Dorset Murders (10 page)

F
rank Burden was one of three brothers, originally from Gutch Common, Semley. Although Frank was close to his parents and his brothers, Ernest and Walter – so close that the boys were known locally as ‘the triplets' – he had realised early on in life that the family farm was not large enough to support all of them comfortably. Hence, as soon as he was of age, Frank had prudently moved away from the area, first working as a carter for the biscuit-makers Huntley & Palmer at Reading, then taking up horticulture. He had lived a parsimonious life, carefully saving his money for the day when he would marry.

On 15 April 1899, his dreams came true when, at thirty-one years old, he married Emily Green. It was a strange union. Twenty-year-old Emily was a tall, rather beautiful young woman, while her husband was a thickset but small, almost dwarfish man, with a spinal deformity that twisted his back making him seem even smaller. He had un-shapely features and a sallow complexion, with an abnormally large nose, beneath which grew a luxuriant, black moustache. Nevertheless, in spite of his physical ugliness, he was a mild-mannered and good-natured man and his radiant bride seemed genuinely happy to be marrying him.

Only one thing threatened to mar the joy of the wedding celebrations. As Frank's brother Ernest came to congratulate his brother and wish him luck, he couldn't help but notice that Frank seemed strangely downhearted. When Ernest questioned him, Frank admitted that his sadness came from knowing that his marriage would never be blessed with children. When Ernest told him that he couldn't possibly know that, Frank assured him that he knew for a fact that he was unable to father a child. Emily had not been told, said Frank, swearing his brother to secrecy and promising that he would tell her himself when he felt that the time was right.

Frank had secured a gardening job with a Mr Edward Pierce on the Isle of Portland and the newlyweds moved into rented rooms in Grove Street. Frank seemed somewhat ashamed of not being able to provide a house for his new wife, but Emily soon made their rooms comfortable and homely. However, Frank was an ambitious man who wanted to give her the best he possibly could and so, before long, the couple secured half a house on Reforne. Financially, renting half a house was still beyond their means, so the couple let out a room to a lodger, Jack Roberts. Before long, Ernest and Walter left the family farm and moved to Portland to be near their brother.

Frank and Emily lived happily together in their rented house, but their relationship was the subject of much gossip and innuendo in the small, tight-knit community. Unable to comprehend why a woman as beautiful as Emily would marry a man as ugly as Frank, people began to gossip behind her back, suggesting that she was enjoying an extra-marital relationship with the lodger.

The gossip eventually reached Frank's ears – as it was most probably intended to – and, although he didn't say anything to Emily, he reacted by giving Jack Roberts notice to leave his home and replacing him with his brother, Ernest. However, the gossip continued and now the alleged recipients of Emily's sexual favours were rent collector Abe Winter and his friend John Pearce. Frank brooded silently over the rumours, unable to talk to Emily about them, but inwardly seething with jealousy.

In January 1902 Emily announced to Frank that they were to have a baby. She was completely unprepared for her husband's reaction as he immediately rounded on her and angrily asked, ‘What man have you been with?'

Stunned, Emily assured Frank that he was the only man she had slept with, telling him, ‘This is your Emily you are talking to.'

‘My Emily?' raged Frank. ‘Ain't you Jack Roberts' Emily?'

The discussion turned into an argument, with Frank only now telling Emily the rumours he had heard about her supposed infidelity. When Ernest arrived home from work, Frank was still raging and his brother tried in vain to calm him down.

‘Show me evidence that you can't father a child.' Ernest eventually demanded, when it was obvious that his efforts to placate Frank were not succeeding.

Frank had no answer. He continued to fume, announcing his intentions of coming home at unexpected times in the future and putting a ladder to his bedroom window in order to catch his wife ‘at it'. Ernest eventually gave up trying to mediate and went to bed. Throughout the night he could hear the argument between his brother and sister-in-law continuing from their bedroom, although he was unaware that the verbal tirade had become a physical fight.

Eventually, pushed beyond her limits by her husband's irrationality, Emily landed a punch on his nose that immediately drew blood. Frank retaliated with a prolonged assault on his wife, although even in his extreme anger he was careful to confine his blows to areas that would be covered by her clothing.

The following morning Frank went to work as normal but, as he had told his brother, he made a surprise visit home in the afternoon. He found Emily in the company of her friend and former neighbour, Alice Scard. The two women were about to go for a walk and Frank expressed his surprise, reminding Emily that earlier that day she had told him that she could scarcely move for pain.

‘Have you been unwell?' asked a concerned Mrs Scard, at which Emily promptly hitched up her skirts to show her neighbour the extensive bruising to her legs and hips which had resulted from Frank's savage beating.

Within days, Emily had written to her mother asking for money so that she could leave Frank. When a sovereign was sent, Emily told Mrs Scard that she was leaving.

As she packed her cases, Frank made another surprise visit home and quickly realised her intentions. Soon Mrs Scard was caught in the middle of a blazing row between the two. In trying to mediate between the couple, she suggested to Frank that he was being ridiculous and that he should simply ignore the rumours and gossip and go back to the way his marriage had been before he had first heard them.

Frank and Emily eventually agreed to try again and, on 31 January, Frank himself penned a letter to his wife's parents to tell them that he and Emily had now sorted everything out between them. In the letter, he wrote ‘Neither of us would want to part as we had love for one another' and promised to ‘be as good to her as I can', telling his inlaws that ‘you can both rest your hearts contented that she shan't want for anything'.

Emily's mother, Caroline Green, wrote straight back. In her letter she wrote of her concerns for her daughter, telling Frank ‘God only knows what it has been to me. I do hope with all my heart that you will never say such dreadful things to her again', continuing ‘no one on the face of this earth will ever make me believe that she has been unfaithful to you. She has always had too much love for you to do such a thing and I do hope that you will never be led away by others to think such a thing of her. I know her dear heart has been almost broken with the trouble she has, but I do trust that it will never occur again'.

Although Frank and Emily had agreed to give their marriage another chance, the rumours about Emily's infidelity continued unabated. Frank tried his hardest not to listen but was unable to help himself. Outwardly he maintained a façade of being a loving, caring husband, but inwardly his suspicions and jealousy were slowly but surely twisting his mind.

Matters finally came to a head on 11 February 1902. Frank and Ernest sat down at the table for tea and Frank immediately flew into a rage because Emily had not cooked fish for him. In spite of Emily's protests that today was not their day for fish and that she had cooked a perfectly good tea, Frank continued to shout and harangue her, telling her that she didn't care about him or the house but thought only of her fancy man.

Ernest was forced to intervene, receiving short shrift from Frank who told him to mind his own business. Concerned for Emily's safety and yet expected back at work, Ernest tried to extract a promise from Frank that he wouldn't hurt her after he had gone. Frank blustered and raged for a few minutes longer, before his anger finally seemed spent and he sheepishly agreed to do Emily no harm.

However, barely had Ernest left the house when the argument started again. Mrs Damon, who rented the other half of the house on Reforme, heard the couple yelling at each other, with Frank accusing his wife of having relations with another man and Emily strenuously denying his allegations. Eventually Emily retorted, ‘If that's what you think, I'm leaving', and ran up the stairs. What Mrs Damon heard next sent chills running down her spine.

Frank calmly locked the outside door of the house and followed his wife upstairs. There were the sounds of a brief scuffle, followed by a single bloodcurdling scream.

Courageously, Mrs Damon ran to help. Finding the door to the Burdens' half of the house locked, she alerted their next-door neighbour of her fears. Mr Jonathan Lano, a local magistrate, refused point blank to interfere in a tiff between man and wife and advised Mrs Damon to refrain from doing so, ignoring her protestations that this was no ordinary quarrel.

Her attempts at getting help thus thwarted, Mrs Damon walked back towards her own home. As she did, the Burdens' front door flew open and Frank ran out, crossing the back yard and hurdling the surrounding wall. The door now open, Mrs Damon hesitantly called up the stairs, ‘Missus? Missus?' Receiving no reply, she fetched a candle and bravely went up to the bedroom, where she found Emily lying half dressed on the floor in a huge pool of blood.

Mrs Damon's horrified screams finally elicited a response from Mr Lano, who rushed up the stairs, his two sons, Richard and Reginald, following him. Lano quickly took charge of the situation, sending Richard to fetch Dr Henley and Reginald to fetch the local police constable. Meanwhile, he himself tried to telephone the police at Underhill, without success since, at that time, the police station was not on the telephone. Lano eventually telephoned a friend and got him to go to the island's main police station in person.