Wednesday, 23rd of November, 1808, having been fixed for the termination of his life, on that morning his sentence was carried out. On his way to the scaffold he was attended by Dr. Ford, the ordinary of the jail, to whom he confessed the justice of his punishment. He appeared to be perfectly resigned to his fate, and expressed a hope that his death would be an example to others. In order to atone for his own errors, he made a full confession of every robbery and burglary in which he had been concerned, and gave many particulars of the practices and haunts of thieves, which subsequently proved extremely useful to the police. When on the scaffold, he attempted to address the mob; but his speech failed him, and his eyes having been covered with a silk handkerchief at his own request, the drop fell at the usual signal, and in a few minutes he ceased to live.
THOMAS SIMMONS.
EXECUTED FOR MURDER.
THE offence of this miscreant was of a most horribly atrocious nature.
It appears that he was the son of poor parents, but being thought to be a likely lad, he was taken into the service of a Mr. Boreham, who lived at Hoddesden, at an early period of his life. He continued in this situation for several years; but on his reaching the age of nineteen years, he was dismissed on account of his brutal ferocity of disposition, which had displayed itself on various occasions. He had, it appears, paid his addresses to Elizabeth Harris, the servant in the house, who was many years older than he; but, by the advice of her mistress, the woman declined having anything to say to him. In consequence of this circumstance, the villain vowed vengeance against the servant and her mistress, and on the afternoon of the 20th of October, 1807, he proceeded to his late master’s to satisfy his revenge in a manner most horrible and atrocious. There were at the time of his going to the house, Mr. and Mrs. Boreham and their four daughters in the building, besides a Mrs. Hummerstone and the servant, Elizabeth Harris. About a quarter past nine at night, the party sitting in the parlour was alarmed by hearing a loud noise of voices at the back part of the house, and upon listening they heard Simmons disputing with the servant, and demanding admittance. This was, however, refused, and presently afterwards the former plunged his hand, armed with a knife, through the lattice-window, and attempted to stab the girl, but without success. Mrs. Hummerstone on this went to the scullery, from which the noise proceeded, and opening the door, found that Simmons had penetrated through the farm-yard, and was within the stone-yard. On her opening the door, he suddenly rushed at her, and with his knife stabbed her in the jugular artery, and, pulling the knife forward, laid open her throat on the left side. She ran forward, as is supposed for the purpose of alarming the neighbourhood, but fell, and rose no more.
The murderer then pursued his sanguinary purpose, and rushing into the parlour, raised and brandished his bloody knife, swearing a dreadful oath, that “he would give it them all.” Mrs. Warner, Mr. Boreham’s eldest daughter, was the person next him; and, without allowing her time to rise from her chair, he gave her so many stabs in the jugular vein, and about her neck and breast, that she fell from her chair, covered with streams of blood, and expired. Fortunately Miss Anne Boreham had gone up stairs, directly before the commencement of this horrid business; and her sisters, Elizabeth and Sarah, terrified at the horrors they saw, ran up stairs too, for safety.
The villain immediately afterwards attacked the aged Mrs. Boreham, by a similar aim at her jugular artery, but missed the point, and wounded her deep in the neck, though not mortally. The poor old gentleman was now making his way towards the kitchen, where the servant-maid was; but the miscreant pursued him, and in endeavouring to reach the same place, overset him, and then endeavoured to stab the servant in the throat: she struggled with him, caught at the knife, and was wounded severely in the hand and arm, and the knife fell in the struggle. The girl, however, escaped from his grasp, and running into the street, by her screams and cries of “murder,” she alarmed the whole neighbourhood. Several persons instantly came to her assistance, and whilst some offered their aid to the unhappy beings who had been wounded, others sought for the murderer. Their search was for some time in vain, but they at length succeeded in discovering him concealed in a cow-crib in the farm-yard. He was immediately secured, and so tightly bound to prevent his escape, that the circulation was almost stopped, and in the night death was near cheating Justice of her victim. The ligatures were, however, loosed in the morning, in ample time to preserve him to undergo the punishment to which his crimes had subjected him.
Upon the attendance of two professional men, they found that all attempts to assist Mrs. Warner and Mrs. Hummerstone would be useless, as they were already dead; and they directly turned their attention to Mrs. Boreham and the servant. Mr. Boreham was found lying on the ground with a poker by his side; but being afflicted with the palsy, and being besides very aged, he had been unable to use it in opposition to his assailant.
A coroner’s inquest was subsequently held upon the bodies of the deceased persons, and a verdict of “Wilful Murder” was returned against the prisoner, upon which he was committed to Hertford Jail to await his trial. Mr. Boreham being a Quaker, he refused to prosecute in the case of Mrs. Warner; but an indictment was preferred in the case of Mrs. Hummerstone, upon which the prisoner was arraigned at the Hertford Assizes on the 4th of March, 1808. The above facts having been proved in evidence, as well as the additional circumstance of the prisoner having confessed his guilt when before the coroner, and of his having declared that his intention was to murder Mrs. Boreham, Mrs. Warner, and Elizabeth Harris the servant, a verdict of Guilty was returned.
The awful sentence of death was then pronounced upon him, and he was hanged on the 7th of March, 1808, having exhibited throughout the whole transaction the utmost coolness and indifference.