Category Archives: Family

Conviction

There was no testimony to how the tragedy occurred, because there was no witnesses. The only certianty was that Dr. Burke pulled the trigger. He either did it on purpose or by accident, The only people that could say what exactly happened were either dead or on trial.

“He [the magistrate] was instructed that the revolver went off by pure accident. Seeing that the accident had resulted in the death of the child whom he loved, and horrified at the occurrence, Mr. Burke turned the revolver against himself `’

The above was probably what happened, but could not be proved. Nevertheless Dr. Burke was charged with the murder of his daughter and attempted suicide, a crime at the time. He pleaded not guilty, but was charged with the crime.

Sources
Leeds Mercury 27 March 1888

The Letter

The day his daughter died Dr. Burke spent the whole day drinking at his local pub, the Norman Inn. He consumed quite a lot of alcohol, by anyone’s standard. Over the course of the day as he grew more and more inebriated and wrote a letter to his wife, Katherine about the state of their marriage.

On the night of his daughter’s death it was retrieved from the floor in the room which she died. It was first taken by his wife and then given to the police as an afterthought. The letter could be and was used as evidence in the trial.

The letter was used to prove how competent Dr. Burke was competent when the shooting occurred. The letter although rambling and incoherent in a lot of respects was grammatically correct. This small detail was used against the doctor, suggesting that he had sufficient wits about him to knowingly shoot at his daughter. Nowadays that would not have been the case and advanced forensics could have told a different story. The truth was that nobody knew what happened in the room, because no one was in it except for the doctor and his daughter.

Sources
Sheffield Evening Telegraph 26 March 1888
Sheffield Daily Telegraph 27 March 1888

Personal Effects

After the death of his daughter and subsequent arrest, Dr. Burke’s wife and young son left their marital home. Who could blame them for leaving the memories the house must have held. Dr. Burke’s wife went to live with her family, the ones she fled to so often when their marital problems became unbearable.

An advert was placed in the local papers announcing the sale of contents of the house. For the time the items for sale would be a good bargain for anyone who could afford them. They bore testimony to a lifestyle that was out of range for most, seeming desirable but the grim reality was something else. The auction offered 45 framed photographs, along with ones of his wife and children, perhaps there was one of his half-brothers and sisters, Emily included. It is hard to imagine who would want such items after they knew the circumstances of why they went up for sale, but it was Victorian times, personal effects were lesser and life harder with little room for sentiment.

It appeared from the notice below that many if not all items were sold due to the great turnout for the sale. “There were many spectators”, stated the article, not at all surprising as people had a morbid fascination with such thing particularly in that era.

Sources
17 March 1888 – Sheffield Daily Telegraph – Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England
Sheffield Daily Telegraph 20 March 1888

Evidence

Dr Burke cut a sorrowful figure when he appeared in the dock for his trial. As the newspaper article below states he had suffered terribly since the horrific death of his daughter. Emily’s brother stood accused of the murder of his daughter, Aileen aged only eight and his own attempted suicide, a crime at the time and remained so until 1961.

“From the middle of the 18th Century to the mid-20th Century there was growing tolerance and a softening of public attitudes towards suicide which was a reflection of, among other things, the secularisation of society and the emergence of the medical profession,” says Dr Wright, co-author of Histories of suicide: International perspectives on self-destruction in the modern world.

The Judge Mr. Williams who precised over the trial took the above more sympathetic attitude. It was bad enough that Dr. Burke delivered the shot that would leave his young daughter dead. From a modern point of view the man was not in his right mind, further evidence would prove so, but at that time it was not fully understood, although it was perceived to a degree.

Sources
Sheffield Evening Telegraph 26 March 1888
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-14374296

The Trial of Dr. Burke commences

A view of the town of Barnsley in the time of Dr. Burke

On March 27th 1888 the trial of Emily’s brother William, for the murder of his daughter  commences. Dr. Burke who was deemed medically fit for trial is taken to court in Barnsley. Far from fit he really was. Recovered from danger he may have been but mentally he was not really in any state to stand trial, but it was Victorian times and mental health was not considered then. Nonetheless he was brought to the the courthouse where outside a less than supportive crowd had gathered….

Sources
Sheffield Evening Telegraph 26 March 1888
Western Daily Press 27 March 1888
Illustrated London News 07 March 1857