October 5th: more ranting letters

South Wales Daily News, 5^th October, 1893.

The Bath Mystery.

Alleged murder of a young woman

Proceedings against a coachbuilder

Sensational details

Prisoner’s two sweethearts

Interesting correspondence

[these are excerpts I have not found printed elsewhere]

At Bath Police-court on Tuesday considerable interest was manifested in the resumed magisterial hearing (briefly reported in these columns yesterday) of the case in which a young man named Arthur Stevenson Coombs, a coachbuilder, is charged with murdering the young woman, Elsie Adeline Luke, otherwise Wilkie, at Hampton Down, during August, 1891. Long before the time for opening the court there was a large crowd outside, and when the doors were opened at half-past ten, the rush to gain admittance was very great, and in some cases free fights took place around the doors. Indescribable confusion prevailed, but in a short time the court room was filled with people, and constables were stationed outside to keep others away. A very large number were unable to get inside, and many of these awaited for a considerable time the result of the proceedings.

[… one of many letters penned by Polly Sheppard]: There is another (continued Mr Collins) written on the 17^th March, 1891. It says:-- Fancy that girl going to the open-air meeting and then to the ball, also to the vestry. I should think she knew it well, going so many times. I should think she was ashamed to show her face. She must be out of her mind. I don’t know what’s bad enough for her. Now she is converted she thinks she will bring you to her again. She can’t be in a situration to be about so much. Fancy you seeing her on Monday. I suppose she thought she didn’t insult you. The baker asked me if she was in Bath. He said he thought you and her were going to be married soon. He had a good laugh about it and went.

On April 6^th the following was written by the same girl:--

Every cloud has a silver lining, but that girl thinks she is going to mar our happiness. But she is mistaken. She lives down Oldfield Park, because Emma seen her run up and tear back as though she was mad as a lunatic. She can’t be anything else, or she would not do anything so silly. She hadn’t better say anything to me or she will find herself talking to someone better than herself.

A letter on the 25^th April, stated:--

That girl was taken ill again last night. Such a joke. I will tell the rest Sunday. I fancy she can faint when she likes. Someone ran in here for some water. Such a joke. I hope you will forgive me for sending that letter last week. I know you did not like it, but I was in a temper.

On the 22^nd June she wrote:--

Dearest Arthur, I was sorry to receive the news I did…. Don’t take any notice of that girl nor speak to her if you see her. She put her friend to waylay me on Friday about 9 o’clock, but I was not out. She asked Emma if Miss Sheppard was gone in. She said, “It is no business of yours.”

These, continued Mr Collins, were the letters up to the 21^st of June. There were no letters from the prisoner, but it was evident from this that he was writing to the girl. Mr Titley: Miss Sheppard? Mr Collins: Yes. It was evident that the prisoner was writing, but he could say nothing which took place between the last letter and one on July 19^th, which was in the same writing and commenced, “Dear Mr Coombes.” He, Mr Collins, did not offer any explanation of what took place in the meantime. It stated:--

I am writing to know why you are acting so underhanded with me. If you were a little school-boy it would be different. I think it is two-faced of you to act as you have before my face and in front of my friends so differently. I should be ashamed if I had treated you like you have treated me. I have never said anything to my friends about it, as I am really ashamed that you have acted so mean and cruel. I am very sorry, now this has occurred, I ever knew you. You could not have meant to meet me last Sunday when you spoke of it on the Thursday you saw me. As you did not come I know you had no excuse, as she didn’t follow you on Sunday. She nodded to you as you passed on the Terrace. Does she think from what she has said about me that you would go back again. She has been forbidden to have anyone to the house now. The nurse girl had to go at a minute’s notice. I wonder you take any notice of her after she saying what she has about you, also how you have spoken to me about her. If I was you I would not be such a coward as to take any notice of it, a young man like you being afraid of a bit of agirl like her. I have never been deceived by anyone as you. I really think it wrong of you to treat me as you have. Of course I think now you don’t care to correspond with me after treating me as you have, but if you have another I hope you won’t treat her as you have me…. You can’t expect me to write any different ly after treating me as you have.

Continuing, Mr Collins said of course something had taken place, and the girl was probably the cause of the strife between them. That letter was dated July 19^th, and Coombs seemed to have written a letter in reply which was satisfactory, because, on July 21^st, only two days after, there was another letter in which she addressed him again as

Dearest Arthur, -- I am pleased to receive a letter at last…. I hope I shall not have to write any more unpleasant letters to you. I will freely forgive you this time, but I hope it will not occur again, as the upset and worry lately has made me quite ill.

Under the circumstances, continued Mr Collins, the man’s connections between these two women were causing a considerable amount of trouble, and the question was whether those circumstances did not supply a reason why he should not have disposed of this woman. This woman, worrying him in this way, might be, he should suggest, a motive why he should have been disposed to rid himself of her. There was nothing in the enquiries which showed that the deceased was in any way connected with any other man. She was not known to have been about with any other man, and there did not appear to be anything to show how any other living being could have benefited by this.

Therefore the question of motive was all-important, and it might be the position of this man between these two women was such that he was brought to such a pitch that he was led to do the deed.

Upon the search or visit of the detectives to the house of the prisoner they found a small brooch, and that brooch would be shown to them to have been given to the deceased girl by a friend. She would be called before them, and would tell them that some time ago she gave the brooch to the deceased. It was broken, and so found by Detective Smith in a box at the prisoner’s house. He believed, and it was fair to the prisoner to state, that at the time the brooch was given it was without a pin, and it was without a pin now. But Mrs Hayman, a witness who had already been examined, stated that the girl was wearing that brooch on the Saturday before Bank Holiday. She had no doubt as to its identity.