29 March 1904 – James Clarkson

A 12-year-old girl was the victim of a senseless crime just four years into the 20th century.

Elizabeth Mary Lynas was killed for reasons unknown. She was last seen leaving church one evening, but she was never to return home. Instead Lynas later turned up dead, her throat slit and her body dumped next to the nearby workhouse. Tellingly her wrists and ankles had been bound with a clothes line.

Sewn up

Clothes became the vital link and the police soon homed in on a local 19-year-old tailor. Sure enough, James Clarkson’s house revealed bloodied clothing plus a cut-throat razor. He was yanked from his bed and hauled in for questioning where he confessed. Punishment was swift and he was hanged for murder by William Billington and Henry Pierrepoint at Leeds.

Also on this day

29 March 1904 – Henry Jones

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