Trevor John Edwards - avoiding a “forced” marriage.
20 year old Elsie Cook had been in a relationship with 21 year old Edwards for some months. Both lived in Llanmonno near Aberdare in south Wales. Edwards was described as a young colliery labourer.
Elsie’s parents were fine with it until Elsie found she was pregnant and told her mother on the 2nd of June 1928. Mrs. Cook held a family meeting with Edwards on the 6th of June and it was agreed that the couple should marry the following month.
On the evening of Saturday the 16th of June Edwards took Elsie to the Brynffynnon Hotel where they had a drink and he purchased a flagon of cider. They were seen together near the churchyard about 8.30 p.m. On the Sunday morning David Griffiths was on the hillside at Aberaman near Mountain Ash in Glamorganshire when he saw a man covered in blood. Five minutes later, William James was approached by this man, asking for a match. James asked him about the blood and he replied that had cut his throat and that he had killed his girlfriend. James called the police and Edwards repeated his story to them, telling them where Elsie’s body lay. When police went to the scene, they found Elsie had been battered with the cider flagon and nearly decapitated with a knife. Edwards admitted that he bought the flagon to use as a weapon, but having hit Elsie with it, she fought back so he choked her and then slit her throat with a razor.
He told police that he was also having a relationship with another girl, Annie Protheroe, who had recently moved to Swindon, and Elsie’s pregnancy and their “forced” marriage were the reasons why he killed her.
After a one day trial at Cardiff, before Mr. Justice Branson on Thursday the 22nd of November, Edwards pleaded insanity but was convicted and sentenced to death. The jury made a recommendation to mercy, presumably due to Edwards’ age.
There was no appeal and he was hanged at Swansea prison at 8.00 a.m. on Tuesday the 11th of December 1928 by Robert Baxter and Alfred Allen. Edwards weighed 160 lbs. and was given a drop of 7’ 1”. Baxter who had poor vision in one eye, did not notice that Allen was still on the trapdoors pinioning Edwards’ legs, when he pushed the lever and Allen fell through with Edwards. Fortunately he was not seriously injured. This was Allen’s first job as an assistant. The “accident” was recorded on the LPC4 form.
Despite the bleak morning a group of people waited outside the precincts of the gaol until 8.14 a.m. when the notice was posted indicated that the execution had been duly carried out. It read:
Declaration of the Sheriff and Others
We, the undersigned, hereby declare that judgement of death was this day executed on Trevor John Edwards, in His Majesty's Prison, Swansea, in our presence.
Eleventh December 1928
(signed) Theodore Gibbins, Sheriff of Glamorgan
T. Brown, Governor of Swansea Prison
J.H. Watkin-Jones, Chaplain of Swansea Prison
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