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In 1885, a farmer and cattle dealer named DavidThomas resided at Stallcourt Farm, Llanblethian.Llanblethian is a picturesque hamlet on theoutskirts of Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan.

David was well-known and popular within the district,and had a reputation for generosity. However, David wasalso shrewd and not one to be taken advantage of. Hewas fond of alcohol, but did not drink to excess.

David was married and had several children. He hadspent some years in America and was often referred toas ‘The Yankee’ in the parts of South Wales where hewas known.

On 30th October 1885, Mr Thomas left his home before9am and caught the train from Cowbridge to the marketat Treorchy.

When he arrived, he received £60 worth of money hewas owed. Amongst the gold handed to him by a mancalled Jenkins, David found a sovereign which had a holein it. Mr Thomas placed all the loose money in a canvasbag he regularly carried. He then went to have dinner ina tavern in the town and enjoyed a drink with someacquaintances.

After visiting one or two other places nearby, the cattledealer made for home. He reached the railway station atCowbridge at about 8.30pm. He was under theinfluence of alcohol but was still capable of attending tobusiness, as he received some more money from afarmer at Cowbridge.

This man walked with Mr Thomas to the Duke ofWellington Inn, where both were well known as regularcustomers. Whilst under the influence of alchohol, MrThomas became excited and extremely generous withhis money, displaying his heavily laden canvas bag to allthe customers present.

Drinking with the locals An old man named Edward Roberts was presentin the tap-room. He had been there since about7.45pm.

Edward Roberts, and his son David Roberts, did nothave good reputations.

Edward was a sawyer by trade and lived in a small two-roomed cottage on his own plot within a quarter of amile of Stallcourt Farm. Father and son, the latter about28 years of age, were well known in the district, but fewpeople cared to have much to do with them. DavidRoberts in particular was shunned and avoided with theexception of a few.

David Roberts was a heavy loutish-looking man with asullen expression and a thick, dark moustache. However,he and his father were devoted to one another and quiteinseparable. They lived alone in their cottage. David hadreturned home some three months earlier after servingin the army.

David joined his father at the Inn shortly before MrThomas arrived. David did not have any money so hisfather paid for the drinks. They were joined by a thirdman, whose name was John Thomas, the nephew of thecattle dealer.

Mr Thomas reached the Duke of Wellington at 9pm andjoined the Roberts party, paying for the first round ofdrinks. He took the money from the canvas bag andboastfully said: “I am willing to lend anyone here £20,”and rattled the heavy bag upon the table. In the absenceof any takers, Thomas put the bag away, and invited theRoberts' and his nephew to join him in a game of cards.

Edward Roberts was too drunk to play and fell asleep ona settle in the corner of the room. He was able to leavethe public house at 11pm with the others though.

The death of David Thomasin Cowbridge, 1885

“Murder in the Storm”

The Duke of Wellington Inn, High Street, Cowbridge.

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The four of them were seen heading in the direction oftheir homes together. They proceeded down ChurchStreet, Thomas and his nephew in front, and the twoRoberts' following behind. After going down ChurchStreet, they crossed a stile on the right hand side of theroad, against the Town Mill, to the footpath leading toStallcourt Farm.

The weather had been very wet and gusty all day, andtowards the evening a gale sprang up; the rain peltingdown in torrents. It was blowing a hurricane when themen left the Inn, and they could hardly see where theywere going or keep themselves steady.

The footpath was almost under water, and the adjacentfields were like swamps. David Thomas, who wascomparatively sober, though he had been drinking all day,remarked it was ‘the worst night he had known in theyears he had lived there.’ The elder Roberts, who wascertainly drunk, fell down twice but was hauled up andsupported by his son.

To go to their cottage, Edward and David Roberts wouldordinarily leave Mr Thomas at that point and go past theTown Mill to the left.

A woman living next door to the cottage came forwardafterwards to say that she went to bed a little after 11pmthat night. Some time later, though how long she couldnot say, she was awakened by the sound of footsteps inthe next cottage and two men talking. The voices werethose of David Roberts and his father.

Murder Most Foul At 7am the following morning, a man namedBenjamin Williams made a shocking discovery onhis way to work: he came upon the body of a manat a point half-way between the stile at Town Milland Stallcourt Farm.

The man had been most savagely murdered.

The head and the face had been so battered as to renderhim unrecognisable. There were terrible wounds at theback of his head, two incised wounds in the front of hisface, and one wound on the left side of his nose,penetrating to the bone of his skull. This last injury,inflicted with some blunt, heavy instrument, must havebeen instantly fatal.

The rain ceased about 2am but as the dead man's clotheswere saturated, it was clear that he had been assailedand killed before that hour. His pockets were turned outand no money was found on him. There was a notebookand one or two small articles, but that was all.

The police were quickly on the scene, and the body wasimmediately identified as that of David Thomas. He wasconveyed by ladder to his own house. The younger

Roberts, who with his father, had been attracted to thespot, actually assisted in carrying him to the house; acircumstance greatly discussed afterwards.On the night of the murder which robbed Mrs Thomasof her husband, she dreamed that someone very dear toher had met with an accident, causing death. In herdream she saw men running away from the scene. Thedream was so vivid that, rising early next morningbecause of her alarm at her husband's failure to returnhome, she was led to speak of it to her children, whowere in bed. Within 20 minutes of this conversation, whilst everyonewas wondering about his absence, she learned that herhusband had been killed within a stone's throw of thehouse. Mrs Thomas and her children were overcomewith grief, and for some time she was out of her mind.The murder was committed within 200 yards of MrThomas's house, and 500 yards from a cottage called‘The Old Kennels’ at the bottom of the hill. 48-year-old David Thomas had four children; the oldestwas 16-year-old. David’s nephew, 23-year-old JohnThomas, had recently married and worked in a bakery atLlanblethian.For some time, John was suspected of taking part in thecrime and was actually arrested. However, it was proved that he had left the deceased atthe stile and gone to his own home. He was dischargedfrom custody at the first magisterial examination.

The love of a devoted sonThe police acted promptly and arrested EdwardRoberts and his son, as they were the last peopleseen with the murdered man.

Both denied their guilt, with David remarking to hisfather: “This is a nice job, dad, what do you say?”

To this, Edward Roberts replied: “I know nothing at allabout it. I never saw Mr Thomas last night at all.”

Stallcourt Farm, home of the murdered man

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That remark was obviously untrue. Many witnessesconfirmed that the four men were drinking together atthe Duke of Wellington, and then left the Inn together.

Edward Roberts stated that he had been in a drunkensleep all the time he was at the Inn, but that wasdisproved by the landlord and several of the customers.

The Roberts' cottage was searched and a blood-stainedpocket handkerchief containing £66 in gold, and asovereign with a hole in it, was found in a dark cupboard.

The following morning, the police discovered a billhookwhich bore traces of blood, but upon examination, ananalyst could not swear that the blood was human. Themost he could say with certainty was that it was theblood of a mammal.

When asked about the billhook, Edward Roberts said: “Iknow it’s mine, but I don't know any more about it.”

The doctor who first examined the body considered thatthe injuries might have been inflicted with such aweapon.

Two or three days after the men were taken intocustody, a conversation between them was overheard byan officer in the corridor of the police station.

Edward Roberts remarked: “It is a bad thing their findingall that money upon him, and having none the nightbefore.”

The elder prisoner observed: “He can say that he wassaving up for Christmas.”

David Roberts replied: “Yes, I will tell them I was saving itup to buy a new suit of clothes or something of thatsort.”

With the exception of this conversation, there was verylittle to establish the complicity of Edward Roberts in thecrime. In view of the son's complete exoneration of hisfather, it was doubtful that a jury would convict the olderman.

David Roberts was determined to clear his father of anyinvolvement in the crime. Edward’s story was that hewas too drunk and sleepy to remember anything.However, if that were true, he may have known or beenparty to the concealment of the money. This meant hewas still an accessory. The next door neighbour heardthe men talking and moving about, which did not hold upDavid's account of his father being so drunk that he wasincapable of speech or action.

Edward Roberts was 60-years-old and employed by MrJames, a builder in Cowbridge. David assisted his fatherin odd jobs as a sawyer until he was 20-years-old. Hehad always been wild and intractable and not manypeople had a good word for him.

In 1877, David enlisted in the Royal Scots. He served forseven years, but five of those were spent in prison formilitary offences. He was finally discharged asincorrigible.

The ConfessionDavid’s only admirable trait was his dogged devotion tohis father, and it was this, no doubt, that led to thefollowing confession:

“On the night of 30th October 1885, I was in thehouse in which I live in Llanblethian between 7 and 8o'clock. John Thomas, the deceased's nephew, cameto me and asked if I would go to Cowbridge. I toldhim I did not like to go because it was so wet andwindy. He told me if I would come with him I wouldnot stand out in the wet. I knew then what he meantby that, he meant to stand a drink, and so he did, inWarren's Public house. We had a “blue” each there,and then left to go home, but we came to the Dukeof Wellington and I said, “Let's see if my father is inthere.” So we went in, and my father was in there,and David Thomas, Evans the Keeper, and Lewis andWarren's son. I called for two “blues” of beer, whichwe put down to my father. Then we had a few gamesof cards for beer. Then we “shook the hat” for morebeer, and the beer that was lost was brought in andwas drank among the company. We were in the Dukeof Wellington public house until 11 o'clock.

“David Thomas, his nephew, my father and I left thehouse together and it was a very wild night. We wentwith David Thomas as far as the Town Mill and thereleft him. David Thomas went over the stile by thepine end of the mill and we went to Llanblethian in adifferent direction. When we got to Llanblethian Mill,John Thomas went in the direction of his house. I alsowish to mention that my father, when he left the“Wellington” was what they commonly call “blinddrunk” and I had to lead him home. I brought himhome and put him to bed.

“I am very sorry to say that after I had put my fatherto bed, I left the house by myself, took a big stick outof the house, and went to the top of Llanblethian Hill.I went down the footpath leading to Cowbridge andmet the deceased coming up the footpath and Iasked him for his money. He asked me where I camefrom, and I said I came from Cowbridge. He replied,“Go to Cowbridge.” I said, “I want your money first.”I told him he had better give it to me or I'd take it. Sowe had a little struggle, and I threw him down andstruck him with the stick I had in my hand threetimes. Then I robbed him of all his money, and tookall his papers which I burnt at home. Also the money

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bag. I also wish to state that when I did get home myfather was in bed fast asleep. After I burnt everythingI went to bed and got up next morning at 6.15am.When I got up I went to the garden and counted themoney because I did not want my father to know Ihad any money. He would want to know where I gotit from, so I put the money where you found it, andnobody saw me put it there, my father being in bedat the time.

“Also I wish to say that the weapon that did the deedwas that stick you had in court, not the billhook. I amthe guilty person, and nobody else had anything to dowith it. John Thomas and my father are innocent.David Roberts is my name. My life I now must part,for the murder of David Thomas.”

DAVID THOMAS, Son of Edward Roberts.

David's statement gives the impression that he wasseeking to minimise, as far as he could, the ferocity of theattack. He suggests there had been nothing more thana slight argument between him and Mr Thomas,which had ended in blows.

The “little struggle” he alludes to was in fact a violentattack upon David Thomas. He was battered to deathwith three tremendous blows. Other parts of theconfession also do not ring true.

A stick could have produced such injuries, whereas abillhook could certainly have inflicted them.

Aside from the traces of blood on the billhook, it waswet, suggesting that it had been taken out by themurderer during the night.

According to the confession, David Roberts and hisfather left Mr Thomas at the stile, just a quarter of amile from his home. Even if the heavy wind anddrenching rain and David Thomas's inebriatedcondition were taken into account, it should not havetaken him more than 10 minutes to get to his owndoorstep. Yet, during this time, Roberts supposedlywent home, assisted his father to undress, put him tobed, and then went out again to intercept his intendedvictim at a spot within 200 yards of his home.

It is unlikely that David Thomas dawdled on the wayhome considering the horrendous weather conditions,and hung about long enough for Roberts to armhimself with a billhook, or the stick, then go out andmurder him. It is much more likely that neither of thetwo Roberts' returned to their cottage until after themurder had been committed.

The elder man may have been too drunk to fullyappreciate what was happening if his son attacked MrThomas without word or warning as soon as JohnThomas left.

The terrible injuries to the victim's head and facecould have been inflicted with a heavy stone. Severalstones were lying near the spot where the attack tookplace, and one was stained with blood.

Also, it would be strange for David Thomas to askDavid Roberts where he was from. He knew the manperfectly well and had been in his company for two orthree hours that very evening.

Roberts may have intended to just rob the man, whoas we know, was not the sort of person to just give uphis money to the first person asking for it.

It is almost certain that David Roberts had resolved onmurder as the only means by which he could securethe bag of money for himself without detection.

The Trial Lord Chief Justice Coleridge presided at the trialat the Glamorgan Assizes, Cardiff, on Wednesday10th February 1886.

Mr Arthur Lewis led the Crown prosecution, andEdward Roberts was defended by Mr Abel Thomasunder the instruction of Mr Belcher, who had the case inhand since it began.

David Roberts pleaded guilty and was not representedby counsel. His father pleaded ‘Not Guilty’ andapparently wore the same calm expression as he didthroughout the magisterial proceedings.

Early on in the trial, following the opening speech of theprosecuting council, the Judge intervened and put it toMr Lewis that the evidence against the prisoner was notof such a character as to render it likely that any jurywould convict.

He said he was unable to find any definitive evidenceagainst Edward Roberts, except that he was with MrThomas the night he was murdered yet denied spendingany time with him, and he had been overheardsuggesting an explanation of how the money was found.

The money found in his house would be strong evidenceagainst Edward Roberts if his son, who had confessed tothe crime, hadn’t lived there too. Mr Arthur Lewisadmitted that the case against the elder prisoner was notstrong, and he was prepared to withdraw it with hisLordship's sanction. He could not prove more than hehad told the jury, and he felt it was not sufficient towarrant a conviction.

His Lordship expressed his approval of counsel'sremarks, and directed the jury to acquit Edward Robertsof the charge. The latter was therefore found ‘NotGuilty’ and discharged. The Deputy Clerk, addressingthe prisoner David Roberts, said: "You have confessed

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yourself guilty of wilful murder. Have you any reason togive why sentence of the court should not bepronounced against you?” To this, David Roberts repliedwithout emotion, “No, Sir.”

His Lordship then passed sentence of death in the usualform, and the prisoner left the dock with the utmostindifference and composure.

Beyond expressing his relief that his father was “so wellout of it,” David Roberts made little allusion to his crime.However, a day or two before the execution, havingheard that his father had suffered before the trial, hewrote a letter expressly exonerating his father from anyparticipation in the crime.

He again stated that he, and he alone, had any hand inthe murder. He wrote a letter to the widow of hisvictim, expressing his deep regret for “the sorrow hehad caused her.”

The Execution of David RobertsBerry the executioner, arrived at Cardiff onMonday morning by the train leaving Swanseaat 11.05am.

Owing to the heavy fall of snow, the train was a fewminutes late. On alighting from the carriage, Berry, whohad never visited Cardiff before, seemed in doubt as to theway out of the station. He started down the subway whichleads to the down line, but was called back by the porter.The executioner, dressed in a grey overcoat, was smokinga cigar, and wore quite a cheerful expression. On reachingthe outside of the station, he jumped into a hansom,and ordered the cabman to drive him to the prison.

The execution took place in unusual circumstances andled to quite a scandal at the time. The date wasWednesday, 2nd March 1886.

The culprit, whose stoical bearing was so markedthroughout the trial, maintained his composure up untilthe end. The only change that came over him as heawaited his execution was that he had turned to religion.He looked forward to the visits from his spiritual advisorand read the bible constantly.

A fortnight before his death he had what was intended tobe one last visit from his father, and his father’s distressas he left him stirred emotion in David Roberts. Apartfrom this, he slept soundly, ate heartily and alwaysappeared to be in cheerful spirits.

On the afternoon prior to the execution, EdwardRoberts, who had been staying with his sister since hisrelease from custody, walked the nine miles fromLlanblethian to Cardiff to say a last goodbye to his son.David wasn’t expecting this. After his father left the gaol,

the condemned man ate a hearty tea and in the evening,after an early supper, he retired to rest.

The Governor, Major Knox, visited him at 8pm andasked him if he had any requests or anything furtherto say.

He replied: “No sir, nothing.” After being asked again, hereplied coolly: “Quite sure, thank you sir, very muchobliged to you.”

David did not go to sleep until nearly 10pm and woke at12am when he suddenly became very talkative andrelated events that had happened to him in the Army. At4am he dropped off again and slept until 6am when hegot up and dressed. The Reverend Mr Davies arrivedsoon after and remained with him until the end. DavidRoberts declined breakfast, but drank a cup of tea. Heremained in prayer with the chaplain until 7.50am whenthe bell began to toll his death-knell.

Nearly 1,000 people had congregated outside the prison.They stayed to see the hoisting of the black flag beforedispersing quietly.

Roberts was dressed in a striped pair of trousers and adark blue coat and vest, both open in front, and he stoodcalmly while Berry pinioned his arms. He scarcely moveda muscle, and the only indication that he realised hispredicament, was the anxious look in his eyes.

The scaffold was 15 yards from the cell and a pit, 10 feetdeep by 6 feet broad, had been dug. The gallows wereerected according to the Home Office plans, and werethe same in every detail as when they were used inSwansea on the previous day.

The cross beam was pitch pine and the drop doors,which were on a level with the ground, had been usedfor a double execution at Hereford.

David Roberts walked straight to the scaffold, and stoodfirmly with his back to the onlookers while Berry

Llanblethian Village, Cowbridge

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pinioned his legs. Though looking pale and haggard, hedid not give the slightest sign of unsteadiness and quietlyrepeated the responses after the chaplain.

Berry then took off Roberts’s hat, slipped the white capover his head, and without a moment's delay, pulled thelever. The drop was only 3 feet 7 inches, with anallowance of 5 inches for the stretching of the rope,making it a total of just 4 feet. The drop was so unusuallyshort because Roberts was 13 stone, and it was fearedthat a greater length might decapitate him.

Onlookers thought the jerk of the drop seemed veryshort, but for the first few seconds everything seemed tobe all right, as Roberts’s head (about 3 or 4 inches fromthe drop-doors) did not move a muscle.

However, to the horror of the spectators, his handsbegan to twitch and he started to heave violently forbreath. As this continued, and the struggles of the dyingman increased, a look of consternation came over thefaces of those present. Berry crossed over to theGovernor of the gaol and the High Sheriff and had a

consultation with them. During this time, within a fewseconds of 3 minutes, Roberts’s continued to struggle.Reporters were asked to leave, and as they passed outinto the yard, some signs of life were still visible.

Immediately before Roberts’s inquest, two of thereporters entered the visiting room of the gaol, whereBerry was having breakfast. Berry remarked that it hadbeen a “clever execution.” The reporters disagreedstating that according to the time they had noted, DavidRoberts had not died for three minutes from the timethe bolt was drawn.

Berry became enraged, and threatened to bring slanderproceedings against anyone who circulated this claim.

The reporter who represented the Press Associationhad pulled out his watch immediately after DavidRoberts had started to twitch in order to record howlong the painful scene would last. It was this action thathad resulted in the newspaper representatives beingasked to leave.

Notes

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