Mrs Lockey was separated from her husband Milner Lockey
because of his cruelty, and he now lived and worked at Leasingthorn
Colliery, near Bishop Auckland. After Mr Lockey heard that his wife had
taken in a lodger, Mr Bell to help with the bills Mr Lockey became
convinced that his wife and the lodger were intimately involved. Mr Lockey
became increasingly jealous and began to make frequently unwanted visits
to his wife, his jealousy out of control Mr Lockey then decided to kill
first his wife and then himself.
It was Saturday 29th September 1860, that after first having a glass of
whiskey with friends on the way Mr Lockey made his way to Hutchinson's
corn mill, Team Valley, Gateshead. When he arrived around 7 o'clock his
wife warily asked what he was doing at her home, his sneering reply was
"You'll find out before lang." With this Mr Lockey took a knife from his
pocket and screamed "Thou'll not be lang here" and struck Mrs Lockey on
the chest. The bone in her corset saved her so Mr Lockey tried again with
the same results. With his determination to kill her and his anger at
failing Mr Lockey aimed the knife at her bowels, the knife entered her
thigh.
Samuel Wilson Mrs Lockey's son eleven year old son from a previous
marriage, woke from his sleep by the noise came downstairs and begged
Lockey to leave his mother alone. The lodger Mr Bell also woken by the
noise tried to restrain Mr Lockey, in a rage and thinking he had killed
his wife Mr Lockey turned on the lodger and plunged the knife into his
heart. Mr Bell fell to the floor dead.
Samuel had already rushed from the house to get help at near by Ridings
Farm. Crying Samuel told his story and two of the farm hands Wright and
Hart went back with him. As they approached they saw Mrs Lockey run
screaming from the cottage adjoining the mill screaming "Murder!" Furious
that he had not killed her and she was escaping Mr Lockey followed his
wife, while the two farm hands stood and watched. Out of breath Mrs Lockey
ran up a hill into a field of barley out of sight from her husband.
Police officers arrived and began a search of the area, and it was at half
past five the following morning, because the two farm hands had followed
him that Mr Lockey was found hiding in a pig sty near Urpeth. Mr Lockey
was tried and sentenced to death at Durham with no sign of regret or
remorse for his crime. The execution took place in front of the count
court at Durham, at 9 o'clock on 27th December 1860, while hundreds of
people watched the event.
