South Yorkshire Times, November 20th 1943
Conisbrough Youth For Trial
Murder Of Father
After Man’s Attack On Step-Daughter
When John Pickering (17), haulage hand, of 348, Daylands Avenue, Conisbrough, was charged at Doncaster West Riding Court, on Monday with the wilful murder of his father, John (alias Fred) Pickering (52), fitter’s mate, on October 26th, he was committed for trial at Leeds Assizes and was remanded in custody. The trial will probably take place in a few days’ time.
Mr. F. H. Capes (representing accused) pleaded “Not guilty ” and reserved his defence. Mr. Capes asked for legal aid for accused and for two defending counsel at the Assizes. Granting this, Mr. Mark Nokes (presiding magistrate), who was accompanied on the Bench by Mr. W. Anderson, said, “Give him all the help you can.” The youth is alleged to have murdered his father with a two-edged short-handled axe. Evidence was given that the father was drunk and the accused intervened in a struggle between Pickering and his step-daughter.
Not a capital charge
Mr. R. C. Linney prosecuting for the Director of Public Prosecutions said it was not a capital charge as far as the youth was concerned, because he was only 17 last July. It was a case in which the Bench might think the killing was because of some provocation offered by the father to the youth. In cases of this sort, provocation might in certain cases reduce the crime from murder to manslaughter but this was primarily a matter for a jury to decide and depended on the degree of provocation and the means by which death was brought about. The instrument used in this case was a deadly one – an axe and it seemed that not less than four and probably five blows were struck, two producing injuries of a grave character and one which would not fail to cause death because it penetrated the man’s skull.
Given to drink
Saying that Pickering was given to drink, Mr. Linney pointed out that the family did not have a very happy time. Pickering was in the habit of using violent language to his wife and step-daughter, but so far as was known, although he had threatened the boy, he had never struck him. On Tuesday, October 26th Pickering returned home from work and at about 11 a.m. went out to a public house. He returned about 3.30 p.m. in a drunken condition and stayed in until about 5.30 p.m. when he went out again to a public house which he left about 10 p.m. It seemed plain that Pickering was in a drunken condition at the time.
Mr. Linney said that Pickering’s step-daughter, Miss Cope, was returning on a bus from work and Pickering got on the same bus. She noticed he had been drinking. Pickering made derogatory remarks to her about a young man with whom Miss Cope had been keeping company, and evidently thinking the young man was evading military service, he accused him of dodging service. His condition was such that his wife would describe him as drunk and bad-tempered. She persuaded him to go to bed but he declined and the family left him downstairs. He later went upstairs and made obscene remarks to his step-daughter. He went into her bedroom and pushed her on the bed, and a struggle took place. It seemed that because the son (the accused) was going into the Forces, Pickering thought the step-daughter should go as well.
Told to fetch Police
Continuing, Mr. Linney said Mrs. Pickering and the accused intervened in the struggle between the man and his step-daughter in an attempt to pull Pickering away. Mrs. Pickering told her son to fetch a policeman and he went downstairs, but returned a few minutes later and told his mother to go. Miss Cope was still apparently struggling on the landing with the father and she thought accused struck him on the head. It appeared that Pickering fell and the youth hit him again on the head before going downstairs with Miss Cope.
Mr. Linney said that it was alleged that accused threw the axe on the landing and walked out of the house to Conisbrough Police Station where he told P.c. Harrison to come at once as he had killed his father with a chopper. Accused was handed over to Sergt. Parkin and while at the police station he said his father had been making use of obscene expressions towards his step-sister. Miss Cope saw the blood-stained axe upstairs and took it downstairs to place it in a cupboard where it was normally kept. P.c. Harrison went to the house and Dr. Bell was summoned at 11.55 p.m. The doctor found Pickering was dead and Miss Cope had slight bruises on both eyes and a swelling of one eye.
Youth’s Statement
In a statement to Insp. Moxon, said Mr. Linney, accused said that at about 10.20 p.m. his father and sister came home and his father began talking about him about the Air Force. He also talked about people hiding behind the screens and avoiding military service. His mother persuaded his father to go to bed, but he took no notice. He also said Sidney Thorpe was avoiding service. His father went upstairs and his mother tried to keep him out of a bedroom. “He struck my sister across the mouth and I gave him what he deserved,” continued the statement. “I went to the bottom cupboard in the living room and got the chopper, took it upstairs under my pullover and waited my chance to strike him.”
Widow’s Evidence
The widow, Anne Pickering, said her husband was known as Fred Pickering. Her son was born on July 8th 1926. She was a widow when she married Pickering and Minnie Cope, who was 25, was daughter by her first marriage. Her second marriage had not been really happy. Her husband was given to drink and when he was drunk, he treated her and her daughter terribly. He often struck witness and her daughter. He had usually picked on the boy until the latter decided to enlist in October. His attitude towards the boy changed because he had decided to enlist and he had never used violence towards him except when he was a small boy.
When her husband came in about 3.30 p.m. he was very drunk, He had his dinner and knocked about the house while not in too pleasant a mood. He gave the boy a shilling to go to the institute and the accused went out and returned before her husband went out again, Mrs. Pickering said when her husband came home about 10.20 p.m. with her daughter, she had never seen him in a worse condition through drink. He was in a terrible temper. They had supper together and he was talking about Sidney Thorpe, with whom her daughter was keeping company. He said Thorpe was ‘’hiding behind screens” meaning that he did not want to join up. Seeing that his own son was to join the Forces, he ‘thought Thorpe should also enlist. He was using dirty language and they tried to “pass it off” because they knew what was coming. “Pickering was burning to be awkward’’ and they tried to coax him. She tried to persuade him to go to bed and took his boots, collar and tie off. They did not manage to get him to bed. He came upstairs when they had gone to bed and looked as though he was going to kill someone. He ran up and down the stairs and came upstairs to be rowdy. He was shouting about her daughter having to get out and kept on about Sidney Thorpe.
Struggle with Step-Daughter
Describing how Pickerig struggled with her daughter, Mrs. Pickering said he kept banging at the daughter and eventually put his feet up and knocked the girl so that she spun round to the top of the stairs. Meanwhile, the accused got dressed and went downstairs. Witness told the boy to fetch a constable but returned in a few seconds and said “I’ll look after this; I’ll part your Minnie from him; you go downstairs.” The boy had nothing in his hand when he came upstairs and her daughter and husband were still struggling at the top of the stairs. Witness went downstairs and the boy then came running down, saying something about locking the door as he was going to the police station.
Behind Bedroom Door
Minnie Cope, munition worker, said her step-father was always unpleasant to her, particularly when he had been drinking. When they got off the bus and walked home, he was talkative but there was nothing unpleasant. Sidney Thorpe had been off work eight months and was on compensation. Pickering thought Thorpe was “swinging the lead.” When he had had a drink she was in the habit of leaving the bedroom door open. When she shouted to him to be quiet, he came upstairs. She began to get dressed because when in this condition, he was liable to do anything. She was behind the bedroom door and he pushed this open and said “he would be gaffer here.” Pickering told her the boy had to join the Forces on the following Monday and she also had to get out. “I called him a hand-rag and he then hit me across the face.” continued witness. She hit him back and he got her on the bed and caught hold of her throat, although not very firmly. He called her a filthy name. “He was like a maniac,” continued witness, who added that they could not reason with him. He fell on the floor and knocked her back with his feet to the top of the landing. When he got up he hit her on the back of the neck. Her mother told accused to fetch P.c. Bowman. She thought her brother hit him on the face with his fist.
Shown the axe with which accused is alleged to have murdered the man, witness said she saw this at the top of the landing. She put it in the cupboard in the living room where it was usually kept, and it was later handed to the police.
Pool of Blood on Landing
P.c. Harrison said he was on duty at the police station when accused came there and said “Come at once, I have killed my father with a chopper.” Witness saw the man on the landing of the house, where there was a pool of blood under his head and splashes of blood on the landing wall.
Sergt. Parkin said the accused told him at the police station that his father called his sister a cow. Inspector Moxon said that when the boy was charged at 1.45 a.m. with the murder of his father, accused said “That’s just what I did.”
Mrs. Kathleen Webster, wife of Mr. C. E. Webster, licensee of the Lord Conyers Hotel, Conisbrough, said Pickering went there about mid-day and stayed until close on 3 p.m. He had six or eight pints. Joseph William, Licensee of the Reresby Arms Hotel, Denaby, said Pickering came in the hotel about 7 p.m. and stayed until 10 p.m. He probably had four or five pints of beer. Pickering was a man who could take an average amount of beer.
What Pathologist Found
Dr. Peter Lindsay Sutherland, West Riding County Pathologist, who conducted a post-mortem on Pickering, said there were four wounds on the scalp. There was an abrasion on the back of the left elbow and on the upper left eyelid. One wound on the scalp behind the right ear was lacerated and below it the skull was fractured. Another wound was vertical and the skull below it was shaved off. There were two other wounds at the front of the head with no injury to the bone. Two of the wounds could have been caused by blows from the edge of an axe and the other two wounds were consistent with having been made with the centre of the head of the axe and not with the cutting edge. A wound on the neck could have been caused by a glancing blow. In witness’s opinion, there were at least four and possibly five blows struck, two accompanied by injury to the skull. One blow had actually penetrated the skull. Pickering died from a fracture of the base of the skull and inter-cranial haemorrhage. The man was also suffering from cancer and would only have lived about three or four months at the outside because of this.
Mr Lindsay: would the fact that he was suffering from cancer affect his outlook on life and his temper? Witness: I don’t think so. Dressed in a grey suit, with pullover, and a Remembrance Day poppy in his buttonhole, the accused smiled on being brought into the dock and listened attentively to the evidence