Sarah Stones had been married to a man called George, although by June of 1877 they had not lived together for the past seven years. Following her own code of conduct, she had numerous affairs, sometimes living with the man concerned and sometimes not. Since March of that year, however she had lived with a twenty seven year old man called John Smith, a steel roller by trade who lived in Millsands, Sheffield. Sarah had hoped to marry him but, it would seem that he was equally fickle in his affections. Prior to that she had also lived with a man called Walter White, but sadly that didn’t end in matrimony either.
On Saturday 16 June, she and Smith were following their usual weekend routine of touring several Sheffield hostelries, and drinking throughout the day. Needless to say both were very drunk before Smith told her that he had enough and was going to leave. He told her that he was already planning to move in to live with another Sheffield woman anyway as he left her alone. Hearing this, Sarah continued to drink hoping to console herself. Suddenly, she was surprised to meet up with her former paramour, the man called Walter White. He lived in Rotherham, so it was not often he came to Sheffield. Needless to say Sarah was delighted to renew her acquaintance with him.
Indeed, the pair got on so well that she ended up taking White home at the end of the evening. They returned back to the same lodgings in which she had lived with John Smith, possibly in revenge for the fact that she now believed he was in the arms of his new lover. Consequently, the pair shared some ale that they had bought back with them, before ending up in bed together. Suddenly, around midnight, Sarah heard a noise and to her complete surprise, Smith walked into the bedroom. Seeing the pair in bed together Smith picked up a piece of iron and smashed White on the head with it, before attacking Sarah with the same implement.
What he hadn’t realised in his agitation was the weapon was a bedstock, a hard, strong metal piece of the bed frame. Sarah screamed so loudly, that the noise attracted two of the other lodgers who broke down the door and pulled the man away from the couple in the bed. The police were called and John Smith was arrested and taken into custody. The police surgeon, Mr Harrison also attended the scene and arranged for Sarah to be taken, by now in an almost unconscious state, to the Infirmary. It was thought for many days, that her recovery was in grave doubt.
Accordingly, John Smith appeared before the Sheffield magistrates at the Town Hall on Monday 25 June, charged with committing a murderous assault upon both Walter White and Sarah Stones. However he was simply remanded for a week. Subsequently on Monday 25 June 1877 Smith was brought back before the bench where thankfully Sarah had, by now recovered from her attack. She was the first to give evidence, and it was reported that some of her injury’s were still evident on her face. The witness described the events of the night and stated that when she took White home, she genuinely thought that Smith would be spending the night with the other woman, as he had threatened.
Sarah then described how the prisoner had attacked White with the heavy piece of iron before turning his attentions to her. She told the court that, as a result she had been confined to bed for some days afterwards. The next witness was Walter White, who also stated that Smith had attacked him first with the iron bar. He claimed that he had simply tried to defend himself, before Smith turned his anger on Sarah, who he pulled out of bed, lashing out and kicking her in a brutal manner about the body. The witness described how all the time he was doing this, he swore at her, stating that ‘he would kill her’ in the process.
The two other, unnamed lodgers then gave their evidence and described how they had been forced to break down the door. The police surgeon Mr Harrison gave the court a list of injuries that both White and Sarah had received at the hands of the prisoner and told the bench that for some days, her life in particular had been in great danger. After hearing from these witnesses, John Smith was ordered to take his trial and the next Sessions. Consequently, on Friday 6 July 1877, the prisoner was brought before the Rotherham Midsummer Sessions at the Court House in Rotherham.
He was charged:
‘firstly with the unlawfully and maliciously wounding of Sarah Stones on the night of 16 June and secondly with attacking Walter White at the same time and place.’
Mr Fenwick prosecuted the case and described the events of that evening. After hearing all the evidence the jury found the prisoner guilty of the two assaults consequently, the chair to the magistrate Mr W Overend sentenced John Smith to twelve months imprisonment with hard labour.