When James Riley murdered his wife following a drunken row, he asked his neighbours to give him an hour’s head start before contacting the police. True crime author John J Eddlestone looks back at a case which shocked West Auckland in 1920

CONSTABLE William James Liddle and Constable Robert Gilhespy sighed heavily as they saw the woman striding purposefully towards them. They knew full well what she wanted. It had all happened so many times before and now, on the night of Friday, October 8, 1920, it was happening again.

The woman, Mary Riley, 43, lived at 1 Diamond Terrace, West Auckland, with her husband, James, 50.

Both were too fond of drink and, once they had consumed enough alcohol, there were constant arguments between them.

During many of these, James would lash out and strike his wife and she would make another complaint to the police.

Darlington and Stockton Times: Map
A map of the area showing the location of the house where the murder took place. This was used as evidence in the trial

Having listen to Mary’s latest story of James’ beating, the two officers escorted her back to Diamond Terrace.

There they found James with two visitors, his brother, David, and a woman named Rosannah Collinson, who lived at 24 Chapel Street.

What the constables actually said was detailed rather differently in days to come but, according to their reports, as soon as they reached the house, Mary began arguing with her husband.

The police tried their best to calm matters down and, by the time they left, Mary was on her way to bed and James had been warned not to ill-use her again. For a time, some semblance of peace decended on Diamond Terrace.

At 7.30am the following day, James Riley called on one of his neighbours, Margaret Wade who lived at 16 Diamond Terrace.

James was wearing a heavily-bloodstained shirt and announced: “Oh dear, I’ve done it this time.”

Margaret asked him what he was on about and James replied: “I’ve killed her.”

Margaret sent her husband, Robert, to check the truth of what James was saying. As she waited with James, he added: “I think I’ll go and drown myself.”

Robert Wade soon returned and confirmed that James was telling the truth. He had found Mary lying in a large pool of blood and told his wife that he had better go and tell the police.

To this, James suggested: “Let me get away a bit before you tell the sergeant.”

Darlington and Stockton Times: Map
A plan drawn up by the police, showing the position of the victim's body

After some discussion, Mr and Mrs Wade agreed to give Riley an hour. They would simply tell the police that he had called an hour later, at 8.30am.

After the agreed hour, the police were informed of the murder and it was 8.40am when Sergeant Joseph Neville arrived at the house.

Mary Riley had been battered to death and the search was now on for her husband who, in the meantime, had changed his clothes, leaving the bloodstained shirt behind in a basket.

It was Constable Gilhespy who traced James Riley to a relative’s house at 44 Brook Street.

When he was arrested, James said: “We had a row last night and I went to bed upstairs.

“At 7.30 this morning I was called up by the milk boy and I found her in the kitchen, dead.

I felt her and she was cold. I must have finished her. I did it with my hands.”

James Riley’s trial for murder took place on November 13, before Mister Justice Swift.

By now he had changed his story and said that he had simply pushed her away during an argument.

She had got up and thrown herself at him and he had hit her once. She lay unconscious on the floor and he had gone to bed, only to find her lying in the same position the following morning.

It had all been a terrible accident and he was only guilty of manslaughter.

The two police officers who had attended the scene the night before Mary’s death told the court how they had patiently reasoned with both protagonists in order to calm the situation down.

This story conflicted with the testimony of Rosannah Collinson who stated under oath that Constable Gishespy had said to Mary: “Stay in the house, get yourself washed and look after your husband. You are the drunkest of the two.”

James Riley was found guilty and sentenced to death. This was not, however, just a story of a brutal man battering his wife in a fit of temper.

Riley had a distinguished war record and had joined up during the Great War despite being too old for military service.

He was posted to both India and Salonika and at one stage suffered very badly from malaria. It was while he was away that Mary took to drinking heavily and, when he returned, things were never the same between them.

Knowing this, the local miners arranged a petition for Riley’s reprieve, which attracted 30,252 signatures. It was all to no avail.

Darlington and Stockton Times: Petition
The petition sent by the Durham Miners' Association for Riley's reprieve

On Tuesday, November 20, 1920, James Riley was hanged in Durham by Thomas Pierrepoint, assisted by Edward Taylor.

• John J Eddlestone’s latest book, titled Deadlier Than The Male, is available as a Kindle edition on Amazon (amazon.co.uk). It covers the stories of the 16 women hanged in the 20th Century and is priced £1.53.