SUTTON HERITAGE SOCIETY THE DESPICABLE MURDER OF MRS DODSLEY

Near Buttery Lane, Skegby on the Mansfield Road is Kruck Cottage which, on 16 December 1954 was the scene of a most despicable murder. Mrs Dodsley, who was in her eighties, was found suffocated and with broken ribs under a mattress. Mrs Dodsley had had tea with her cousin that afternoon, obviously enjoying a good social life and probably looking forward to Christmas.

Opposite Kruck Cottage, which I believe was then called The Hollies, were some stone houses which have now disappeared under alterations to the road. One of the occupants of these houses, who had lived there since 1911, had a good view of Mrs Dodsley’s cottage and said she had never seen a small window which she could observe from her house, open until 16 December. She alerted Mr Tomlinson, a farmer, who tried to contact Mrs Dodsley. When he was unsuccessful he called PC Talbot who entered the cottage and discovered the heinous crime.

At the time, for such a serious offence help was requested from Scotland Yard. Finger and palm prints were found. These made criminal history by being the first case in which a conviction was made from a palm print. The prints were found to belong to a 27 year old labourer name James Robinson who lived in nearby Sylvan Crescent, Skegby. On the evening of 16 December he had been drinking in the Rifle Volunteer between 8 and 10 pm.

He was identified by bar staff which put him within half a mile of the scene of the crime on the day it occurred. According to the newspapers he seems to have aroused suspicion by his actions and was duly arrested and charged at Sutton Police Station on 10 January 1955 in the presence of local and Scotland Yard detectives who had been called in to help the local force.

He was tried at Birmingham. The jury took six and a half hours to bring in a strange verdict of “guilty of murder committed unintentionally during a crime of violence” – namely rape. He was sentenced to death. Lord Goddard heard his appeal which was dismissed and he was duly hanged at Lincoln Prison on 25 May 1955. The hangman was the famous Albert Pierrepoint who, 8 years earlier had flown to Germany to hang war criminals.

Article written by Angela Morris

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