Hassen Mohamed

Hassen Mohamed was convicted of the murder of his girlfriend 25-year-old Jane Nagi and sentenced to death. He shot her at 107 East Holborn, South Shields on 12 March 1923. Hassen Mohamed had been an Arab fireman. Jane Nagi had been the widow of another Arab seaman who appeared to have died about a year before the murder. Whilst they were together they had lived in South Shields. At the time of her murder Jane Nagi had been working at the Arab Refreshment House in East Holborn. Hassen Mohamed and Jane Nagi had been seeing each other for about 9 months during the intervals that Hassen Mohamed had been ashore, with Jane Nagi, who had been working in the Holborn district, living at home with her father at 17 Curry Street in Jarrow. xxx3xxx About 7 March 1923 Jane Nagi went to Cardiff to meet Hassen Mohamed after which they returned to South Shields on or before 10 March 1923. On the night of 10 March they were seen together in the street. Hassen Mohamed had had some drink, but was not very drunk, whilst Jane Nagi was sober. About 3pm on Monday 12 March 1923, Jane Nagi had been in a small restaurant or shop kept by an Arab man at 107 East Holborn. She was described as having been very drunk, and was heard to say: xxxqxxx I am out for f-----g trouble today. xxxqxxx She was said to have been apparently anxious to find Hassen Mohamed. Later at about 4pm she was seen in the street fighting with him, it being thought that he had apparently wanted her to go to a tram car. She tried to scratch his face and called him foul names in Arabic. Later in the evening, about 7.15pm, Jane Nagi entered the shop at 107 East Holborn, followed by Hassen Mohamed. A police constable then entered and apparently cautioned Jane Nagi in respect of her conduct in the street that afternoon. The police constable then went away. Hassen Mohamed and Jane Nagi then went into the kitchen, which was behind the shop, where there were four other people present, including the shop keeper. xxx6xxx Jane Nagi then sat down on a sofa with one of the other Arab men there whilst Hassen Mohamed sat on a chair by the kitchen door. Hassen Mohamed then asked Jane Nagiif she was coming out and she replied: xxxqxxx No, I am finished with you. xxxqxxx Hassen Mohamed then got up and went out, without shutting the door. He was away for about 3 or 4 minutes, and it was suggested that in that time he may have obtained a revolver from his lodgings. xxx1xxx When he returned he had his right hand in his jacket pocket and was smoking a cigarette. He then went up to Jane Nagi, took the revolver from his pocket, and shot her through the heart. One of the other Arab men then got hold of Hassen Mohamed as he was leaving the shop, and the shop keeper took the revolver out of his hand. When a police constable arrived shortly after, Hassen Mohamed said: xxxqxxx Me fire one shoot. Me sorry. Me keep that girl for eight weeks and she has been drinking. xxxqxxx He then said: xxxqxxx eight months. xxxqxxx After he was taken to the police station and charged, he said: xxxqxxx This morning she came from Jarrow and got in trouble at another house. Another man told me about her being drunk in the street. I go down West Holborn and saw her in the street. I took her to the car and gave her two shillings. xxxqxxx Regarding the murder, he said that when he got into the kitchen, that he saw Jane Nagi sitting on the other Arab man's knees and that the man said to him: xxxqxxx She is going to sleep with me tonight. xxxqxxx He said that he then said to the keeper of the shop: xxxqxxx Are not you ashamed to do that? This woman, she going to marry me. xxxqxxx Whereupon he said the shop keeper said: xxxqxxx Let her sleep with him. That is business. xxxqxxx Hassen Mohamed said that the third Arab man then pull off his collar and threw it on the floor and that the shop keeper took his top coat off and hung it on a nail and that the two men tried to shove him out of the place. Hassen Mohamed added that the shop keeper was threatening to shoot him in the struggle and that when the shot was fired that he saw the revolver smoking in the shop keeper's hand. xxx4xxx Hassen Mohamed denied ever having had the revolver, or having said: xxxqxxx Me fire one shot, me sorry. xxxqxxx As such, at the trial, the suggestion of the defence was that Jane Nagi had been shot accidentally during the scuffle and that the gun had been in the hand of the shop keeper when it had gone off. However, the other witnesses said that it had been Hassen Mohamed that had shot Jane Nagi. When the judge summed up, he noted that the case of the prosecution was the more credible of the two, noting that it had in fact been Hassen Mohamed's revolver that had killed Jane Nagi. He said: xxxqxxx In face of the fact that it was this man's revolver that did the deed, can you possibly accept that story? xxxqxxx Meaning the story of the defence. xxx2xxx However, the police report noted that there was in fact no evidence to show that the revolver had been the property of Hassen Mohamed, only that it was suggested that he had fetched it from some room where he had been living, which was only a short distance from the shop, the point of the evidence being rather that he had fired the revolver at Jane Nagi deliberately. The police report stated that they had no doubt that Hassen Mohamed had shot Jane Nagi in a fit of jealousy because she wouldn't come with him, noting that Jane Nagi had evidently been a drunken, worthless creature, and that apart from the murder, the police knew nothing against Hassen Mohamed. xxx5xxx His case was compared to that of Hamilton Lester in 1921, a coloured marine fireman who shot his 17-year-old girlfriend with whom he had been cohabitating between voyages and whom he wanted to marry. It was noted that in that case there had been a strong recommendation to mercy, but that Hamilton Lester was executed. Hassen Mohamed himself was also executed, following his trial at the Durham Assizes, on 8 August 1923. East Holborn has since been fully demolished and redeveloped. 1923 August 8th: Hassan MUHAMED (33) Durham A ship's fireman convicted at Durham Assizes for the murder of Jane Nagi at South Shields. Mrs Nagi was the English widow of an Arabian seaman. Whilst the couple were sharing a meal at a restaurant owned by one Salam Alli, they began to quarrel noisily and the police were called. They received a warning but when the officers left, Muhamed and Nagi resumed the argument during which she scratched his face and grabbed him by the throat. He left the restaurant, returned with a gun, and shot her dead. During the investigations, Muhamed tried to blame the murder on Salam Alli but evidence suggested otherwise. Sentenced to death by Mr Justice Hewart and hanged by Thomas Pierrepoint. Age:- 33 Date of Execution:- Wednesday, 8th August, 1923 Location of Execution:- Durham Hangman:- Thomas Pierrepoint Assistants:- Not Known Tried At:- Durham Trial Dates:- 3rd July, 1923 Trial Judge:- Lord Chief Justice, Lord Hewart Crime:- Murder Victims:- Name:- Jane Nagi (Brown) Age:- 25 Location of Murder:- 107 East Holborn, South Shields Date of Murder:- Monday, 12th March, 1923 Method of Murder:- Shot Relationship to Killer:- Girlfriend The colour photo is all thats left of East Holborn and it doesnt look like the black and white photo. Maybe they stopped in the Rose and crown before they went for their meal? The Commercial Hotel is on West Holborn and looks a bit grimmer, but being in the wrong place we can pretty much rule that out. 107 East Holborn must have been demolished. BUT, according to this forum that I found on the interwebs, so it must me real: You probably know that in the 1890 Directory, Mrs. Sarah Lawson Lewthwaite, is still shown as the licensee of the Cumberland Arms, 108 East Holborn, and in the 1894 Directory she is shown as a victualler at the Middle Dock Hotel, West Holborn. ref This seems to reffer to historic documents that show the Cumberland Arms as being 108 and if there were only buildings on one side of this road what with it being on the coast then 107 would actually be the adjacent building? Which still doesnt look like the building in the photo. ref