22 July 1897 — Herbert John Bennett married his wife Mary Jane at the West Ham register office.
• 28 August 1900 — Herbert John Bennett proposed marriage to parlourmaid Alice Meadows.
• 14 September 1900 — As a peace offering, Herbert John Bennett offered to take his wife and child on a holiday to Great Yarmouth.
• 15 September 1900 — Mary Jane Bennett and her baby took the train to Yarmouth with Herbert promising to follow later.
• 22 September 1900 — A man and a woman were seen on Yarmouth beach by Alfred Mason and Blanche Smith; sounds of a woman moaning were heard.
• 23 September 1900 — Mrs Bennett’s body was found on the beach; it was strangled with a bootlace.
• 6 November — Herbert John Bennett was arrested in London.
• 24 February 1901 — Bennett’s trial opened at the Old Bailey.
• 21 March 1901 — Herbert John Bennett was hanged at Norwich Gaol by James Billington, with his brother Thomas assisting.
• 14 July 1912 — The body of Dora May Gray was found on Yarmouth beach; she had been strangled with a bootlace.

Background

Herbert John Bennett was described as a 17 year old petty thief who would turn his hand to anything as long as it made a little money.

He married Mary Jane on 22 July 1897 at the West Ham register office. In 1900, Bennett fell in love with a young parlourmaid and told her he would marry her although he was already married. Bennett arranged for his wife to visit Yarmouth, where he joined her. Bennett and his wife were described as being in “lies and deceit”.

Mary Jane Bennett was described as being three years older than Bennett and as having been a music teacher. Bennett was also described as being 21-year-old and his wife as Mary Jane, with the marriage date again given as 22 July 1897.

Bennett was said to have taken lodgings in Glencoe Villas, Bexleyheath and was living apart from his family. He was also said to have arranged for his wife and child to go to Great Yarmouth, where he later joined them.

Bennett made a proposal of marriage to Alice Meadows on 28 August 1900 notwithstanding his wife and young child.

The offence

Mrs Bennett’s body was found on the beach at Yarmouth. She was murdered by her husband Herbert John Bennett on 22 September 1900. She was strangled with a bootlace.

On the night of 22 September 1900, Alfred Mason and Blanche Smith saw a man and a woman on Yarmouth beach and heard a woman moaning; when sounds were heard, “discretion stopped” them from investigating further.

The next morning, the body of a young woman, strangled with a bootlace, was found on the beach.

In addition, the body of Dora May Gray was found on Yarmouth beach on 14 July 1912. She had been strangled by a bootlace.

Investigation

The police took a long time identifying the corpse as that of Mrs Bennett. Mrs Bennett had booked into a local boarding house run by Mrs Rudrum as a widow from York named Hood. Bennett was back in London by this time.

Once the police had identified the body as Mrs Bennett, it took no time to find her husband and he was arrested in London on 6 November.

The main evidence involved a gold chain or a necklace that Mrs Bennett had been wearing before the murder. A photograph taken the day before the murder showed her wearing the chain, and her Yarmouth landlady identified it as having been worn by Mrs Bennett when she left the house on the night of the killing. A search of Bennett’s London lodgings revealed the chain.

Arrest

Herbert John Bennett was arrested in London on 6 November after police identified Mrs Bennett’s body.

Trial

Bennett’s trial opened on 24 February 1901 at the Old Bailey.

He was defended by Sir Edward Marshall Hall. Hall tried to convince the jury that the chain found in Bennett’s lodgings was of a different design to the one in the photograph.

It was described that the press had “a field day”, judging him guilty before evidence had been heard and even paying some of the witnesses for their stories before the trial began.

Bennett made no confession.

Bennett was tried in front of Judge Lord Alverstone, who sentenced him to death.

Sentencing

Judge Lord Alverstone sentenced Bennett to death.

Outcome

Herbert John Bennett was hanged at Norwich Gaol on 21 March 1901 by James Billington, with his brother Thomas assisting.

It was later noted that, on 14 July 1912, the body of Dora May Gray was found on Yarmouth beach, also strangled by a bootlace, and “her killer was never found”. This case was described as never being solved.

Other details

Alfred Mason and Blanche Smith were the courting couple who saw the man and woman on Yarmouth beach on the night of 22 September 1900.

Mrs Rudrum ran the local boarding house where Mrs Bennett booked as a widow from York named Hood.

Alice Meadows was described as a parlourmaid to whom Herbert John Bennett proposed marriage on 28 August 1900.

Dora May Gray was described as 18 years old when her body was found on Yarmouth beach on 14 July 1912.