Murder in Victorian England: OK if provoked by your mother!
Victorian-era crime was so fucked up -- you were as likely to get killed by a disgruntled employee as you were a drunken friend over money or honor -- but this one case I've just read about is sickening.
It has been referred to as "The Plumstead Tragedy" of 1890, and basically is summed up as this: a recently-widowed (1) woman, Mrs Lyons (first name never given of course), courted a sergeant in the street and brought him home for some sex. She lived with her sons, and one of them walked in on them. He flew into a rage immediately (2), and threatened the man with a knife.
Somehow or another, Mrs Lyons got the man out of the house and to a construction site nearby, but the psychotic (my words) son chased after them. She tried to stop him, but lost her grip and he stabbed the man, Sergeant Stewart. in front of at least two other witnesses. He gave himself up without a struggle.
Here comes the sickening bit: the lynch mob in this case - there's almost always a lynch mob for Victorian criminals - was out for MRS LYONS. Everyone of good repute was on the son's side!
In court, the entire focus was on how he rightfully acted after such an ungodly and unignorable provocation. The Australian paper I linked to is quoted as such:
It is characteristic of the moral obfuscation and general muddleheadedness of a certain section of by no means ill-meaning women of the lower classes that Mrs Lyons cannot be made to understand that her conduct was in any way outrageous.
Christ! And this is Australia, far removed from the more stuffy and easily ruffled Victorian Englishpeople. Though, to their credit, the article goes on to admit something that surely no paper in England would have dared to recognize:
That being so it was surely nobody's business but their own if they chose to anticipate matters somewhat (3).
In case you thought things couldn't get more shocking, the men of the coroner's jury "openly regretted" returning their verdict of wilful murder against Walter Lyons, and recommended mercy due to the "strong provocation he had received".
People cheered for him as he departed the courthouse and threw shit at his mother. (4)
He ended up serving 7 years for manslaughter. So kiddies of Victorian England, just remember, murder is totally unacceptable unless you barge into your widowed mom's room and see her with a man.
1. We do not know how long she was a widow, and in fact, women in this era were expected to dress in full mourning attire for TWO YEARS after their husband's death. So it may have been a year or more.
2. He was apparently known to have "violent fits of passion". Also, he was outraged, as any good Victorian son should be (sarcasm), at the disgraceful actions of his widowed mother with a man she barely knew. He is quoted as saying, "What would you do if you found your mother guilty of such conduct?"
3. Mrs Lyons, truthfully or not, made claims that she and the Sergeant were to be married. Since the public sided with her son the murderer, not much information is known from her perspective and it is possible that the story of a one night stand is merely slander, and she had been covertly engaged to Sergeant Stewart and they couldn't resist just a bit of fun.
4. Not literal shit. I mean stuff, but this case just inflames me to the point of profuse cursing.
Other source: Victorian Murders by Jan Bondeson