Mexborough and Swinton 27 February 1891
A Brutal Assault at Conisborough.
Saturating A Wife With Paraffin.
Red-Hot Poker Applied.
On Wednesday afternoon, a married woman named Delia McDonald, aged 28, living in the new houses belonging to Kilner Brothers, at Burcroft, Conisborough, was admitted into the Mexborough Montagu Cottage hospital suffering from the effects of her husband’s ill-treatment on Monday night. Her injuries are of a serious and painful character, and although she is not in immediate danger she is utterly prostrated.
It appears from the woman’s statement that on Monday afternoon and evening, her husband was drinking heavily, and that she went to a public-house in the village to fetch him home.
After a little persuasion he at last returned with her, but when they got inside the house he commenced a course of ill-treatment almost unexampled in its brutality and ferocity, and for which there does not appear to have been any provocation.
In a drunken frenzy he heated the fire poker, and when it had got red hot he suddenly turned on his wife, and after thoroughly saturating her with paraffin oil, he applied the flaring poker, which besides setting alight to the oil, singed her arms in the most shocking manner. After the struggle the unfortunate woman got away upstairs, but her husband followed bee and dragged her downstairs by the heels, inflicting other serious injuries.
He then went away, and the neighbours, attracted by the disturbance went to her aid. She was attended by Dr Twin, who on Wednesday advised her removal to the Mexborough Hospital.
The assailant has disappeared. His name is James Mcdonald, he is 33 years of age, hails from Normanton, near Wakefield, and was engaged as a sinker at the new colliery workings at Conisborough.