George Marshall

George Marshall was convicted of the murder of his girlfriend Alice Anderson 45 and sentenced to death.

He cut her throat at 70 Mina Road, Walworth, London on 3 July 1915.

George Marshall was a barman employed at the Duke of York public house in Newington and had separated from his wife in 1902.

He met Alice Anderson, who was a widow, whilst working at the Duke of York public house. She had been living in two rooms at 70 Mina Road where she had been for the previous three years whilst George Marshall had one room there, having moved in about twelve months earlier, and for the previous eleven months they had been living together in Alice Anderson's rooms as man and wife. George Marshall had previously asked Alice Anderson to marry him, but she had refused on the grounds that his wife might still be alive.

However, George Marshall had suspected that Alice Anderson had been taking other men to his room during the day.

On Saturday 3 July 1915, George Marshall served customers until 10pm, which was closing time and then did cellar work until 10.40pm and then went home at about 11pm.

Shortly after arriving home George Marshall called up to the landlord of the house and asked him whether or not he thought that a man and a woman had been on the bed in his room, pointing to impressions and marks of feet on the counterpane. However, Alice Anderson, who was in the room with them at the time, told the landlord to take no notice of George Marshall. They had both been fully dressed at the time.

However, ten minutes later the landlord, who had gone back to bed, heard a thud at the bottom of the stair sand found Alice Anderson lying there dead in her nightdress.

She had a large stab wound on the right side of her neck extending to her spine through the trachea and carotid artery as well as four other smaller wounds to her neck and shoulders. She also had a small wound on her left forearm as though she had tried to ward off the blows.

The doctor that examined her said that he thought that Alice Anderson had been in bed when she was stabbed and that she had managed to escape from the room and had then fallen down the stairs.

When George Marshall was arrested, he said, 'I have made a good job of it now. I am satisfied. I ain't half give her a gash. I meant to do it, the wicked cow. I will give her to make this place a knocking shop. I have got the knife in my pocket'.

At his trial, George Marshall's plea of guilty was withdrawn and a defence of drunkenness and provocation was set up.

He said that he had had more to drink after he had got home, but the trial heard that there was no evidence of drunkenness sufficient to reduce the crime to manslaughter.

He also alleged that Alice Anderson had provoked him by saying that he thought too much of his bastard daughters. He had said that he was about to wind the clock at the time and had had his knife in his hand to open the clock when she had said it, and said that he had been so enraged that he cut her throat. However, it was said that he had not mentioned the abuse of his daughters before and it was thought that it was fairly certain that jealousy and his suspicions about the other men were the cause of the quarrel and the real motives for the murder.

George Marshall was convicted with no recommendation to mercy. He appealed, but his appeal was dismissed, and he was executed at Wandsworth on 17 August 1915.