In January of 1856 James Hill aged twenty-three still lived at home with his aged mother and father at their house in Byre Lane, Sheffield. He was described at the time as being a ‘stoutly built young man’ nevertheless his appearance belied that there was something strange about him. Those who knew him, viewed him thus as for some years he had displayed such eccentricities of conduct which led to a conclusion that he was ‘not right in the head.’ Although Hill had been working as a knife grinder, for the previous year or so, he had since been out of work and was getting more and more depressed as a consequence. Thankfully, on 18 January he managed to get some employment at Messrs Gallimore of Edward Street, Sheffield.

It was hoped that this would raise his spirits although it was reported that his depressed mood remained. Hill had only been at work for six days, when on Thursday 24 January he abruptly got up from the bench where he had been working and put on his coat. Another workman who saw this glanced at the clock seeing that it was only 5.30 pm asked Hill why he was leaving early? His workmates only reply was ‘I’ll tell you when I get back.’ It seems that after leaving work he went to his sisters house in Green Street, Sheffield where he found a group of children playing outside the house. Among them was his nephew Wilfred Deakin aged three and a half.

He asked him where his mummy was, and the child told him that she was next door with a neighbour. Hill then said to his nephew ‘come Wilfred we are going for a walk.’ He told one of the girls who looked older than the other children to close the shutters. As she climbed onto the sofa to do his bidding, she saw Hill take something from the top of a shelf in the kitchen. Although she didn’t know it at the time, it was the razor belonging to his brother-in-law. Little Wilfred innocently took hold of his uncle’s hand not knowing what the terrible consequences would be. The next time Hill was seen, was when he went into the workshop of Hawksley and Haslam, silversmiths where a niece called Emma Lowden worked.

He asked to see her and when she went to enquire as to what he wanted, Hill immediately blurted out ’Ive committed murder.’ He showed her the weapon which still held bloodstains, but the girl just ran away screaming. Sure enough, an hour later James Hill returned back to work and his workmates could not help but see that his hands and clothes were full of blood. Once again he told them ‘I’ve committed murder’ as he pulled out the bloody razor and showed it to them. One man said to him ‘Come on Jim, give me that razor’ as he held his hand out. Hill immediately handed over the weapon, before agreeing with the other men to go to the Town Hall and give himself up.

Consequently three other workmen accompanied through the streets of Sheffield to the police station. One of the men told the desk sergeant that they had brought in Jim Hill for committing a murder. At this, the prisoner nodding towards the three men and said ‘yeah and they have got the razor I did it with.’ Needless to say he was arrested and placed in a cell, whilst a search was made for the child. Police spoke to a neighbour who told them that she had seen Hill and the child at the end of Green Street, crossing over the road into Moor Street. Later a man and a child were also reported to be seen going into a brick yard on Moor Street, Little Sheffield where the little body was found.

Meanwhile Emma Lowden went to Green Street, where she found the children still playing happily outside. They told her that little Wilfred had gone for a walk with his uncle, confirming what she had been told by Hill. Going inside she saw Wilfred’s mother had returned back from the neighbours house and was inside continuing with her chores, whilst her husband Walter was smoking a pipe by the chimney. Then she told the couple about Hill’s confession and that he had given himself up to the police. Meanwhile the poor little body of the child had been found.

It seems that a young man called Sorby had been returning home from work, when he saw a group of excited children. He was about to ignore them, when heard them say something about a child’s body lying on the ground. Sorby got them to show him and that’s when he found the body of Wilfred Deakin lying in a pool of blood. A police officer was called and he ordered the body to be initially removed to the nearby Pilot Inn, and from there it was taken in a basket to the Town Hall. Making their usual enquiries, the police found that James Hill’s elderly parents had been quite concerned about their sons behaviour for some time.

In fact his mother told officers that she was now so afraid of him that she hid all the knives and sharp implements in the house. However when questioned as to his motivation, she admitted that she could not understand why it had happened. Mrs Hill said that her son had always seemed to be very fond of his little nephew. However she did mention that he had received a kick in the head from a horse about three years earlier, and reported that after that time he became a different man becoming more moody and morose. Needless to say an inquest was arranged by Coroner, Mr Thomas Badger at the Town Hall the following afternoon.

The child’s father Walter was the first witness and he tragically identified the murder weapon as being his own razor. He told the coroner that he usually kept it on a high shelf in the kitchen, well away from his children’s hands. An eleven year old girl called Ann Arnold who had been playing with the children at the Deakin house, described how she had identified the prisoner as being James Hill. She described how had taken both the weapon and the little boy out of the house. Her account was confirmed by another little girl, who had been present at the time, the nine year old sister to the deceased child, Ellen Deakin.

Another child called Cordelia Judd also confirmed that she had seen the prisoner taking the boy away and commented that she though that ‘Hill looked vicious’. She was followed by Police Constable Thomas Mason. He gave the jury a description of the prisoner being arrested and brought into the station and described him as being ‘slightly manic’ at the time. Mr J F Wright the police surgeon told the inquest jury that he had conducted the post mortem and described the terrible injuries to the boys throat. He added that ‘great resolution would be required to make such wounds.’

Needless to say the inquest soon found the prisoner James Hill guilty of the wilful murder of Wilfred Deakin and he was ordered to take his trial at the Assizes. Accordingly, James Hill was brought before judge Mr Justice Willes at the Yorkshire Spring Assizes at York on Thursday 13 March 1856. Mr Blanchard defended him. The prisoner pleaded not guilty before staring around the courtroom with much curiosity. Once he had glanced around however, he took little notice of the rest of the proceedings. Prosecution, Mr Hardy stated that although the prisoner had pleaded not guilty, he would demonstrate that throughout the carrying out of the act of murder, the prisoner had shown nothing but a calm and dispassionate manner.

The same witnesses gave evidence. The only change was from relative Emma Lowden who, when asked about the kick in the head which Hill had received three years previously, did not recall the incident at all. Nor did she remember him being ill at the time. After this statement it was noticeable that the prisoner’s demeanour became more moody and sullen. Another witness was Mr Henry Dunn the senior surgeon of Wakefield House of Correction. He told the judge that he had been able to observe the prisoner since he was brought to Wakefield on 28 January.

He stated that in all his, almost daily dealing with Hill, he had observed no sign of insanity. He added that ‘on the contrary he was quite aware of the nature of the crime he had committed.’ Nevertheless his conclusions were disputed by the medical superintendent of Wakefield who stated quite clearly that he was of the opinion that the prisoner was not of sound mind. Mr Justice Willes summed up for the jury, who took just over an hour to find James Hill guilty on the grounds of insanity. Only when the jury gave their verdict was the prisoner finally seen to smile. Nevertheless his smile disappeared as the judge then told him that he was be kept in prison until Her Majesties pleasure be known.