On a bright sunny Sunday morning on May 22nd 1910 Mr. Ralph Hutchinson left his home in Ailesbury Street Milfield at around 8am, a few doors away he saw a man with his throat cut and covered in blood, trying to help the man stop the flow of blood the man urged Mr Hutchinson to go inside the house. Inside the house was a sight that Mr Hutchinson would never forget the rest of his life.
The house was the home of William Jones 33 years old, his wife Susannah 28, their son James 8 and their daughters Polly 7, Susannah 5 and Alice 1, they had moved to this house 2 weeks earlier from Malvern Street in Southwick. In the bedroom Mr. Hutchinson saw Susannah with her head smashed and covered in blood beside her the baby Alice her throat cut, and on another bed nearby the other two girls and James all with their throats cut. Mr. Hutchinson fled from the house as fast as he could to get help, Dr Grey and a passing policeman got William Jones to the Sunderland Infirmary in time to save his life but his wife and 4 children were already dead.
Detectives who went to the house found the words Revenge is sweet. wrote across the walls, and after questioning Mr Jones he broke down and told the detectives what had happened. His wife had been very good looking and he was convinced that she was being unfaithful to him, he became obsessed with the idea that he started to beat his wife and shout at the children. Even after the neighbours had said she was very loyal to her husband and for all she was very poor she kept her home and children spotless.
Her husband had been unemployed for nearly two years so that she had to go begging at the colliery for pennies just to feed the family, while Mr Jones was often seen drunk and rambling. On the night his family died he had been arguing with his wife as she had not made any money that day. Mrs. Jones sister was visiting during this argument and told how her sister and one of the girls were crying and Mr. Jones had shouted If you don't get these children stripped and put to bed there's going to be a funeral here. The funeral was paid for by the parish and held the following Wednesday. Mrs. Jones and her 2 youngest daughters were buried in one grave and the other 2 children buried in another grave next to them.
At Durham Assizes on 25th June 1910 to a packed public gallery Mr. Jones who was below average height a dark complexion and a small moustache faced 5 counts of murder. He pleaded Guilty but his barrister advised him to plead Not Guilty. It took the jury just 20 minutes to reach a verdict of Guilty but Insane. Mr. Jones escaped the hangman but was sent to a lunatic asylum to be detained at his Majesty's Pleasure.
