"Lord" (he gave himself the title and no one questioned it) George Sanger grew up in the traveling entertaining business in Victorian England. His family traveled the countryside in a caravan, putting on shows for the locals. When George reached adulthood, he and his older brother John set out on their own and created the biggest and most well-known circus in England. He married a former lion tamer, Nellie, and had two daughters who both participated in the family business.
After his wife died, George retired from the business and took up residence in his house in East Finchley. He was used to a bustling and exciting life and he was lonely in retirement, so he hired companions to keep him company. One of the them was Herbert Cooper. George's mind seemed to slip in his advancing years, and he was forgetful and belligerent at times. He unceremoniously fired Cooper one day and hired Harry Austen to take his place.
Here's where it gets interesting. By all accounts, Cooper returned to the farm and attacked Harry and George with a felling axe. George died from his wounds the next day, Harry recovered. Cooper was found dead after a nationwide manhunt. He had put his head on a railroad track and the first train that came by killed him instantly. Shaw pointed out the inconsistencies in the official record. For one, Cooper was rumored to be having an affair with Harry Austen's wife. Since Austen was the only other person in the room who survived, we only have his testimony as to what actually happened. Decades after the murder, we have the Villisca axe murders to know what happens to a body when it's hit with a large felling axe. George's wounds were nowhere near as devastating. Shaw theorized that in the scuffle, George picked up a brass candelabra that was found on the scene and ended up getting knocked in the head with it. He didn't die instantly, but the blow rendered him unable to speak until he did ultimately pass, so we don't have his side of it. Shaw pointed out how difficult it would have been for a tall man like Cooper to swing a heavy axe in a small room and not cause more damage. And then the police spent hours looking for the murder weapon, only to have a Sanger family member find it tucked into a nook by the fireplace. Did Cooper really take the time to put the axe there before escaping, after murdering his former employer? And why couldn't the police find it? I really enjoyed this one.
No comments:
Post a Comment