Sheffield Daily Telegraph – Tuesday 22 May 1928

Widow’s Throat Wound

Open Verdict Returned at Swinton Inquest.

At Swinton, yesterday, Mr. J. Kenyon Parker held an inquest on Annie Robinson (75), widow, of 23, Rockingham Road, Swinton, who, early Saturday was found dead with her throat cut in the kitchen at her home.

Evelyn Waterfield, a daughter, said her mother had been ill for some time past. On Friday she was in bed all day. About 1.40 the following morning, witness was awakened by knocking noises downstairs. She found her mother was not in bed, and thinking she had gone downstairs and would require assisting back again, witness called to her brother, who was sleeping in the next bedroom, and went downstairs. Witness found that the knocking came from the back door, and was caused by her husband and brother, who had noticed light in the kitchen downstairs.

Witness then saw her mother lying face downwards on the kitchen floor. A stump of candle was burning in the sink, and razor was in a bowl of water on the sink.

Herbert Robinson, a son said shortly after one o’clock on Saturday morning, his noticed a fight burning in his mother’s house. He knocked on the door and was let in by a sister. The body of his mother was lying close to the sink. Witness then went out to look for his horse and cart.

The Coroner: Why? They would not have run away would they?

Witness: There was some traffic about at the time.

The Coroner: What, at two o clock in the morning? Did you think your horse and cart were more important than your mother?

Witness: No, sir.

The Coroner said looked upon this as a very unusual case, and a rather difficult one.

The deceased might have cut her throat with a razor, but did the evidence satisfy the jury that she had done so? There was no evidence to show why she had done such a thing. She had been described as of a cheerful disposition. The evidence on the whole was very unsatisfactory, and he advised the jury to bring in open verdict that the woman died from hemorrhage as a result of a throat wound, and the jury brought in a verdict accordingly.