THE END OF A SUFFOLK MURDERER,
SAD AFFAIR AT KENNINGHALL.
About a week ago an infirm old man named John Mickleburgh, in the sick ward of Kenninghall Workhouse, was severely beaten by John Revell Burrows, who was acting as sick ward attendant at the time. The poor old man was greatly bruised, and called out during the assault, “You are pushing my stomach in." Mr. Cole, the master, reported the matter to the Guardians on Monday last, when proceedings were ordered to be taken against Burrows. Arrangements had been made accordingly. It is not yet known what will be the result, as Mickleburgh died on Thursday morning, and his death was doubtless accelerated by Burrows. The deceased man will be remembered by some of our readers as the man who committed murder at Thrandeston, in Suffolk, many years ago, upon a servant girl. Ho was condemned to death, but through the great perseverance of his wife the sentence was respited, and he was transported. For several years past Mickleburgh has been at liberty, and has lived at Shelfhanger, but on becoming very feeble was removed to the Workhouse at Kenninghall. It is said that he was never allowed to enter Suffolk after the murder.
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The terrible crime for which the deceased man was condemned to death created widespread excitement and indignation at the time, but now few probably remember the particulars, for it is nearly 40 years since it was committed.
John Mickleburgh was in 1851 farming between 40 and 50 acres of land at Thrandeston, and was then 41 years old. He had in his service as dairymaid a girl named Mary Baker. On August, the 1st in that year Mary Baker, her sweetheart William Bootman, and her sister Clara French, and brother-in-law John French went to Thrandeston fair. Mickleburgh, who was also at the fair, joined the party, and after they had looked round for a time invited them to Barrett's "bough house," where beer was sold at the time the fair was held. They went with him into the kitchen of the house, and Mary Baker and her sweetheart sat near the backhouse door. They sat drinking for some time, and Mickleburgh, who had previously made use of strange expressions to the girl such as "Now I'll be revenged," slipped out of the house and went back into the fair. No one appears to have seen him re-enter, but suddenly the party was thrown into consternation by a cry from the girl, ''I am dead; l am dead!" and the prisoner was seen standing over her with an open knife in his hand, while blood was streaming from her chest. French sprang to Mickleburgh and seized his arm, and Barrett, who attracted by the screams, entered the room at the time, ran to his assistance, and a struggle took place, in which all three were thrown to the ground. Barrett eventually secured the knife, and French held Mickleburgh on a seat until a police-man came, while Bootman with assistance got the girl upstairs. She was attended by Mr. W. W. Miller, surgeon, Eye, but died at four o'clock the next day. P.C. Baker took Mickleburgh into custody, and charged him with stabbing the young woman. The prisoner who was in a very excited state, appeared perfectly aware of what he had done, and admitted that he had bought the knife on purpose, had entered by way of the backhouse, and had stabbed the girl before she noticed him. He said if she got well, and did not come to his proposals, he had got the best brace of pistols the world could produce.
The trial took place at the Suffolk Assizes at Bury on Wednesday, March 24th, 1852. The counsel for the prosecution were Mr. Dasent and Mr. Bulwer, and Mr. Prendergast and Mr. Palmer appeared for the prisoner. The evidence as to the crime and the deliberate manner in which it was perpetrated was not contested by the defending counsel, nor was the assertion by one of the witnesses that the prisoner asked the girl to get home half-an-hour earlier and meet him in his meadow, but Mr. Prendergast made a long and eloquent speech to the Jury, in which he contended that the prisoner was of unsound mind; that his mother had been insane, and had died from a disease of the brain, and that his conduct had been most strange on many occasions, and clearly indicative of madness. Several witnesses were called for the defence, but their evidence did not appear satisfactory to the Jury, who found the prisoner guilty, and the Judge (Lord Chief Justice Campbell) condemned him to death. In consequence of the persevering exertions of his wife and friends, however, he was afterwards reprieved, and sentenced to transportation, and upon his release returned to this country, and eventually drifted into the Kenninghall Workhouse. Some relatives of the witnesses in the case are, we believe, now living in Ipswich.
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Only a little over a year ago the Kenninghall Workhouse was the scene of a dreadful tradedy. One of the inmates of the sick ward Jonas Rivett after all had retired to rest on the night of February 12th, 1887, rose from his bed, made his way to the room in which one of the attendants - Henry Baker - slept, and stabbed him in the neck with a knife as he lay, completely severing the jugular vein and inflicting such injuries that the poor victim died soon afterwards. The murderer, who was 71 years of age, was finally tried before Mr, Justice Field at the Assizes at Ipswich, on June 21st, and, although the plea of insanity was set up in defence, the death sentence was imposed upon him. He, however, was afterwards reprieved.
