Ambrose Quinn

Ambrose Quinn was convicted of the murder of his wife Elizabeth Ann Quinn 25 and sentenced to death.

He cut her throat in Hawes Street, Scotswood Road, Newcastle on 9 August, 1919.

Ambrose Quinn had been a mechanic in the Air Force.

He had married Elizabeth Quinn in August 1914 and they had had two children, the first being born five months after they were married.

Ambrose Quinn had born a good character as a workman and had joined the air Force voluntarily in 1917.

He was never sent overseas and when he came home on leave from time to time he seemed to have complained of Elizabeth Quinn's conduct, saying that she was too fond of going to the pictures and that she used paint and powder.

On 19 June 1919, Ambrose Quinn returned home on three months' leave, having signed on for four years further service overseas.

It was heard that on 19 July 1919, Peace Celebration night, that Elizabeth Quinn had wanted to join in a dance in the street about midnight, but that Ambrose Quinn would not let her go out, and had threatened to murder her if she didn't take off her boots. It was heard that, according to her father, that Ambrose Quinn had knocked her about pretty badly.

At that time they had been living with their children at Elizabeth Quinn's father's house in Hawes Street, Newcastle.

About the end of July 1919, Ambrose Quinn was informed by someone that Elizabeth Quinn had attended a wedding party on the previous Whit Monday, 9 June, and had been seen home at about 2am by two men, and that one of them had misconducted themself with her in a passage near her house.

It was heard that that seemed to have made a great impression on Ambrose Quinn's mind, and that he had taken great pains to find out the name of the man. He later found the other man, who gave him the name of the man that had been with his wife, stating that he had actually parted their company before they had actually got to the passage.

It was heard that Ambrose Quinn then taxed Elizabeth Quinn about it on 4 August 1919, and that she seemed to have had eventually admitted that the man had put his hand up her clothes and kept it there for two or three minutes. It was heard that Elizabeth Quinn had seemed to be genuinely distressed by the ordeal, with Ambrose Quinn's sister, who witnessed it, saying that Elizabeth Quinn had been sitting on the bed, wringing her hands and crying whilst Ambrose Quinn was questioning her.

On 5 August 1919, Ambrose Quinn threatened to take their children away from Elizabeth Quinn's custody and on 6 August there was an angry scene, which Ambrose Quinn's father witnessed, during which Elizabeth Quinn was heard to say, 'I have told you the truth, and I have got my brains half hammered out'. She also said that Ambrose Quinn had told her that he would give the bloke that had misconducted himself with her £10 to go to court and to swear to it.

Ambrose Quinn was also said to have picked up a knife that had been on the table and to have flung it at Elizabeth Quinn, however, she managed to escape into the bedroom and the knife struck and buckled on the bedroom door.

That same day, Ambrose Quinn also went to the police and complained to them that Elizabeth Quinn was not looking after their children properly and that he wanted her separation allowance stopped. However, the police visited their house, but found that the children were well-nourished and cared for, although the house and bedding were dirty.

It seemed that Ambrose Quinn then stopped living with Elizabeth Quinn after that day and went to lodge with his sister at 63 Hawes Street.

Ambrose Quinn's sister and her husband said that they had been with Ambrose Quinn at about 10.15pm on the night of 9 August 1919, when he left them for a few minutes, it being thought that he had gone off to their house and fetched his razor, after which he had gone off to Hawes Street, which was close by, where he had met Elizabeth Quinn in the street.

They were seen talking in the street, and one woman said that she asked Elizabeth Quinn to come away with her, but Elizabeth Quinn was said to have replied, 'It's all right, he won't do anything to me, I have got plenty to protect me. Anyhow, I have confessed and that is all that is needed'.

Ambrose Quinn was said to have then seized Elizabeth Quinn and cut her throat to the bone.

He then ran away and gave himself up to a police constable.

The police report later stated that the only defence was an attempt to reduce the crime to manslaughter on the ground that the act was unpremeditated and that Ambrose Quinn had not intended to kill Elizabeth Quinn, or to possibly secure a verdict of guilty, but insane, on the ground that he was abnormal and unbalanced. However, it was stated that there was really no evidence to support the latter plea beyond the fact that he seemed to have taken the tale of Elizabeth Quinn's misconduct very much to heart, and was depressed and worrying about the 'bloke' in the passage and had been unable to eat whilst he was with his sister.

It was further noted that Ambrose Quinn was reported to have been in good health bodily and mentally and the fact that a younger sister, who was remanded on a charge of indecency in 1916 and was at the time in a home for the Feeble-Minded, was hardly relevant.

It was further stated that the crime was undoubtedly murder with premeditation, as shown by the fact that Ambrose Quinn had gone off to fetch a razor for the purpose.

However, although he was convicted, the jury, who didn't leave the box, strongly recommended him to mercy, and the judge commented that he thought that that was because of the, 'apparent weakness of the man', adding , 'There was no evidence of insanity but there were circumstances provocative of jealousy and he had been for two or three weeks in a nervous and anxious state of mind'.

However, when the judge passed the sentence of death, he warned Ambrose Quinn that he must not form any erroneous hopes for himself.

The police report stated that they thought that the jury had merely expressed their sympathy with Ambrose Quinn whose wife had aroused his jealousy by her conduct in his absence, but stated that even from that standpoint, that the case was a very weak one.

The report noted that Ambrose Quinn had married Elizabeth Quinn when she was some months pregnant, presumably by himself, and that although Elizabeth Quinn had been flighty and addicted to pictures, that he could allege against her only one act of indiscretion, with it being noted that it was fair to suppose that if she had been leading a life of immorality, that Ambrose Quinn's inquiries would have disclosed the fact.

It was further noted that Elizabeth Quinn had been penitent and submissive and that as she had not been in the habit of taking any drink, that the bruises found on her body, the upper thigh, the iliac region of the abdomen, and her forearms, corroborated the evidence of Elizabeth Quinn's father that Ambrose Quinn had already punished her pretty severely for any lapse from virtue of which she might have been guilty of in the passage.

The police report further noted that in their letter to the judges at the Court of Appeal, that women, even erring wives, must be protected, and that in their opinion there should be no interference with his sentence.

Ambrose Quinn was executed at Newcastle on 26 November 1919. He was executed on the same day as Ernest Bernard Scott who had murdered his sweetheart. Ernest Scott was executed at 8am and Ambrose Quinn at 9.15am.

It was noted that whilst both the woman had had the same name, that they had not been related, but that there was a resemblance between the crimes in that they were both committed with a razor in the open presence of witnesses and that jealousy was the motive in each case.

Hawes Street has since been demolished, but was once where the Vertu Motors Arena, just of the Scotswood Road, is today.