On a cold Autumn morning on Saturday October 31st 1891
a small group of men in Hetton sat in the ale house by the warm fire
drinking their beer. It was only 11am as Billy Johnson sat alone drinking
his sixth glass of beer glaring out of the window looking out onto Station
Road, his mind tortured by drink and jealousy as he held his pistol
concealed under his jacket. Billy was a middle aged farm labourer who for
17 years had lodged with Margaret Addison, a widow in her fifties in her
small terraced home at Four Lane Ends.
Billy's love had grown for Margaret over the years and he had proposed
many times, always to be rejected as she did not feel the same. For the
last year local miner Andrew Simpson visited Margaret often and Billy saw
him as a rival. From his room Billy could hear the couple laughing
together and from his window he could see the couple kissing as Andrew
left the house. These were the images Billy could see in his mind as he
now looked out the ale house window to see Margaret coming out of her
house. Margaret was dressed for her wedding at Hetton village church, in
her cream gown and headdress carrying a small bouquet of flowers, Margaret
began walking down Station Road with her bridesmaids, family and friends.
At the same time Andrew left his home smartly dress with his relatives
along Springwell Terrace hoping to follow his fiancée to church. Billy
calmly walked outside just as Margaret passed the ale house window, it
wasn't until Billy ran up behind Margaret and shot her twice in the head
that anyone notice him. Margaret fell to the floor with blood flowing
through her wedding dress and onto the road. Andrew still in Springwell
Terrace heard the shots and as he turned the corner saw the gathered crowd
and ran over, but what he saw was to much for him and he collapsed to the
ground in tears.
No one tried to stop Billy, who walked calmly to the police station to
give himself up. Sergeant Cartwright was out only his wife was in the
office and Billy amazed her by saying I have come to give myself up for
the murder of my landlady! When she told Billy her husband would not be
back for an hour he sat down to wait for the sergeant, outside Margaret's
blood soaked body was being carried back to her house. When the sergeant
returned a small crowd had gathered outside the police station, and after
hearing Billy's confession he was handcuffed and walked through the crowd
to Houghton Police Station. On the way without regret Billy saidI am
happier now than I would have been had she married him. I made up my mind
to stop the wedding and if I could have got closer to Simpson, I would
have shot him as well.
On Wednesday December 2nd 1891, at Durham Assizes Billy was brought before
Mr Justice Wills. In front of a packed gallery Billy pleaded guilty
refusing any defence offered to him. After putting the black death cap on
his head the judge said You were driven by jealousy and were determined
this woman you shot should not be married to another man. Under those
circumstances I can hold no hope that the sentence of the law will not be
carried out. I implore you to make use of your remaining time on earth and
prepare for the great change that will come over your body. The sentence
of the court is that you will be taken hence to a place from which you
came and hence to a place of execution where you shall be hanged by the
neck until you are dead and shall be buried within the precincts of the
prison. Mat the Lord have mercy on your soul. The execution was set for
20 days later and Billy was taken to Durham Jail. On the 22nd December
1891 at 8am precisely, with a white hood over his head and the noose
around his neck Billy Johnson was dropped to his death.
