Thomas Tattersall

Thomas George Tattersall (12 July 1874 – 15 August 1905)[4] was an English plasterer who was convicted of murdering his wife.

Tattersall, from Wakefield, was a notorious drunk. He would often threaten his wife, Rebecca, and the police had once put their house under surveillance because of this. On 3 July 1905, Tattersall cut Rebecca's throat with a razor and fractured her skull with an axe. He was discovered by the couple's daughter, Laura, who subsequently told their neighbours about what had happened.[5]

The following day, Tattersall was arrested at a railway station. He pleaded insanity, but to no avail, and was hanged at Armley Prison in Leeds, on 15 August 1905.[5]

His executioner, John Billington, died two months later due to a fall he had sustained while preparing for Tattersall's hanging.[6]